Havre Job Service Employers'
Committee Employer Resource Guide
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Havre Job Service Employers'
Committee Employer Resource Guide
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Guidelines
for Interpreting and Assessing Minimum Qualifications When Screening
Applicants
To ensure that minimum qualifications
(MQ’s) are interpreted in a consistent fashion for all job applicants,
written guidelines should be distributed to all personnel assigned to
this task. The following key issues should be included:
1.
Benefit of the doubt. All
applicants should be given benefit of the doubt whenever
it is uncertain whether they satisfy the MQ’s for a given job
classification, This practice is not intended to give employment to
marginal performers but to defer the final employment decision until a
better assessment can be made, using additional information obtained
from other, probably better, selection devices than
MQ’s, 2.
Equivalencies.
Emphasis should be given to granting applicants the
maximum number of ways...within reason...by which they may satisfy
MQ’s. Applicants should be able to qualify through any combination of
academic courses, vocational training, work experience, volunteer
experience, military experience, or personal experience. When practical
a qualifying examination or a period of trial employment might also
serve as a reasonable indicator that MQ’s have been met. 3.
Definition
of a “course.” For purposes of MQ’s, most courses
may be considered equivalent, regardless of the number of class hours,
duration of the course (e.g. semester, quarter, etc.), credit or
non-credit status, type of educational institution, or accreditation
status of the educational institution. What counts is whether the
relevant knowledge may be acquired from the course. Thus, “courses”
in which certificates of completion are awarded on the basis of a fee
paid, rather than the instruction provided, would not qualify.
Course work from
accredited educational
institutions usually may be accepted at face
value; all other course work should be accepted only with some
additional evidence that the course provided a meaningful educational
experience. Courses for “credit” implies only that the course counts
towards a degree program, rather than that the course is of superior
quality. Therefore, credit or non- credit status of a course should not
in itself be a consideration. 4.
Hours
of training. Formal training given by vocational
schools, employers, or other organizations may not be divided into
courses, as such. Therefore, 80-100 hours of training may be taken as a
rough equivalent of one course. Training received from accredited
schools or major employers in the community usually may be accepted at
face value; other training should generally be verified to ensure its
legitimacy. 5.
Paid
versus unpaid work experience. There is no
reason to treat paid and unpaid work experience differently for MQ
purposes, as long as the information is verifiable. Because women often
have more unpaid work experience than men, the failure to consider this
type of experience may result in sex discrimination. 6.
Personal
experience. Documented personal achievements (e.g.,
awards, publications, patents, etc.) should be accepted as a potential
method by which applicants may satisfy MQ’s. However, because this
kind of information requires more judgment than usual, at least two
evaluators should concur independently that a given applicant meets the
MQ’s. 7.
Equating education and experience. No one formula is really
adequate to educate education and experience. The complexity and level
of the necessary knowledge, skills, or abilities should provide the
major basis for establishing equivalencies. As a general rule, 1 -3
months of experience may be equivalent to one academic course. However,
a given period of experience might substitute for two or more courses
simultaneously. For example, an applicant who had experience as a
manager in government might satisfy educational requirements for both
(1) management and (2) government. |
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