The secret to getting hired—regardless of whether you went to college

CURATED READS FOR GEN Z—AND THEIR Z-CURIOUS COLLEAGUES

Click to get this newsletter weekly

Brought to you by Liz Hilton Segel, chief client officer and managing partner, global industry practices, & Homayoun Hatami, managing partner, global client capabilities

first up

An image linking to the web page “Right skills, right person, right role” on McKinsey.com.

Welcome back! This week, we’re talking about how to leverage skills to get ahead.

When we talk about skills-based hiring—or the idea that you hire someone according to their skills instead of their educational background—it’s often to convince employers that adopting the practice is the best way to fill in-demand roles in a tight labor market. But when it comes to Gen Zers, skills-based hiring may have even greater significance—regardless of whether they went to college.

There’s some data that suggests Gen Zers’ foray into the working world was interrupted by the pandemic. (Obvious? Maybe!) Labor force participation rates for people aged 20 to 24 were lower in September than they were just before the onset of the pandemic. That could be for a variety of reasons, such as the fact that companies paused hiring altogether or deferred hiring for new and recent graduates. Any hiring gains that were made since the beginning of the pandemic have largely dissipated amid economic uncertainty. Gen Zers in China are also struggling as employers cite fears that these new graduates lack the skills necessary to work.

To supercharge their careers, young professionals around the world need every edge they can get. Highlighting their skills, rather than their education credentials alone, may be a key part of the answer.

Consider this: McKinsey research finds that skills developed through work experience contribute greatly to an individual’s total wealth, particularly for people who start out in jobs with lower educational requirements.

The labor market is starting to warm up to the idea of skills-based hiring, too. Recruiters on LinkedIn are five times more likely to search for job candidates by skills rather than degrees, according to data from the social media platform. The number of paid job posts on the platform that don’t require a bachelor’s degree has also increased, particularly for tech and financial-services roles. (Gut check: first, these are job postings and not actual hires; second, there’s still plenty of room for businesses to employ more people without degrees; and three, college degrees still matter!)

How can Gen Zers make themselves attractive to employers while leveraging the skills-based approach? It’s not about having all the skills required to do any given job—just the right skills, as McKinsey partners Bryan Hancock and Brooke Weddle put it in a recent episode of the McKinsey Talks Talent podcast. “People are hiring for the most critical skill of a given role or the hardest-to-find skill of a given role,” says Weddle.

Great! But … which skills matter, exactly? Hancock says generative AI (gen AI) can help someone understand how to fill in the gaps between their background and existing skill set and a new job. Prompting a gen AI platform can also help job seekers plan their own learning and development journey. And if someone is interested in making a job change within their company, they can ask a manager or mentor for suggestions about how to level up through learning courses, which may be provided by or reimbursed through work.

Reminder to employers: taking a risk on someone with potential is a good thing, even if there’s a gap between a Gen Zer’s current skill set and a job’s prerequisites. Developing individuals through learning and coaching can lower attrition rates, a win–win all around.

VISUALIZE IT

Women with typically marginalized identities, such as women of color and women with disabilities, endure more frequent slights at work, according to the latest Women in the Workplace report from McKinsey and LeanIn.Org.