Re. resumes and credentials

[Geoff Hart <geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA>]

     The need for a proof of skills represents a timely
     discussion. _Canadian Business_ (Sept. 1995 issue)
     calls this "creeping credentialism", and they make
     the same point we've already made here: academic
     credentials are meaningless if they aren't
     accompanied by skill, and skill doesn't require
     credentials.

     The problem then becomes simple <sarcastic grin>:
     to evaluate people based on their skills. But as
     we've already noted in two related threads,
     there's a nasty catch-22 here: if you get 300
     applicants, how do you weed them down to a
     manageable number without using some screening
     factor? You could test each applicant somehow, but
     that means an enormous task (300 tests) that most
     employers can't undertake or some form of
     certification (e.g., something like a SAT test)...
     which brings us full circle. Moreover, testing may
     be grounds for a lawsuit if an applicant can prove
     that the test was discriminatory.

     Thus, I pose the following problem: How can we
     determine someone's competence quickly and
     reliably without resorting to "creeping
     credentialism?" To head off one likely response,
     let me qualify this: portfolios and personal
     references are probably not the solution because
     you still have to deal with dozens or hundreds of
     portfolios and references. The solution must be
     both fair (based on applicant's skill rather than
     credentials) and effective at separating the wheat
     from the chaff! Reward for solving this problem?
     The gratitude of employers and applicants
     everywhere! <grin>

     FYI, one interesting (but impractical) approach
     that I've seen was a job ad that took the form of
     riddle or problem to be solved. I don't remember
     the details, but the bottom line was that you
     would have had a tough time figuring out how to
     apply for the job if you weren't qualified for the
     position. I'm calling this approach impractical
     because I've no idea how to write such an
     advertisement for most situations. Perhaps write
     the ad in engineer-speak so that only skilled
     techwhirlers accomplished in engineer-to-english
     translation need apply? <grin>

     --Geoff Hart    @8^{)}
     geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca

     Disclaimer: If I didn't commit it in print in one
     of our reports, it don't represent FERIC's
     opinion.