Considering job seekers’ four-year degrees as the main signals that they are good candidates is the old school approach, according to Edie Goldberg, founder and president, E.L. Goldberg & Associates.

WorkingNation sat down with Goldberg at SHRM 2022 Annual Conference & Expo in New Orleans.

She says companies need to also consider the credentials that someone has obtained. “What that does for a company is it opens up the pool of talent that you might be looking at.”

Goldberg continues, “Maybe somebody doesn’t have a four-year college degree, but they have the exact skills that you’re looking for. That is far more important than just having a generic college degree that somebody doesn’t have those specific technical skills that you’re looking for.”

“HR leaders, professionals need to shift their mindset and stop thinking about somebody as a box that we call their job – and thinking about all the skills and abilities an individual has and can bring to the company table that help them to be successful,” she says.Learn more about E.L. Goldberg & Associates.