When looking for new employees, how important are degrees vs. experience?

This is an interesting and very personal question for me. While most of my peers were in college I was in the Marine Corp and raising a family. I invested 8 years, the equivalent of a Masters Degree, not only learning the concepts of my craft but also the practical application. I studied and practiced electronics, leadership, administration, management, strategic and tactical planning and execution, team work and many other skills not taught in any classroom. I was responsible for ensuring that my team was trained, ready for deployment and for effectively developing their proficiencies. When I completed my tour, I went back to school and attained an AS in Marketing. Unfortunately, all of my Marine Corp experience is consistently overlooked or not ever seen by HR or the hiring managers. While its great that hiring managers are willing to evaluate the whole package they should know that they may be missing out on their next prodigy due to the HR electronic sorting systems and the practice where any resume without a BA/BS (Masters preferred) is discarded. I have been very successful despite the HR automation systems by being an effective networker. If you don't have a BA it is essential that you bypass HR and get in front of the hiring manager. There is more than one way to get an education and HR needs to adjust its automated systems and accept alternative methods of education. Like the commercial says..."I did more by 8AM than many college students did in a semester."

The degree is only relevant when it comes to the technical aspects of certain fields. I don't think anyone would hire a scientist with a high school diploma.

Experience is only relevant if it was good experience. If you were a mediocre controller for 10 years, I wouldn't be very motivated by your experience.

Studies have shown that there is no correlation between degrees and success, I know some will argue with me on this point. This comes from a particular company that has been gathering data for 50 years on this particular subject. How many CEO's have a Phd, very few, and only a small percentage have MBA's.

From one Vet to another Richard, thanks.

I don't know what you did in the Corp, I was in the Army (the commercial you are referencing was one I helped create when I was an Army Recruiter - it was a special assignment that has paid off many times). I have not experienced any disconnect between skills learned by our veterans or transferring them into the corporate world, and as a long term HR Exec I can say that all of my HR assignments successfully promoted the hitring of veterans. I worked closely with those who created the Army's transition program and can say that a significant effort was made to develop transitional connections between military service and the private sector. Even my early days as a grunt (Infantryman for those who don't know the lingo) has skills that transition.

Never the less I know how difficult it is/was to obtain a post secondary education and be on active duty. I spent 20 years in the Army; it took me almost 10 to get a BA and fortunately only 2 to get an MBA, before I retired. (this was before "Internet schools"). I find many employers highly excited about the skills, knowledge and abilities that veterans bring to the workplace. Today it is common to find veterans who have Bachelor and Graduate degrees, even after just a few years of service; even with those who solely served in an enlisted status.

Regrettably the real challenge today is the economy. With so many people out of work and so many skilled people looking for work, having experience alone doesn't make one very competitive. Until things get better employers who are looking for defensible selection criteria will continue to seek a combination of education/technical training and experience. For many there is the availability of grants and student loans to advance their education. These are good times to pursue those.

Kelly,

It definitely depends on what your company is hiring for.

In my own experience for product marketing and business development functions at software and Internet start-ups, I believe experience trumps everything. I might use a graduate degree as a "signaler" of a good person but unless that person also has relevant experience, I will seldom hire the person. Wrong hires in these types of high-growth companies are very "expensive."

There are always exceptions. For example, experience is much less relevant for entry-level positions. For these positions I usually look for a basic BA/BS degree but more importantly I look to see if that person has anything special - i.e. dedication, passion, intelligence, etc. You want to find a "diamond in the rough" that can grow within your organization. For the hiring manager interview skills are incredibly important here.

Don and Richard, BTW I have worked with numerous Vets. While the associated experience is not always right, military service tends to identify people with qualities that transfer nicely to the workplace - discipline, project management, grace under pressure, etc.

I have worked on staffing in the IT industry which is very technical but generally what I have learned can apply to most situations. For entry level jobs education is very important and expected especially technical positions. However even at the entry level those candidates who have done internships, summer jobs etc. where they have obtained real world experience have an edge over those who only have a degree. Beyond entry level it is all experience and education is a plus that shows initiative and possibly future potential. For example an experienced programmer who also has or is working on an MBA shows potential for leadership positions which could give them an edge. However usually the main consideration is based on the candidate's experience and how close a fit it is to the job you are looking to fill.

