Google and Facebook are among a list of other companies that no longer put too much weight into college degrees during the recruitment process. The two titans from Silicon Valley are among a bunch of other companies who believe that book smarts are not = to work ethic, creativity and a host of other qualities which are not quantified by a degree. Interesting…
I guess the thinking behind this is that real skills are more important than degrees. With some technical skills it is easy to show that you can get the job done without necessarily having to have a certificate validate your work.
Does it really come as a surprise that Facebook and Apple, who are headed by guys without degrees would follow this pattern. Not really but it still is an interesting way to break away from the norm.
Other companies are not obsessed with degrees as well
There are 12 other companies that don’t seem to put all the weight into degrees and in the list provided by Glassdoor (a job search site) these companies include:
- Ernst and Young
- Penguin Random House
- Costco Wholesale
- Whole Foods
- Hilton
- Publix
- Apple
- Starbucks
- Nordstrom
- Home Depot
- IBM
- Bank Of America
- Chipotle
- Lowe’s
I don’t know some of these companies on this list but it is interesting that the weight placed on degrees is waning. It used to be the case that that was the be-all and end-all of all recruitment processes so it’s refreshing that this rigidity might be getting left behind.
This does not mean that these companies won’t consider degrees at all. A representative for Ernst and Young (who are on that list) actually said:
Academic qualifications will still be taken into account and indeed remain an important consideration when assessing candidates as a whole, but will no longer act as a barrier to getting a foot in the door
I know this is and will continue being a topical subject. Do you think this is a good thing or do you think it will compromise the skill level of workers being employed in these companies? Would definitely love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.
