LinkedIn anticipates that the way employers hire and job seekers find jobs will change dramatically in the coming years. The popular job-networking site is betting that employers will look beyond traditional entry requirements such as degrees and job titles to focus on an applicant's proven skills in areas such as data analysis, leadership, or storytelling.
Employers themselves have indicated that they would like to move away from degree-based hiring to a more skills-focused approach. While over 80% of employers agree that skills-based hiring is the way forward, more than half still hire college graduates because it appears less risky. This finding was revealed in a survey conducted by workforce development nonprofits, American Student Assistance, and Jobs for the Future last summer.
According to Joseph Fuller, a Management Professor at Harvard Business School, “Skills-based hiring is the great white whale, the holy grail of the labor market.”
LinkedIn has already changed the job market, making it more acceptable for employees to create profiles that allow recruiters to scout – and hire – talented individuals who are not actively looking for another job. LinkedIn CEO Dan Shapero noted that 20 years ago, people were either actively searching for work or not looking for work. Since then, however, the job market has changed dramatically.
LinkedIn celebrated its 20th anniversary last May and it now has more than 930 million members worldwide. It has become a place where both workers and CEOs can celebrate milestones, network, and even air grievances. LinkedIn has significantly impacted how job candidates and companies search for jobs and potential employees.
LinkedIn introduced a skills-matching feature in February, which enables users to see how their own skills align with the ones needed for a particular job. As a result, more than 45% of recruiters on LinkedIn now search for candidates using skills data, according to the company. LinkedIn aims to make the process even more efficient by incorporating artificial intelligence into the platform, improving the match between job seekers and employers.
Skills-focused hiring has long been an objective, as it expands economic opportunities, particularly for those lacking college degrees. However, there has been limited large-scale progress in this direction. Aneesh Raman, LinkedIn's vice president, observed that conversations about skills-based hiring previously lacked input from employers. The tight job market over the last two years has forced employers to reassess their hiring processes, focusing on skills rather than degrees: “Employers are no longer asking: ‘What is this?’ They're asking, ‘How do I do this?’”
However, it is easier said than done. While it is relatively easy to test for technical skills, "soft skills" such as communication and teamwork can be challenging to validate. Harvard's Joseph Fuller claims there is no shared language or standard classification system for skills, increasing the likelihood of mismatches between job posts and resumes.
LinkedIn's wildcard may be its AI capability, which the company aims to leverage from Microsoft's progress in the field. This would enable the site to match overlooked candidates, such as those without a degree or with a criminal history, with potential employers more effectively. "Perhaps the deus ex machina here is AI," Fuller noted.