Depends upon what I am recruiting for. If I am recruiting for administrative/clerical support, be it finance, marketing or other functions within the organization, then I prefer experience. For professional positions in any function I prefer an appropriate combination of experience and education. Technical positions require both technical education and experience.

I do not really concern myself with GPA's. I want to see the "whole person". A combination of experiences, proper academic preparation, articulation and ethic (work and professional) are of value. Strong GPA's absent those items is meaningless.

During our 35 years experience in the Corporate employee selection and testing market, AlignMark has completed numerous analyses comparing results of behavioral skill assessments to measures of on-the-job performance and has likewise accumulated assessment results on literally millions of job applicants. One finding which has emerged across virtually every individual job studied, regardless of industry, centers on the value of experience and may somewhat surprise even seasoned HR professionals.
The finding across our different studies is that experience, defined as years of prior experience in a similar job, has little or no affect on neither skill assessment results nor job performance
"read more"
http://www.alignmark.com/blog/bid/37143/What-is-the-Value-of-Experience-in-Re...

I think that those thinking they use "experience" usually use unstated qualifiers such as "industry experience," specific job experience in a similar sized organization, similar customer service experience or substantially similar machine or computer sytems experience.

If you say experience, and the job has 10-12 primary duties, the question becomes one of priorities and often the priorities are not set in advance, leaving the hiring agent to make a last minute impulse decision based on, and justified ex post facto, on whatever presentation of KSAs that likeable candidate has.

For years candidates have been coached to eliminate info off jub resumes and focus job experience on the specialty job for which they are applying. Yet a candidate with deep or far ranging work experience, even on the paper, is often considered a negative candidate: candidates who have been around the block will be stereotyped as hard to manage, rigid thinkers, not focussed, or simply too expensive to hire and maintain. Gosh, they are even hard to process through the resume word limits and take up too much time in the interview slots.

Whether hiring agents hire narrowly tailored short term experience (say, 2 years) or "recent college degree" is really what you are talking about most of the time. In the current job market lots of experience is not a positive for getting through the computer mills.

Thus hiring agents lose out on the really thoughtful deep knowledge and perspective that someone who has worked in a variety of related fields and positions can bring to an organization. Instead they implement management internships and the like to bring in inexperienced management track trainees and hire people with 1-2 years "experience" in specific hand-on or technical skills.

Kelly - overall I would agree with the others in that experience trumps degree. However both is best. The degree will a person theory and only experience will give them the practical application. Can someone learn these without the degree - absolutely - it just may take longer. There are some fields where a degree is essential like engineering, high level accounting (cpa/cfo) and the such but otherwise - what you know and how you apply it is what matters. Be careful about thinking that just because a person has many years of experience that they do it well. To me even more important are those with initiative, desire to learn, can listen and a great attitude. Skills you can teach, cannot say the same for attitude.

I appreciate the discussion, opinions-- how diverse they are, provide better and clearer perspectives for people like me. In my case, before I call anyone for interviews, I work together with my line managers on how to describe, define, measure the job in relation to our business strategies and organizational framework (from job description to specification to qualifications to even targetted/ behavioral questions we need to ask on applicants). But I agree that even in my culture/ location we are swayed more on EXPERIENCE over education. Although, I did try to compare results during interview, after job offer, and retention for a period of 6 months, and based on my samples, those with lower work experience stayed longer as compared to those with higher work experience. While those with higher education had faster frequency on promotions.

This is a great discussion. First, let me thank you Kelly for giving us the opportunity to share our experience with you. To answer your question directly, our company focuses on hiring people that have demonstrated the ability to do the job. Therefore, it is the candidate’s ability to produces the results we desire that ultimately determines whether he or she gets the job. This can be a combination of education and experience.

We reach this point by first carefully screening candidates for the position in question. This involves reviewing candidates’ qualifications as they relate to a performance profile that was carefully constructed in collaboration with the management team. Yes, at this level the process may include screening for educational requirements, but these can be arbitrary if experience will substitute. The individual recruiter needs to be astute enough to recognize when the substitution is appropriate.

Once the appropriate experience/education combination is determined, candidates who fit are then contacted for a phone screening to verbally establish position fit. This involves general screening questions about previous positions, duties and accomplishments as well as behavioral questions pertaining to the key aspects of the performance profile.

