I was amused to read neighboring articles about the credentials of college graduates and drug-sniffing dogs in the New York Times this morning (February 20, 2013). Both articles asserted that a credential of completing a degree was adequate to define competence for a task, or, as Justice Kagan declared, “A sniff is up to snuff when it meets that test.”

In the case of the drug-sniffing dog, the dog’s behavior was probable cause for searching a truck, even though the driver had been stopped for an expired license plate.  The truck concealed a cache of ingredients for methamphetamine. Justice Kagan argued that “the dog’s substantial training and certification” established his competence to justify a search. Good dog, Aldo!

The subsequent article noticed a trend toward hiring college graduates for jobs that previously did not require a degree:

Across industries and geographic areas, many other jobs that didn’t used to require a diploma–positions like dental hygienists, cargo agents, clerks and claims adjusters–are increasingly requiring one, according to Burning Glass, a company that analyzes job ads from more than 20,000 online sources, including major job boards and small-to-midsize-employer sites.

This trend has the benefit of putting more college graduates to work and the downside of keeping the less educated out of work. The Times noted that unemployment for high school graduates is 8.1 percent, while 3.7 percent of college graduates are unemployed.

Like Aldo, the drug-sniffing dog, college graduates are recognized as possessing initiative and discipline merely for gaining the paper credential of a bachelor’s degree.  Whether their degree shows aptitude for the legal profession or insurance underwriting is not a primary consideration, just as Aldo was not required to display a track record of drug-sniffing success to provide grounds for a search of a suspect’s car.

The larger issue is whether a paper credential proves your qualifications more than a proven aptitude for a task.  Credentials are probably over-rated in that they are not evidence of success on a particular task. On the other hand, most credentials are evidence of persistence over time, rather than a single performance, which could be a random success.  Drug-sniffing is an acquired skill and so are taking notes, drafting a document or analyzing data to draw conclusions.  Even if you are reasonably competent to perform these tasks, you are probably qualified for entry-level sniffing or greeting customers at the reception desk.

So your college major or relevant internships may not be your best qualification for a job. Your completion of a four-year program in something-or-other could qualify you for entry-level work.

Ultimately trusting the sniff of a dog or hiring an employee is an act of faith. We can’t know for sure we have hired the right dog or college graduate. We have to rely on our instincts along with the credential presented for the job. But that is what employers do: sniff out the best candidate and then bark their approval. Good choice! Good employer!