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You may have seen some job postings include wording along the lines of “we don’t care about where you went to school.” Believe it or not, in our experience they actually mean it. Long gone are the days of only having a shot at a career if you can depend on alumni connections. In our mind this shift makes total sense for a variety of reasons. Not only do companies have better access to top talent, but candidates will feel more confident about being taken seriously from the beginning.
We certainly aren't saying University is a waste of time, there are so many incredible lessons you will learn, friends you will make and differences of opinion you will have to get comfortable with, but here are some reasons we look beyond the degree:
1. Intelligence does not always University
There are millions of brilliant, hardworking potential candidates out there that would be fantastic for a role that have not been given the opportunity to pursue a degree in their chosen field at a top-tier university. Maybe they were busy supporting their families, decided community college was a better bang for their buck or were unable to afford to move from home. Only about ⅓ of adults in America have a degree from a 4-year university program, which leaves a massive chunk of talent left untapped. These candidates are capable of being the perfect fit, and we find they usually work a whole lot harder.
2. There are many (many) paths to take
Who really knows what they want to do at 18 years old and doesn't stray from that path? Crypto is so new most of us didn't even know about it when we went to college (unless you’re Jack Mallers). We have met so many incredible people involved in crypto and fintech that have wildly diverse professional backgrounds. Nurses that move into software development, veterans moving into marketing, psych students turning into crypto policy nerds- we love to see it. We don’t think there is one path to get to the same place, and we certainly don’t think one path is more valuable than another. As long as you have the skills, your differences in experience will make you more marketable and valuable.
3. More (often better) candidates may apply
The traditional application structure significantly limits candidates that apply. Some candidates feel so much imposter syndrome that if they don’t fit one tiny requirement (but have 15 other talents) they don’t feel comfortable applying. There are huge numbers of untapped, fantastic candidates out there that aren't applying for the jobs that they deserve! When you include language around being comfortable with different professional and academic backgrounds you will find people you didn’t even know you needed.
If you’re a hiring manager you’re probably rolling your eyes right now and saying you get enough applicants that don’t have the qualifications, you don’t need more. We get it! That’s why working with a recruiter can be helpful, we go through all the applicants and only bring you the ones we feel confident you will be interested in. Get the benefit of expanding your reach and investing your precious time elsewhere with a crypto-focused recruitment firm (that’s us… just saying).