Which One to Hire? Double Bachelors or Single Master's Degree Holder

Hi everyone,

I was actually talking to someone in HR unit yesterday and at the time they were discussing about two shortlisted job applicants - one holds two Bachelors degrees since he did a double-degree course at uni while the other girl has a Master's degree and they all just have 1 Bachelor's degree that's directly related to the new position (the other Bachelor's degree held by the male applicant and the Master's degree of the female applicant have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the position/sector) plus neither of them has any relevant prior work experience or industry training, and the position itself is fairly entry-level with little chance for further promotion down the track.

Considering all other background details are roughly the same between the two applicants, if it's your responsibility to make a decision as to which one you'd hire, what would be your choice and why?

The senior HR staff looking after the hiring process for this position seems to prefer the male applicant since she thinks the female applicant with the Master's degree won't stay in the job for too long and will probably move on once the economic conditions make some drastic improvements, so her conclusion is that the female applicant is only here for the short-term (the sake of having a job at these difficult times).

Look forward to hearing all your responses.

Regards.

 

Why are you asking us to make your hiring decisions for you?

 

not enough information to respond accurately. But since you asked.

I would be inclined to look at when the degrees were completed that were directly related to the position. If the position has a positive education requirement the individual who graduated first would have more years of experience utilizing the relevant degree skills (assuming they actually learned something in the program) and potentially could be the better candidate. (however not all programs are created equal)

A masters degree should indicate relevant skills in research and higher thinking of a critical nature which goes to problem solving, but without looking at the degree and course content it would be difficult to evaluate.


I know that when I review staffing plans of potential offerors I take in to account both type and level of degree. Graduate degree holders, regardless of degree title, show a different level of commitment and in my opinion demonstrate the individuals are capable of long term goal achievement.

 

But where is the wisdom in shortlisting such a candidate for an entry-level position with little opportunity for advancement? Barring some special circumstances, it's more than likely they'll go somewhere else once they find a better opportunity.

 

Actually I am not making any decisions in this case since I don't work in the company's HR unit, but the issue just came up during a chat with our HR personnel, so I posted the situation above and thought it would be interesting to know what would fellow forum members do under this circumstance?

Regards.

 

Thanks mate. I see your point and it is a valid one, but to a degree I also agree with the senior HR officer's concern as I wrote in the original post.

 

That's exactly why our senior HR officer has a bit reservation on the female applicant.

However, there are a few others in the HR unit do think the opposite, so they are still deciding.

Regards.

 

I agree - I had too candidates - one with a BS and one with an MBA for a technical position that requried as AS degree. I hired the MBA because he had and demonstated a better understanding of the businesses side of the world as well as the technical side (technical BS degree).

 

Sorry I forgot to add in the earlier post, will try to ask my friend who works in the HR unit as to when they had the degrees awarded, but don't know if he is willing to tell me since that probably violates our privacy protection policies.

Anyway will post those info if I am ever going to be told.

Cheers.

 

Thing is, I'm not sure that either of those comes with much of a guarantee of staying long-term.

Another thing to consider - is the female applicant married (and with kids)? I know things are different in Australia regarding emancipation of women etc, but isn't there still a chance a woman even with a graduate degree might settle long-term for such a position if she intends to focus more on her family? Especially if the company is a kind of place that offers decent long-term job security...

 

Thanks Randell.

I guess interviews will probably play a bigger role under such circumstances, but still good to know your opinion on this matter.

Regards.

 

Actually I am no longer residing in Australia, currently works for a Hong Kong company, but normally based in mainland China (majority in the Beijing office, but also works from the Shanghai office on short-term basis from time to time) with regular business travel to Singapore, Australia and South Korea.

As I heard, they don't really know the martial status of the female applicant but is good-looking if that matters [Though the position isn't related to any face-to-face customer service etc.]

Regards.

 

Good (fair) question.

My thinking was a bit more involved when making my post. Again, not knowing all the facts I don't assume that having any degree automatically means an individual will leave as soon as the grass is greener. Within this forum we often advise folks to dumb down their resumes due to your type of assumption. I take the applicant at face value, I have a vacancy and the applicant applied. If I were hiring and had a concern about an early departure I would address the concern with the applicant and get a read from the response.

Suppose the applicant had dumbed down the resume? The same potential for early departure exists but in the instance posted by the OP the HR folks have an opportunity to address the concern.

The fact that it is an entry level position most likely indicates that there will be overturn regardless of who is placed. Why not hire the person who will provide the most benefit to the organization? Even if it is short term. I have found that opportunities open within an organization for the right person when none existed previously.

 

Xie-xie for the details.

I have no idea what's the role of men and women like in Chinese society today, but I guess the HR staff would know enough to make their own judgements.

 

Very interesting perspective. Thanks a lot for sharing this.

 

1. 2-3 years directly related industry experience 20%
2. Software ability/requirements 15%
3. Adaptability / ability to work in a changing setting 15%
4. Degree correlation to position & peers level 20%
5. Degree in desired filed vs. related vs. other 5%
6. Ranking from interviewers (each) weight = 25%


So rank them 1-10 in each cat.



(A)
1
2
3
4
5
6

(b)
1
2
3
4
5
6


The winner is? - also Comp. range vs. that they want in $$$$

 

example

4. Degree correlation to position & peers level 20%

Grade has % of Bacherlors; % of Masters, % of Assoc, No degree

so maybe weighted

7 = BS or MS
8= MS with 5 years
6= BS with less than 1 year
5= Assoc
3= No degree
2= No high school Dip

Weighed at 20% of the total score

 

So, of the two that got short-listed, one has two bachelor's degrees and one has a bachelor's and a master's, but both the second bachelor's and the master's are in fields irrelevant to the job position. I'm not sure why having irrelevant degrees got these two people short-listed.