Stop hiring for CVs, start hiring for capability

A few years ago, a friend of mine hired a candidate who, on paper, was exceptional. First-class degree from a reputable Nigerian university, a Master’s degree from abroad, and other notable certifications. Within six months, the new hire could not lift a pin without seeking his team’s support. He struggled to adapt when their business plans shifted, and his reports said very little. After failed appraisals and performance improvement plans (PIPs) which yielded insignificant results, he was eventually eased out. Later, he was replaced with another candidate with lesser qualifications who rebuilt the function within one year.

This is not in any way insinuating that graduates with first-class degrees from reputable universities represent the above. There are exceptionally intelligent graduates with similar credentials that also deliver outstanding results. However, the above plays out in many organisations across Nigeria, yet we have not changed how we hire.

Our hiring culture did not develop its obsession with certificates by accident. For decades, academic qualifications were a reliable sorting mechanism in a labour market flooded with candidates and short on structured assessment processes. When you cannot easily verify what someone can do, you default to a degree from a recognised institution or a CV that lists prestigious previous employers. In the past, that was reliable, but it no longer is.

Our economy has changed. The nature of work has changed. The pace at which industries evolve, disrupted by technology, regulation, and global competition, means that what a candidate studied five years ago is often less relevant than how quickly they can think, adapt, and execute today. Yet, most Nigerian organisations are still using a 20th-century hiring model to solve a 21st-century growth problem.

Nigeria produces hundreds of thousands of graduates annually. Yet, we struggle to find people who can think critically under pressure, manage complexity without constant supervision, communicate clearly across levels, and drive outcomes rather than activity. They are built through experience, disposition, and intentional development. Those are skills businesses need to scale.

That is why when we over-index on credentials, we filter out a significant portion of the talent pool that possesses these qualities in abundance, while admitting candidates who have learned to perform well in selection processes but underdeliver in the role. We see the cost of this error in missed targets, failed expansion plans and unproductive teams.

Capability shows up as problem-solving: the ability to identify the real issue, not just the presenting symptom, and to move toward a solution with the information available. It shows up as adaptability, the willingness to recalibrate when circumstances change, without losing momentum. It shows up as initiative in people who do not wait to be told what needs to be done. It shows up in execution: the discipline to follow through, not just to start well.

Successful organisations that have confronted this challenge have restructured their hiring around competency frameworks, structured behavioural interviews, and skills-based assessments. They have deliberately de-emphasised degree requirements for roles where the correlation between qualification and performance is weak. The results, in retention, performance, and diversity of thought, have been significant.

More importantly, talent strategy is growth strategy. The organisations that will capture market share, attract investment, and build resilience over the next decade are not simply the ones with the best products or the funds. They are the ones that consistently put the right people in the right roles, people who can think, adapt, lead, and deliver. That begins at the point of hire.

As executives, we own this problem whether we have acknowledged it or not. Leaving hiring to instinct, tradition, or a checklist of qualifications is a strategic abdication.

Start with the job specification. Most of our job adverts lead with degree requirements and years of experience as proxies for what the role actually demands. Rewrite them around outcomes. What does success look like in this role in the first 90 days, the first year? What decisions will this person need to make? What challenges will they face?

Assessment tools, work samples, case exercises, and psychometric assessments are not infallible, but they provide a more objective signal than a CV can. More Nigerian businesses need to build this into their selection process as standard practice, not as an afterthought for senior roles.

As executives, we have an opportunity and an obligation to hire differently. To look beyond the familiar signals and invest in the harder, more rewarding work of identifying genuine talent. The organisations that get this right will not just grow. They will grow with the right people to sustain it.

About the writer:

Deborah Yemi-Oladayo is the managing director of Proten International, a leading HR consulting firm in Nigeria, specialising in talent acquisition, employee outsourcing, learning and development, and HR advisory services. Email: [email protected]