Many employers still rely on education to predict job performance. If successful new hires in your field must come with a college degree, then our job fair preparation and college-recruitment strategies can come in handy. But is this always the best hiring strategy? What would happen if you looked beyond the “education” box?

Many a psychological study shows that college grades do not correlate to job performance at all. Yet countless organizations still require college degrees for their positions, prioritizing education above soft skills or even years of experience in the same industry or position.

So let’s think about that logically for a moment. Who might have the most demonstrated chance of success in an entry-level publishing job: Hannah, who has no degree but has been successfully editing manuscripts for a decade, or Karina, who has a bachelor’s degree in book publishing but has never edited a real manuscript in her life? Sometimes common sense must prevail.

So when you hire your next candidate, consider these factors beyond education:

• Experience. Just because a candidate lacks a degree doesn’t mean they lack commitment or knowledge. It can be better to hire a candidate who understands the business in practice instead of theory. And we all know a college degree isn’t required to succeed in the business world—Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, Walt Disney, and scores of other hugely successful professionals never completed a college degree.
• Leadership. Is this candidate a natural leader, able to guide and influence others to achieve a desired outcome, no matter what their title or role? 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. The desire and ability to learn may be the most critical trait to seek in a new hire, and it is not readily determined by formal education. Lifelong learners are motivated, passionate, and eager to better themselves and their companies. They are the ones who will step in to cover the skills gaps we see so often these days. 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 ask what skills a candidate has recently learned, how they learned them, and what drove them to learn those skills.

Although a college degree isn’t the be-all and end-all of a successful employee, it does show that a candidate was in a position to commit to and afford four or more years of voluntary education. The real question to ask when considering education in a new hire might be: Would you want any exceptional candidate to pass you by if they had all the knowledge, skills, and experience to propel the company forward?