Why Credentials are Useless and How to Spot Capable People Who Genuinely Love Their Jobs

If you’re choosing a surgeon, a diploma from Harvard Medical School is certainly reassuring. But when hiring a sales rep or a programmer, credentials aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.

Don’t get me wrong — many of the best people I’ve worked with have great credentials. But the opposite is also true: Many of the best people I’ve worked with don’t have solid credentials. So if you shouldn’t let an impressive pedigree sway you, how can you evaluate potential hires? I find that the best traits to look for are capability, passion, and culture fit.

Why Capability Is More Important Than Credentials

A list of credentials shows how well a person can maneuver through a bureaucratic system, but it’s a poor predictor of success. Above all else, you want someone who can do a job. Your customers won’t care if your developer went to MIT or worked at Microsoft. They just care that your product or service is a good one.

In a New York Times interview with Laszlo Bock, the senior vice president of people operations at Google, Bock detailed the findings of years’ worth of hiring data. One interesting finding from Google was that GPAs “are worthless as a criteria for hiring, and test scores are worthless.” Google used to ask for transcripts, GPAs, and test scores, but as a result of that finding, they don’t do that anymore.

Rather than being influenced by an applicant’s alma mater or past employer, Google suggests you look at what that person has actually done. This is best identified via behavioral interviewing questions that start with statements like, “Tell me about a time when….” This will let the candidate tell you about a time he spearheaded an ambitious project or implemented a new process that led to an impressive number of sales. These past performances are much more telling than a line on his résumé; someone who’s excelled in a similar role will likely be able to do it again.

Passion Is Powerful

In addition to hiring someone who can get the job done, you should always strive to hire people who are passionate about what they do. People who are passionate are going to work as hard as they can and take pride in performing well. Money isn’t usually the key motivator for them.

If you hire someone because she has already proven she can do the job, it’s important to make sure she’s still passionate about that role. Some people like to move on after solving a problem once, and if they’ve done something before, they no longer feel challenged or engaged enough to care. That’s why you need to make sure that passion is still alive.

Assessing Passion and Capability

Passion is very hard to evaluate, but here are some approaches I’ve found useful for judging passion and capability in a candidate:

1. A passionate person will be able to demonstrate her love for the craft. Have her explain something to you in five minutes. A passionate person will do this easily, and you’ll learn something about her communication skills.
2. To test for capability, ask the candidate to complete a short project for pay. You’ll see how he operates and whether he can do the work.
3. Have the candidate write you a letter telling you why he wants to work for you. Put no restrictions on length or content. You’ll be amazed at what you learn about his motivation.
4. When you check references, listen closely. A former colleague or supervisor who doesn’t have much good to say will talk in generalities. A reference with a high opinion will be very specific about the person.

Why Culture Fit Matters

After you’ve assessed capability and passion, it’s time to reverse the focus and consider how potential employees will fit into your company’s culture. Up until now, you’ve probably been thinking of the candidate only in relation to the specific position that’s open. But this person has to work with other people. Will he be able to do that?

Young companies today aren’t just letting culture happen; they are actively creating the environments they want. To sustain them, they expect new hires to contribute to their culture.

HubSpot, for example, publishes its Culture Code. HubSpot gives its people goals, not directions. It expects employees to share knowledge. It wants them to try and fail, rather than not try. This is a company for a very specific kind of worker.

Buffer, the social media app company, has made its internal operations very transparent, to the point of publishing the salaries of all its employees. Would you be comfortable with this? Some people will fit in this kind of organization — some won’t.

At Zapier, the company I started, we demonstrate our culture by blogging about how we work. We’ve written about managing remote teams and building culture in a remote setting, for example. Writing about our work helps potential new teammates determine whether they would like Zapier.

These are all things to consider when looking for new hires, and communicating culture should be part of an open, two-way dialogue that allows you to really get to know the candidate. A list of credentials will tell you a person can work the system, but it doesn’t mean he or she will be able to do the job you’re hiring for. It’s more important to find people who are capable, passionate, and a good fit for your company.