I CONTINUE to see people equate being qualified with having the capacity to do the job well. This thinking is misguided. The fact that employers interview candidates, who already have the required qualifications and experience is itself proof that having paper qualifications alone does not mean someone can perform the job well.
If qualifications and years of experience were enough, we would hire people based only on what is written on their curriculum vitae.
There is a widespread assumption that the more qualified or experienced someone is, the better they will perform. In theory, this sounds logical. In practice, it is deeply flawed.
Research has consistently shown that once a person meets the basic requirements for a job, additional qualifications or more years of experience contribute very little to their actual performance. If education and experience automatically led to better performance, every highly- educated or long-serving employee would be outstanding. But in reality, many people with impressive credentials fail to deliver results when it matters most.
We have all seen employees, who hold multiple degrees but cannot make sound decisions or solve practical problems. Similarly, some long-serving employees are simply repeating the same year of experience many times over rather than growing with the job.
The strongest and most consistent predictor of job performance is cognitive ability.
Cognitive ability refers to a person’s general mental capacity that involves reasoning, problem solving, planning, abstract thinking, learning quickly and understanding complex ideas. It is not about how much someone knows, but about how well they can think.
In simple terms, cognitive ability is the power to acquire and use knowledge effectively.
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People with high cognitive ability learn faster, adapt better to change and solve problems with ease. They can transfer what they learn in one situation and apply it in another, which makes them more effective in dynamic work environments. This is why research in psychology and organisational science consistently shows that cognitive ability remains the single best predictor of job performance in almost every occupation and across cultures.
It predicts how well people learn the job, how quickly they master new tasks and how effectively they deal with complex or unfamiliar problems. Of course, cognitive ability is not the only factor that matters. Motivation, personality and integrity also play a role. Personality traits such as conscientiousness influence how disciplined and reliable a person is.
At the same time, integrity determines whether they can be trusted to do the right thing even when no one is watching.
However, these traits enhance rather than replace the importance of cognitive ability.
Without a sufficient level of mental capacity, even the most highly-motivated and honest person may struggle to perform . As the evidence shows, cognitive ability is the foundation upon which other traits translate into performance.
Despite this evidence, many hiring managers and human resources professionals still place too much emphasis on qualifications and experience. They continue to value certificates and years served more than a person’s ability to think, learn and solve problems.
Part of the reason is comfort and habit. It is easy to verify a certificate or count years of service. Measuring cognitive ability, on the other hand, requires proper testing and understanding of psychological assessment.
In some cases, there is also the illusion of safety in hiring based on qualifications. When an employee fails, decision-makers can say: “They had the qualifications and experience”, as if that excuses a poor hiring decision. Unfortunately, organisations that continue to hire this way often end up with individuals who appear impressive on paper but struggle to deliver results.
Hiring based primarily on paper credentials is risky and expensive. Employees who lack the cognitive ability required for the job often take longer to learn, make more mistakes and require more supervision. This slows down productivity and drives up costs. Worse still, when such employees are promoted, their weaknesses are magnified, creating ripple effects across teams and departments.
Organisations that rely heavily on qualifications and experience as selection criteria often find themselves disappointed when performance reviews and business results fail to match expectations. The truth is simple: credentials open doors, but competence keeps them open.
It is time to rethink what we value when hiring. Qualifications should be treated as an entry ticket, not as proof of ability. Experience should be analysed for quality rather than duration. What matters most is the person’s capacity to think, learn, and adapt, traits that cannot be inferred from a degree certificate or the number of years served. The best organisations in the world invest in scientifically validated assessments that measure cognitive ability, integrity and personality fit. They make hiring decisions based on evidence, not assumptions. This approach not only improves performance but also reduces turnover, enhances fairness and strengthens leadership pipelines.
Science is clear. More qualifications and more experience do not automatically lead to better performance. Once someone meets the basic job requirements, what differentiates high performers from the rest is their cognitive ability, their power to learn, reason and solve problems.
If you ignore that evidence and continue to hire based on paper credentials, you do so at your own risk. The world of work is changing fast, and organisations that keep equating education with competence will continue to be surprised by how many qualified and experienced people turn out to be incompetent.
Nguwi is an occupational psychologist, data scientist, speaker and managing consultant at Industrial Psychology Consultants (Pvt) Ltd, a management and HR consulting firm. — Linkedin: Memory Nguwi, Mobile: 0772 356 361, [email protected] or visit ipcconsultants.com.
