Credentials and the Hiring Process: What You Need to Know

For hiring professionals, finding the right fit as soon as possible can significantly improve not only hiring efficiency but also overall business success. In fact, replacing an employee can cost anywhere from one-half to two times the employee’s annual salary. 

‍That’s why credentials matter to so many employers. They’re a mark of a candidate’s qualifications, which can indicate the skills they will bring to your team. However, simply requiring certain credentials is only one part of an effective hiring process. 

In this guide, we’ll explore what role credentials should play in the hiring process and how to leverage them successfully. 

How should credentials influence the hiring process?

Public discourse and employer opinions about credentials have changed over time, especially in the face of recent recessions and eras of economic uncertainty. While credentials are still essential for many positions, some industries place less importance on degrees and other certifications in favor of a holistic, skills-based approach to hiring. In fact, one in three companies has dropped a bachelor's degree requirement in recent years.

While credentials are still often crucial, they might not adequately represent a candidate's well-roundedness. In your hiring process, balance credentials with other elements, such as professional experience. 

Best Practices for Leveraging Credentials

1. Prioritize Specific Credentials

Not all credentials hold the same weight. Establish internal credential priorities to streamline the hiring process and engage the most qualified candidates. Here are some tips for prioritizing credentials:

• Determine required versus preferred qualifications. Depending on the role, some credentials are only nice to have, while others are absolutely necessary. Research popular qualifications and delineate their importance on your hiring materials and to your hiring team.
• Develop an alternative scoring method. Some employers use fixed scoring to make informed, data-driven recruiting decisions. Weigh important qualifications more than nice-to-have ones and set a scoring threshold candidates must meet to move on in the hiring process. This ensures candidates with diverse skills can be considered. 
• Consistently research new credentials. Qualifications and credentials are consistently evolving. Pay attention to hiring trends and overarching industry norms to ensure your list of credentials is up to date.

When prioritizing credentials, take multiple opinions into account. Consult people across different departments and influence levels. That way, you’ll have an accurate picture of the most useful credentials for your needs.

2. Verify Credentials

Over 75% of workers have admitted to lying on a resume. Hiring candidates with falsified credentials can undermine your recruitment efforts and negatively impact your brand’s employer brand.

‍That’s why credential verification should be a priority. This process prevents false credentials from impacting your hiring results, guaranteeing a more qualified talent pool. 

Once you’ve determined the credentials needed for a given role, get started with this process by working with a credential verification service or platform like Credivera. They will handle all the hard work for you, such as:

• Validating certifications and degrees in real-time
• Cross-referencing employment history
• Checking credential expiration dates
• Highlighting discrepancies
• Generating compliance reports for external use
• Keeping verifications live, with ongoing checks from a growing network of issuers

Research available credential verification services and request a demo. Ensure the chosen partner can support your present needs and scale with your future growth goals. 

3. Research New or Alternative Credentials

As previously mentioned, classic credentials like a college degree are important but are also losing some influence in certain hiring sectors. To engage and secure the best talent, you must stay informed of hiring trends and adjust your strategies, such as credentialing, as needed. In other words, if candidates or other organizations in your niche increasingly favor certain credentials, it’s worth looking into them.

Here are some emerging or alternative types of credentials to consider supplementing your hiring approach with: 

• Micro-credentials. Consider certifications from short-term training programs focused on a specific skill set, such as data analytics or coding.
• Soft skills credentials. Look into accepting credentials for soft skills, such as leadership or conflict resolution. 
• Global certifications. If your organization operates internationally, research credentials from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which governs best practices for industries worldwide.

To discover new credentials and certifications, monitor talent acquisition metrics, such as how often certain credentials appear on candidate resumes. Also, ask candidates for feedback on your hiring process and their suggestions for which credentials to add or remove as priorities going forward. Ensure you configure your hiring tools to report this information effectively.

4. Measure and Refine Your Approach

As with any recruitment process, you’ll need to evaluate how you leverage credentials regularly to engage the best candidates. Using your recruiting data and technology, answer the following questions and track these recommended metrics from the hiring professionals at Lever with your team:

• Which credentials are the most popular amongst candidates?
  
  • Associated metric: Frequency of credentials per talent pool
• Does having credentials correlate with higher performance?
  
  • Associated metric: Quality of credentialed hires
• Are we effectively engaging credentialed candidates?
  
  • Associated metric: Offer acceptance rate, application completion rate, and funnel conversion rate

In addition to talent acquisition data, also monitor data specific to vetting credentials. Analyze your investment in the credentialing process by comparing budget efficiency and candidate quality. If you aren’t getting the desired results, it might indicate that you should find a more efficient solution, whether that’s updating your credential requirements or investing in new credential verification services. 

Now that you understand the importance of credentials, you can decide the role they’ll play in your talent acquisition strategy. Whatever qualifications specific jobs require, remember that assessing candidates holistically is best for bolstering your employer brand, talent pool, and long-term success as an organization.

About the Author

Stephanie Sparks, Director of Content Marketing at Employ

As Director of Content Marketing & Social at Employ, Stephanie leverages 17 years of marketing and communications experience, and her master’s degree in marketing, communication studies, and advertising, to craft compelling content across the JazzHR, Lever, Jobvite, and NXTThing RPO brands. She is a thought leader for the HR technology and talent acquisition space.