Another quick post because I saw 2 great articles on LinkedIn that touch on the same thing as my post from yesterday. Article on titled The Great Unbundling of the University describes the erosion of the University value proposition. Author Alan Jacob, Clyde S. Kilby Professor of English at Wheaton College, writes this about higher education losing their monopoly on knowledge and accreditation:
Who needs a credential when they can use a simple URL to show potential employers not just what they’re capable of but what they have already achieved?
Jacob is referring to the demonstration and validation of skills and abilities employers want. No longer is a list of classes and a high GPA good enough for today’s competitive job market. Companies have been burned too many times by hiring employees who look good on paper but have no ability to do their jobs. (see Academically Adrift) As a result, some companies scrapped the idea of résumés entirely. According to the Wall Street Journal.
Instead of asking for résumés, the New York venture-capital firm [Union Square Ventures] which has invested in Twitter, Foursquare, Zynga and other technology companies—asked applicants to send links representing their “Web presence,” such as a Twitter account or Tumblr blog. Applicants also had to submit short videos demonstrating their interest in the position.
It will be interesting to see how far this trend will go. Any new ways of validating your skill set you’ve used with employers?