If candidates pass the screening section, then they are passed on to the management interview and again subjected to behavioral interview question. I train my hiring managers to focus on asking about the candidates experience and how it relates to various aspects of the performance profile, i.e., tell me about a time…, followed by intense follow up questions to ensure that the manager understands exactly how the candidate accomplished the result in question. I am sure you are very familiar with this line of questioning, and I cannot tell you how important it is for ascertaining whether or not a candidate will be able to deliver the results your company desires.

The final step of the interview process focuses on team interviews designed for cultural fit.

I designed this process and trained my management team to ensure that the candidate chosen is the best fit for the position regardless of experience or education. In my many years of HR experience, I have found that implementing a process focused on whether a candidate can produce the results you desire, rather than on just experience or education, ensures that you get “the right people on the bus” and keeps you from passing up good talent.

Alex Neumann, SPHR
http://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderneumann

I just finished hiring 10 new sales reps and we plan on adding as many as 50 over the next 18-24 months. We place a much higher value on experience than past education. While having "some college" was required in our posting. Because we are in the technology field, we need to ensure that our candidates have a decent enough education to understand and communicate what we do, but outside of that, someone with 10 years technology selling experience trumps someone with a technology degree and no experience.

To create effective criteria which will guide good hiring decisions, you will need to analyze the demands of each position, both present and future. What tasks does this person need to do well at present? What will this person need to learn quickly in the future? What resources will be available (or not available) at your company to help this person learn new tasks?

Since you've mentioned degree vs experience, let's use that as an example.

For many positions, solid related experience is a good indicator of success and a degree is less important. However, you'd be better off seeking degreed candidates for job situations requiring:
1. theory, such as formulas/calculations; required in most technical/engineering positions. I have found that these are less likely to be present in non-degreed candidates. Remember that technology does tend to "march on"...requiring more complex calculations.
2. research and study skills--learning research skills in a structured setting is certainly part of college. If a position will require learning new duties or technology quickly, you will need someone who knows how to find information, ask the right questions, and learn independently, particularly if resources in your company are limited.
3. reportage, documentation: in my experience you will see a very marked difference in quality of documentation between degreed candidates and non-degreed; whatever your major in college, you write lots of papers! If your position will require a large amount of presentable written material, a college degree will certainly help. Gone are the days when every executive had an assistant to assist in written material.
4. completion and determination: to some extent, completion of a college degree does indicate a strong will, a desire to achieve, and an ability complete a "landmark achievement" despite frustration and long hours.

That's just a few examples of criteria that may surface in a thoughtful analysis of your open positions. This type of criteria may lead to well-thought out descriptions and targeted questions, which should certainly help you make the most of your hiring resources.

I have recruited and placed technology professionals since 1983. If your company is seeking help for technology hires, please do not hesitate to contact me!

Minda Hannenberg
Informative People Inc.
www. informativepeople.com

As a number of people have already indicated, a degree is very important in some circumstances, and not as critical in others.

If you're looking for a top-notch developer that can code in C++, C#, Ruby, Python and has database development experience on several platforms, you're not likely to be focusing on someone with a PhD. OTOH, if you needed someone with who was an expert with complex financial models for computer simulations, an advanced degree would likely be a necessary part of that specifications.

Additionally, certain industry segments understandably put more value on degrees than experience-alone, such as academia.

And to the extent that an organization doesn't have a formal policy for degree/experience criteria, a hiring manager with an advanced degree is more likely to desire that in a candidate, than one who does not have one.

At the end of the day, there should be a clear connection between the skills needed and the criteria requested/selected. Too often education or experience is taken as some automatic indication of suitability. I've interviewed too many people who either appeared to have tremendous experience or top-notch education, and couldn't get past the technical questions for the job in question. And I'm sure that my experience in this regard is not unique.

-ASB: http://xeesm.com/AndrewBaker

I know that many job postings will ask for degrees but I think that experience trumps a degree; however, as Michael pointed out...it can depend on what it is your company is looking for. I know that there are certain jobs in which HR won't even consider your application without a degree - for example - a university or other form of educational institution. There are certain professions that require a degree as well...so it really depends. For the most part, generally speaking, as mentioned; I believe experience means more.

