Hi Eric,
I was interested in your previous post about candidates who falsify university degrees.
My wife and I are both management types. I hold a bachelor’s and a graduate degree in a liberal arts field from a middleweight institution. She has no college degree.
My experience is my degrees had no impact on getting interviewed or hired. My wife feels the opposite. Her lack of degree prevents her from being interviewed for many positions for which she is otherwise qualified.
Your opinion? Also, what’s the best strategy from those of us who don’t have flashy degrees from top schools?
-- Richard from Arkansas
Well, Richard, thanks for writing. And thanks for reading the previous post. You've touched on an interesting conundrum.
Employers look for a specific degree only in limited cases. A Mechanical Engineering degree is clearly an important credential for someone designing fitness equipment or bicycles because of the liabilities involved.
For most employers, however, a four year degree represents the general training and self discipline required to achieve the certification. It is not the degree per se but rather what it represents.
In your case, Richard, an advanced degree in liberal arts is a "nice to have" accomplishment with, as you indicate, little relevance to your daily tasks on the job.
Your wife, however, has the opposite challenge.
[Position statement: Some of the smartest people I know do not have four year degrees and some of the dumbest people I ever met have Harvard MBA's. It's true.]
Her "non-credentialed" status might get her removed from consideration for some positions. That's part of the reason I place so much emphasis on networking ... because if you network you can get beyond the basic "knock out" from the Hiring Prevention Department.
In most cases, relevant or transferable professional experience outweighs the sheepskin for employers. It becomes a non-issue when an employer looks at the big picture.
In my experience, telling the truth about the degree is most important. The people who lie and say they have the degree when they really don't -- in most cases when the degree is not a critital piece -- are the ones who get caught. And they don't get the job anyway.
I was interested in your previous post about candidates who falsify university degrees.
My wife and I are both management types. I hold a bachelor’s and a graduate degree in a liberal arts field from a middleweight institution. She has no college degree.
My experience is my degrees had no impact on getting interviewed or hired. My wife feels the opposite. Her lack of degree prevents her from being interviewed for many positions for which she is otherwise qualified.
Your opinion? Also, what’s the best strategy from those of us who don’t have flashy degrees from top schools?
-- Richard from Arkansas
Well, Richard, thanks for writing. And thanks for reading the previous post. You've touched on an interesting conundrum.
Employers look for a specific degree only in limited cases. A Mechanical Engineering degree is clearly an important credential for someone designing fitness equipment or bicycles because of the liabilities involved.
For most employers, however, a four year degree represents the general training and self discipline required to achieve the certification. It is not the degree per se but rather what it represents.
In your case, Richard, an advanced degree in liberal arts is a "nice to have" accomplishment with, as you indicate, little relevance to your daily tasks on the job.
Your wife, however, has the opposite challenge.
[Position statement: Some of the smartest people I know do not have four year degrees and some of the dumbest people I ever met have Harvard MBA's. It's true.]
Her "non-credentialed" status might get her removed from consideration for some positions. That's part of the reason I place so much emphasis on networking ... because if you network you can get beyond the basic "knock out" from the Hiring Prevention Department.
In most cases, relevant or transferable professional experience outweighs the sheepskin for employers. It becomes a non-issue when an employer looks at the big picture.
In my experience, telling the truth about the degree is most important. The people who lie and say they have the degree when they really don't -- in most cases when the degree is not a critital piece -- are the ones who get caught. And they don't get the job anyway.
Hi Eric,
ReplyDeleteAs a non-degreed professional who has experienced success beyond my wildest dreams, what you say rings true.
Even so, when I am between jobs I sometimes worry that my lack of degree will hurt me, it hasn't. When I meet with hiring managers or clients, I get the work because they can see that I have experience solving problems much like the ones they need solved and they like me.
Networking, connecting with the hiring manager and being myself seems to be the best approach. The degree thing never comes up.
I appreciate your succinct communication style as well as your humor.
"The Hiring Prevention Department"... it's funny 'cause it's true.
Maureen from California
Thanks, Maureen.
ReplyDeleteWe agree that experience trumps degree. The ability to be empathic and solve problems beats classroom training.
Networking, connecting and being myself. Perfect.
Couuld not have been more succinct or said it better.