The Job Posting Skillitizer is a tool that hiring managers and human resources leaders can use to write job descriptions that focus on the skills someone would need to succeed in a role, omitting unnecessary requirements, which could include previous job titles or college degrees.

Designed to help employers implement skills-first hiring and talent management practices, this free online tool, which is maintained and hosted by Education Design Lab, walks users through the process of first identifying the skills and competencies required for the job they’re trying to fill and then incorporating those skills into a job posting. Users just enter a job title into a box, and the Skillitizer auto-populates a series of fields with descriptions of skills and tasks the job is likely to involve. Users can then customize and edit the content the tool created to build a skills-based job posting.

Why Focus on Skills?

Looking at the bigger picture, the Skillitizer can help employers take the first step toward adopting more equitable and inclusive recruiting, hiring, and advancement practices. By focusing on the actual skills a job requires—rather than proxies for skills, like years of experience or degrees that may not really be necessary for a particular role—employers can connect with candidates they might otherwise overlook. This approach can open up new opportunities for the nearly two-thirds of people in this country who don’t have a bachelor’s degree, many of whom are members of populations that have long faced barriers limiting their access to quality jobs.