A savvy recruiter will recognize talent; whether earned in a traditional education route or through a more experiential training process like our friend Richard above. Some of the best professional hires I have made have been the latter. While a college education offers theory and the background information generally necessary to take on a professional or managerial role, many people have been successful gathering that on the job. I think of sales leaders as one example. Also, human resources professionals are often people with a liberal arts degree or some college but that combined with experience can make the difference.

I have managed talent sourcing for a wide range of organizations and I would have to say, 'it depends'. Professional accreditation (eg: education) is key in certain disciplines such as engineering and many IT roles that maintain rigorous standardization in expected performance and capacity. Where the experience begins to become more of a determining factor is when the role increases in responsibility and hierarchical level. The higher up the opening, the more that proven competence in both hard and soft skills come into play. Mature organizations realize this systemic difference and generally allot more funding to these roles due to the higher risk of mismatch that a ill-placed person (even with the educational background) can have on goal achievement and even business continuity.

Michael, I echo what you are saying - I guess I wasn't too clear in the way that I was communicating that 'it depends' would be my answer...there are definitely situations and positions in which a degree would be required...what I meant in my response is that if the position in question were not one of those; then I would go to experience. In many cases a combination would be preferred; but if a degree were 'not' a definite requirement; I may overlook a degree for experience. Apologies if that wasn't clear...thanks for the comment Andrea to allow me to clarify.

Long story short, I assess for Capabilities and not Credentials, unless of course if you are hiring for roles that require certification. Here is a recent article of keen interest:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-d-atkinson-phd/the-failure-of-american-h...

Having had the experience of working in admissions offices at universities and done hiring for companies, I concur with the author. Credentials may get you into a door, but the rigorous assessment needs to be on capabilities relative to the context of that role.

If it is a more junior or entry level position, education will be considered as a primary factor because the applicant may not have much, if any, actual work experience. The only way to determine their ability to achieve results is to explore their educational experience. If the position requires a credential that is based on the completion of education at a certain level, then education will be of primary importance.

For candidates bringing a rich experience of achievement, education becomes less important, at least for me. If they have established they can do the job, present themselves well, have the required communications skills, fit with the organization/team, have a winning attitude, and are able to demonstrate proven results through confirmed references, then they are a prime candidate.

Whether a good candidate brings a university degree or not, the education I'm most interested in is what they are learning now. If they can demonstrate a commitment to continuous learning that brings value to the business, that tells me they will continue to seek ways to build their knowledge and will be open to learning and growing with the organization.

Track record is first for me. Not just how long has he been doing whatever, rather, what are his milestones? Where has he excelled? I'd check those references!!!

My best friend is extremely "street smart". She started at Tektronix, made her way to a mid-size electronics firm as VP of HR. At that time, did not have a degree. She decided she would benefit from the education, and went for her bachelor's degree. Today she is VP of HR for a major electronics firm in CA. The degree may have helped her get in the door for the interview, but it was her strong experience and that set of "street smarts" which got her the job.

I have interviewed more than my share of "Human Resources professionals", and wondered why they ever went into the "people" side of business. It has to be the whole package.

AS HR professionals I believe we often place to much value on both experience and education. While both are important (and in some positions mandatory) we need to be sure to look at other factors such as ethics, drive and persistence. We cannot and should not place all our hiring decision on just experience and education. How long did they stay in their last job, why are they looking to leave, did they move up in one or more organization. All items that should be looked at. I could go on but I think you get the idea.
Carol Kuhns
HR / Training Professional

I feel degree improves your personality as a person and educate you on the subject knowledge and how to behave accoedingly... were experience will make you expert in your subject from "better to best, best to brilliant"... and so on…

So, both has to go on and on to grow as a person and as a professional....

When recruiting or selecting candidates, degrees are not the most important criteria, however knowing what types of studies the candidate has been exposed to gives some useful indications as to the matters and "mental", analytical or creative set of skills he/she has been trained for. I find this useful, although not primary.

When recruiting or selecting candidates, degrees are not the most important criteria, however knowing what types of studies the candidate has been exposed to gives some useful indications as to the matters and "mental", analytical or creative set of skills he/she has been trained for. I find this useful, although not primary.

I believe you need to look at the person as a whole. I have a degree in History and my career has been in HR. I started working in HR right out of college. After 2 years, I got my HR certification from a major university and my PHR. Guess what, those in my certification class who NEVER worked in HR struggled. I grasped everything easily because of the hands-on knowledge I was getting.

