When Hiring, Bosses Choose Expertise Over EducationIn a new survey, business leaders place more importance on practical skills and knowledge rather than where a candidate got his or her degree

What do you look for in a job applicant? Whether they're creative, decisive, have a genuine enthusiasm for the work, or you're confident they'll fit right in, it's often a combination of qualities and circumstances that tip the scales in one candidate's direction.

But while it certainly pays tograduatefrom college or even earn anadvanced degree, it turns out that a candidate's educational background may not influence a hiring decision as much as you might think.

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In a recentGallup survey, business leaders reported that a potential hire's expertise and skills in their field is more important than what they majored in or where they graduated from college.

Of the 623 leaders polled, 84 percent said that the amount of knowledge an applicant has is "very important" and 79 percent said that "applied skills" were very important, compared to the 28 percent and 9 percent who ascribed the most importance to a candidate's college major and alma mater respectively.

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同时调查美国公众about the same hiring factors, the 1,012 people polled generally agreed with business leaders that knowledge (80 percent) and skills (76 percent) were most important, but put they more weight on college major (47 percent) and school (30 percent).

The data, which was collected as part of Gallup's broader research about how higher education prepares students forthe working worldlines up with how big name companies likeGoogleand others have described their hiring process.

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TELL US: What makes a potential hire stand out to you? Let us know in the comments.