Degree inflation. It’s why college graduates are working at McDonald’s—because their degrees aren’t as rare as they once were. In fact, a record number of young Americans (more than one third) hold at least a bachelor’s degree, with all types of degrees earned on the rise. When it comes to job requirements, a bachelor’s degree is the new high-school diploma, and a masters’ degree is the new bachelor’s. It has gotten tougher for non-degreed workers to find good jobs because employers still use education as a solid predictor of job performance. But is it?

Plenty of psychological studies have shown that job performance in no way correlates to college grades. Yet countless organizations require college degrees for their positions—so strong is this conviction that even years of experience in the same field or position can’t bridge the gap. And which candidate would logic dictate has better knowledge of how to succeed in the position?

So maybe education isn’t the best way to prune your candidate pool. Instead, try looking for:

• Experience. All the know-how your candidate needs can come from on-the-job experience. Just because they lack education doesn’t mean they lack brains or knowledge! It can be better to hire a candidate with an understanding of the business, especially if they have already earned time in the field. And we all know a college degree isn’t required to succeed in the business world—Steve Jobs (Apple), Richard Branson (Virgin), Michael Dell (Dell Computers), and scores of other hugely successful professionals never walked on graduation day.
• Leadership. That is, leadership as a trait, not necessarily as a previously held role, like president of the AV Club. Can this candidate guide and influence others to achieve a desired outcome, no matter what their title or role? And on the flip side, can this candidate recognize when someone else would be better suited to take the lead? The ability to step up and lead is a key indicator of success at any level of the organization.
• Learning. Wanting and being able to learn may be the most critical trait to seek in a new hire. Learners are motivated, passionate, and eager to better themselves and their companies. They are the ones who will step in to cover skills gaps. And while this trait might not be immediately apparent from a resume, it can be fleshed out with practical interview questions. Ask how a candidate tackled a project when they were given little tools or background information. You can also directly ask what skills a candidate has learned recently, and what drove them to learn those skills.

You can use college education to whittle down your candidate pool, but degree inflation has dampened the value of that education. What you can still tell from a degree: that candidate was in a position to commit to and afford four years of voluntary education. And while those aren’t bad things, they certainly aren’t everything. The real question to ask when considering education in a new hire is, Would you want any exceptional candidate to pass you by if they had all the knowledge, skills, and experience to propel the company forward?