However, would I hire an engineer that didn't have an engineering degree....NO. We MUST start effectively evaluating candidates in all areas. I know plenty of PHD's/MBA's who are idiots and can't manage their way out of an egg carton. Education is defintely important but it doesn't necessarily mean that person is the "best" candidate.

Unless there is a statutory requirement for a particular qualification I will tend to pay greater attention to demonstrated experience that is relevant to the field.

Our fellow group members make good points and both experience and education are important. Let's look at this further... Completion of an academic degree does not always ensure that the degree holder has learned sufficiently in order to be a good performer in a new job. Conversely, someone with practical experience in a functional area does not always ensure s/he has been exposed to the theory that usually is learned in the academic setting.

Both are very important, but, ultimately, success depends largely on the individual's ability to manage both the experiential learning and the academic learning in a way that s/he can maximize his or her contributions on the job.

As an older professional, I recall when job descriptions included the phrase: "XYZ degree required OR equivalent experience." This signaled the employer's understanding that a job applicant acquired his or her job knowledge either academically or experientially; and, Rachel, it appears that your employer endorses this approach.

Today, from an HR perspective, and given the large number of job applicants for just one open position, having earned a degree (or not) is used as criteria to eliminate certain applicants from the next round in the recruitment/selection process. As such, many companies miss out on truly qualified applicants who have learned their jobs experientially but have not had the opportunity to earn an academic degree for a myriad reasons.

In an ideal situation, job applicants would (should) be evaluated on a number of KASOCs (Knowledge, Abilities, Skills, and Other Characteristics), and consideration should be given to those job applicants who can demonstrate the ability to perform the duties and requirements of the job, regardless of whether they learned their skills experientially or academically.

Given the current state of the economy, and the fact the pool of job applicants is so immense, unfortunately, for the time being, I do not see that job applicants without a college degree will make it beyond the first elimination round, even though they might have considerable knowledge and experience, which they have acquired on their own; e. g. previous jobs, self-directed learning, corporate training, workshops, mentoring, volunteering, and/or via other experiential means.

Down the line, as the economy improves, and the baby boomers begin to retire en masse, we will see, once again, a shift to the selection process your employer currently follows, Rachel, because the pool of available job applicants will be smaller than it is today.

In other words, job applicants with demonstrable experience to perform the duties of a job will be given as much credence (perhaps more) than those who hold a college degree, but lack practical, on the job experience.

Lastly, whether someone holds a degree or not, lifelong learning is necessary to be able to keep up with technological advancements, and new discoveries in every field. That lifelong learning, of course, can include a number of vehicles, as cited earlier.

Well, I have found the exact opposite. I was recently cut from an interview because I do not have an associates degree; however, I have 9 years of solid experience in doing the exact job they were looking for, Transcription Manager System Wide. The recruiter actually picked my resume out and contacted me for an interview on a Monday - the interview was set up for the immediate following Friday. Just 15 minutes before the first interview was to start, which was a phone interview, I was sent an email by this recruiter stating that they were not going to conduct the interview with me because I did not have an an associates degree. This was amazing to me first of all the disrespect in the way they contacted me and also to wait till the last minute to do it. This was for a large hospital chain. I guess 9 years of solid experience in the industry meant nothing along with my many other certifications I have gained throughout the years to keep up on all the industry trends and standards. I am certainly one who tells my kids to get their degree and do NOT downplay a degree. I know everyone has worked hard to get them; however, at the same time, I also do not agree with throwing away a good candidate just because they don't have that degree. If they have worked hard for years and have gained real experience - it should mean something. I honestly believe that if I were fresh out of school - they would have given me the time of day. Very unfortunate because in doing this same job they were hiring for every day and I do still do it - I can say it would be a hard field to do without having on the job experience and I doubt highly I would have even applied for it had I had a degree and no experience. Yet - this seems to be what they are looking for. Makes no sense to me at all. That is a very closed mind some hiring manager has - probably someone who has never done this job themselves and has no idea what all is involved. It is not an easy job - it is very stressful. Not for the newbie for sure. I could have only wished that this position had people like you who posted above who would at least recognize a person who has solid experience. Oh well, I guess there is always one in every bunch.