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Ask HN: How to highlight talent from untraditional backgrounds?

6 points by etherus ↗ HN
Exceptional people come from many places. Really good generalists seem to come from very eclectic backgrounds, and hiring (and other) systems seem to implicitly filter a lot of this. What are some ways to find this sort of ability and cultivate it?

6 comments

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ayorke
I also wonder this, I believe one way this could be solved is by digital footprint, I highly believe this is the way things will shift. Not fully by social currency (follower count etc..), I mean it could matter, but by what you post online and how. Like for example, if you are a hardware engineer can I find you on common hardware threads posting your projects, builds and engaging in other thoughtful discussions related to it? This will make a huge difference.
taurath
You start looking at what people have done, not their credentials. Drop the still implicit requirement for college degrees. People who have untraditional backgrounds have often gone through stuff that makes the standard path far more difficult or impossible. Make interviews be about how people think. Give them problems to solve, see how they approach them, not checks on whether they completed Algorithms courses.

You also don't want to go off of follower count - all that signals is you can get attention, not that you can work with others.

doubleg72
College degrees are still important. Even the online ones show that someone has set out to accomplish something and stuck with it over multiple years.
taurath
College is the ultimate traditional background, so in the thread of untraditional backgrounds it’s kinda moot though.
blemis
when i hire people, i look for one thing.. are they smart... period.. end of story. if they pass what i think is smart ( and yes its subjective), the you start to drill down into experience, personality, etc. Smart people apply what they have learned to a variety of skills, and are willing to learn more. You can find them anywhere.. one of the best hires i ever found was in an ice cream shop.. she became one of the best PMs i ever had.. We put so many people into silos, sometimes the solution is staring you right in the face!!