TL;DR Stellarworx is a new-ish, non-EA database of skilled US job seekers without traditional degrees. Why not try it out?!
(Note: I am not affiliated with this organization. It's early stage. I'm not vouching for it being stellar already; it seems like a very good idea, so I'm hoping it will be! I want EAs to know it exists and consider participating).
Opportunities@Work is a US non-profit working to help people overcome credentialist barriers to employment. They estimate that the US labor force includes 70M underemployed people who are Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs) --community college, on the job training, partial college, self-teaching, etc. STAR candidates are disproportionately underemployed, rural, veterans, and/or people of color. They opt in to a talent matching database called Stellarworx: https://stellarworx.org
The database allows employers to search for specific skills among candidates, list open positions or grants, and be matched with candidates via a matching algorithm.
Employers & Grantmakers
If you'd like, take a moment to bookmark this site: https://stellarworx.org.
Maybe add it to your list of databases where you post open roles, or check if any of your current openings might be a good fit for the database. It's likely best for roles that don't require pre-existing EA knowledge and/or when you are seeking candidates from demographics that are underrepresented in your current hiring pool.
Recruiters I talk with often acknowledge that university credentials are a useful proxy for employability, but degrees are not the only path that skilled, altruistic people take into the workplace. Recruiters would prefer to be able to easily identify strong candidates who have not gone to university, but that is harder to do. While a lot of EA projects are looking for people familiar with EA, not all positions require EA knowledge.
Consider becoming a Skillworx member and posting jobs there as a low-cost way to support values that you may want to see more of in the hiring marketplace.
If you love the idea, you might also consider nudging someone to create a database like this or a sub-category for this kind of talent pool within EA hiring databases.
Job seekers
If you're a Forum reader without traditional credentials, try listing yourself in this database where recruiters are looking for people like you! You may get connected with recruiters who are familiar with resumes like yours. You may also get advice and valuable warm fuzzies from being part of a network that tailors resources to your unique needs as a job seeker. Moral support from people who face similar challenges can be very useful during the trudge of a job hunt and need not come solely from EA sources!
I don't know how many jobs of interest are likely to come from this newish database, but if this tool could help you, I hope you'll seriously consider it, even if it doesn't have EA job listings. If you apply for or take a job from the database and do well, you'll help the reputation this type of project, which I expect has a mission you feel good about.
I happen to think EAs working at non-EA orgs is often quite good for the person and for the EA ecosystem. If you're a non-traditional hire, you may prefer taking fewer risks with your career than most EA advice advises. Being fully employed rather than underemployed is certainly quite good for most people's well-being, family, future financial health, and future donation or career contributions. If you value creating connections between non-EA professional networks and EA professional networks (I do), you may also find opportunities to do that.
If anyone acts on this post, I'd be interested to hear what came of it!
