Hiring Based on Skills, Not Schools — Eric Stanley’s Vision for Indiana

My guest today was Eric Stanley, founder of M2N, a social impact company dedicated to making the workforce more equitable by focusing on skills-based hiring.

Eric shares his journey from working at Northwestern Mutual and Johnson & Johnson to scaling Passageways' revenue and launching M2N.

Our conversation delves into the importance of hiring based on skills rather than status, the challenges of finding and retaining diverse talent, and the impact of apprenticeships and innovative hiring practices.

Eric also highlights the development of the Empower platform, which matches job seekers with employers based on skills, and insights into the potential of apprenticeships and the efforts to make hiring more inclusive and representative of society.

You are going to learn about:

• The Importance of Skills-Based Hiring Over Status-Based 

• Innovative Hiring Practices

• Difficulties Finding and Retaining Diverse Talent 

Thank you to our partners:
Hard Truth BBQ Fest
Alliance Sports Marketing

Check out these great clips from the show:
01:33 Guest Introduction: Eric Stanley, M2N
02:18 Eric's Journey in Sales and Tech
09:20 The Birth of M2N and Its Mission
10:24 How M2N Empowers Companies
13:40 The Importance of Skills-Based Hiring
15:00 Challenges and Solutions in Workforce Diversity
30:29 Expanding Talent Networks with Empower
31:45 Impact of DEI Elimination on Business
32:22 Skills-Based Hiring and Its Benefits
32:59 Soft Skills and AI in Hiring
33:33 Debate on the Value of College Education
38:59 Empower's First Placement Success
40:17 Challenges in Job Matching Software
42:55 Future of Skills-Based Hiring
45:50 Advice for Hiring Managers
48:12 Younger Years Segment: Advice to 22-Year-Old Self
51:21 Indiana's Sports and Events Scene
52:33 Hidden Gem: Marvin's at DePauw
53:41 Shoutout to Tracy Jackson