This week Solink was invited to share some thoughts on the importance–or irrelevance–of formal education when hiring for the best candidates. The Ottawa Citizen’s Andrew Duffy was enticed to write about the changing attitude of tech startups towards the value of post-secondary degrees because of a tweet sent out by local CEO Tobi Ltke, who stated that Shopify has begun to ‘completely ignore’ academic credentials when choosing candidates.
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“What can’t be learned in school is a person’s innate approach to teamwork, goals, critical thinking, problem solving and community participation.” -Cory Michalyshyn, Solink CFO
Solink’s CFO Cory Michalyshyn was asked to comment, stating for the article:“Credentials can be an aspect of a candidate’s experience, but we find that real-world experience, motivation, personality and culture fit are more relevant and carry greater weight in our decision making. The concept of education is changing: A person can educate themselves on a huge array of technical skills. What can’t be learned in school is a person’s innate approach to teamwork, goals, critical thinking, problem solving and community participation.”
“Some of our most valuable teammates were chosen because of their vibe, energy, and motivation, even if they had not graduated from post-secondary.” -Erin Bailey, Solink Culture Developer
Erin Bailey, Solink’s Recruiter and Culture Developer, added her two cents to the discussion during a tete-a-tete between peers here at the office:
“We really believe that fresh, relevant, and unique experience tells us a lot more about what to expect from a candidate than their formal education. We like to allow for experience over education in our job postings, and encourage candidates to present themselves in a unique way so that we can really see their soft skills, personality, and drive to succeed. Some of our most valuable teammates were chosen because of their vibe, energy, and motivation, even if they had not graduated from post-secondary, or were only newly graduated.”
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