Tom Mathews on the value of different skill sets

Industry leaders discuss initiatives and ideas at SHRM 2022 Annual Conference & Expo – Cause the Effect
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“There’s always been this bias that a college experience brings something different than a non-college experience,” says Tom Mathews, president, TMathewsHR, LLC.

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

“I think there has been a shift in the minds of many HR organizations that the college degree is important in certain places, but skills and knowledge and experiences really bring a different set of valuable things to the organization and certain candidates bring those. And perhaps not a college degree,” says Mathews.

He adds, “I think there’s plenty of work to still be done. There are certain recruiting organizations and HR organizations that still have some bias, whether they understand it or not. There are some hiring managers that still have certain hiring biases, whether they know it or not.”

“I clearly believe that there is a shift in mindset to considering people with other types of credentialing. Whether it’s experience, whether it’s certifications, whether it’s military backgrounds. I think that’s going to be to the benefit of many organizations to broaden that lens.”