Like our site's new design? In April 2023, Circa was acquired by Mitratech.
Learn More

Which BQ equivalency should prominently display in the job post?

Carrie H. - July 19, 2016
Back to Ask the Experts

What is the correct way to display the basic qualifications (BQ) of the job in the listing/posting when there are education/experience equivalencies for the position? (Ex. Bachelor’s and 2 years of experience or High School Diploma and 8 years of experience.)

The requisition creation platforms (both Peoplefluent and LJN) have a drop-down menu for “Required Education” and a separate drop-down for “Required Experience.” These drop-downs do not account for an equivalency and each specifically say “Required.” The use of the word “Required” could mean the minimum education and the minimum experience, which technically could each be from a different equivalency (ex. High School and 2 years – rather than High School and 8 years). I know we need to pick a full equivalency and use the whole requirement, but which one?

Considering these are “equivalencies” I do not think that one set of education/experience is better than the other, however the degree might be the preference of the manager. If we display the Bachelor’s degree, we could inadvertently push qualified High School with experience candidates away because they think they need a degree. If we list High School as the education (because it is the minimum) then we may miss out on qualified college educated applicants who do not want to review and apply to a position that seemingly only requires a high school education.

I researched 14 other Federal Contractor job postings on the NC Works state job board. Only eight used equivalencies. Seven of those indicated the degree as the “required” education which displayed at the top of the post, with the full equivalency detail being spelled out further down in the post. Only one Contractor listed High School as the required education, when there was a college degree equivalency. The other six Contractors don’t appear to use equivalencies. (Which makes me wonder what they do when someone awesome applies with great experience that doesn’t have the degree.)

From the standpoints of 1) equal opportunity / barrier prevention and 2) OFCCP compliance – what do you advise Contractors to do if they are forced to pick a BQ for display? Thanks in advance!

1 Answer

Our Experts

Comprised of former OFCCP directors and respected thought leaders in OFCCP compliance, affirmative action, and EEO.

Ahmed Younies

President and CEO, HR Unlimited, Inc.

Alissa Horvitz, Esq.

Member Attorney, Roffman Horvitz, PLC

Allen Hudson, PHR, SHRM-CP

CEO, HudsonMann

Bill Osterndorf

Principal Consultant, DCI Consulting Group, Inc

Carla Irwin, Esq.

President, Carla Irwin & Associates, Inc.

Craig Leen

Board Member, Circa

David Cohen

President and Founder, DCI Consulting

Ellen Shong-Bergman

Former Director, OFCCP and Retired President, Ellen Shong & Associates,

Josh Roffman, Esq.

Managing Attorney, Roffman Horvitz, PLC

Lisa Kaiser, Esq.

Lawyer, The Kaiser Law Group, PLLC

Marilynn L. Schuyler, Esq.

Senior Counsel, Seyfarth Shaw

Matt Nusbaum

Senior Consultant, Director, Biddle Consulting Group, Inc.

Stephanie Stahr

Senior HR Consultant, Berkshire Associates

William E. Doyle, Jr., Esq.

Former Deputy Director, OFCCP Partner, McGuireWoods LLP

Zoe Ann Whitley

Manager, Consulting Services, Affirmity

Skip to content