Jul 4, 2023
More and more companies are shedding the traditional degree requirements on job postings — and are focusing on what skills employees can bring to the table instead.
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In fact, LinkedIn reports that a “skills-first” approach to hiring also increased an employer’s number of potential candidates by nearly 10 times.
“Skills-based hiring is the great white whale, the holy grail of the labor market,” Joseph Fuller, management professor at Harvard Business School, told Bloomberg.
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Here’s what’s triggered this shift in hiring priorities, and how employees can capitalize on the new future of work.
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The ongoing labor shortage
The U.S. economy exceeded predictions and added 339,000 jobs in May — but there aren’t enough available workers to fill them.
The latest data indicates there are 9.9 million job openings across the country, but only 5.8 million unemployed workers, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
“If every unemployed person in the country found a job, we would still have more than 4 million open jobs,” writes Stephanie Ferguson, director of global employment policy and special initiatives.
Some experts point to a rapidly aging workforce. On top of this phenomenon, plenty of those who lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic never came back. The labor force participation rate currently stands at 62.6%, down from 63.4% in February 2020.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also found that early retirements and increased savings during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as childcare needs, are holding many workers back from re-entering the job market.
A focus on skills
It makes sense that employers, desperate to fill job roles in a hot labor market, might ease back on college degree requirements to expand their talent pools.
According to the LinkedIn report, over 45% of hirers searched for candidates using skills data on the networking platform in the last year — a 12% jump from last year.
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But the job-networking giant speculates this is more than just a response to the state of the economy, and predicts this is a trend we will continue to see in years ahead.
There are many workers out there who may not have a college education — perhaps because they weren’t able to afford the student debt, or because they lost faith in the merits of post-secondary credentials — but do have the work experience and practical skills to back them up.
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How to take advantage
LinkedIn recommends workers build on their existing skills and work on adding more to their job profiles.
Many people are already doing this. In the past year, LinkedIn members added 380 million skills (up over 40% since 2021) and certifications (up 16% since 2021) to their profiles.
It even features a list of in-demand skills that have been mentioned in over three-quarters of global job postings since 2015.
This includes both hard skills — such as digital marketing and business development — and soft skills, like leadership, storytelling and problem solving.
And you should consider investing in and listing any relevant certificate programs or any other skills-based training that’s available to you. Adding a couple of professional certifications to your resume can help prove your capabilities to a recruiter, even if you don’t have that fancy piece of paper.
On that note, make sure you’re keeping both your LinkedIn profile and resume fresh and updated. This can help you appear in more searches and stand out as a potential candidate during the screening process.
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Serah Louis is a reporter with Moneywise.com. She enjoys tackling topical personal finance issues for young people and women and covering the latest in financial news.
