Hello Blogosphere!!!!
I hope that you all remember me.
It’s been awhile since I’ve blogged.
I apologize for dropping out of the blog game for a while but I’ll be
honest. I just got too busy and made a
calculated decision to hit the pause button until May. Why May you might ask? Well, I’m proud to announce that I recently
completed my MBA. Up until I gave up I
was working a full time job, blogging, teaching adjunct, raising a family of
three and finishing up my MBA. Needless
to say I had to let something drop. So...
now I’m back and ready to go!
Today, I’d like to talk about a situation that stonewalls
many people out there – education requirements.
More and more companies are requiring that you have a degree to get the
job. At first glance this seems self-limiting. After all, only 30% of the population holds a
bachelor’s degree. That said it is a
reality that companies require it and job hunting success comes from
acknowledging this and dealing with it appropriately.
 |
| If you don't handle things right this guy will appear more qualified than you... |
Why do companies
require it?
Before we look at how to deal with it I think it’s important
to understand why they require it. I’d
like to start by saying that this isn't intended to be a discussion of whether
this practice is right or wrong or if higher education is relevant. Regardless of what I think or anyone else – I
don’t see companies changing their policies on education anytime soon. I believe that education is important –
otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten my MBA – this is not a fact. It is a fact that many companies think
education is important and will create restrictions based on it.
Companies do this for a couple of reasons:
·
They believe that higher education teaches critical
thinking skills
·
They believe that it shows you can start and
complete a long term project
·
They believe that a degree is an accurate
predictor of success
All of these assumptions probably have some basis in
fact. However, you need to understand
that this doesn't necessarily mean that someone without a degree will make a
bad employee. As a career seeker you
need to understand that this isn't a personal judgment on you. There are thousands of examples of people
that were highly successful and didn't go to college. However, just because Steve Jobs didn’t go to
college doesn't mean that a company’s assumption about education being
correlated to success is incorrect. This
means that it is incumbent on you to prove that you are more like Steve Jobs
and not the high school graduate serving burgers at McDonald's.
What not to do
Don’t get mad and don’t diminish it. When faced with the education question I come
across two common arguments:
·
This is ridiculous – how can you discriminate
against me?
Stop right there! Questioning a rule by calling it stupid is
probably the least persuasive argument tactic out there. In fact it feeds into
the assumption that your lack of education disqualifies you.
·
Education isn't really that important – I have
real world experience
I’ll give you part of this argument. Real world experience does trump education. However, this only works if the other
alternatives only have an education and no real world experience. If this is the case then you are probably
applying or interviewing for the wrong job.
·
Make your resume look like you graduated from
college even though you didn't
This is a really tough one. Sometimes people try to get in the door by
trying to trick people into believing that they have a degree. This can work in getting you in the
door. However, I’ll tell you right now
that the feeling of being tricked usually is followed by being embarrassed. This does not lead to job offers.
Here’s the deal. You
will never win if your argument starts with telling the company that they are
wrong. You will fail and look silly.
What can you do?
Here’s the good news.
You can overcome this and here’s how:
1. Acknowledge your lack of degree and sell
against it
This is one of the easiest ways to do this. Tell the interviewer up front – I don’t have
the required degree. However, I still
think that I would be a great fit for this because… Can we still discuss this position?
2. Go back to school
OK – I realize that this isn't that simple. However, there are a lot of places that offer
the ability to get your degree part time on nights and weekends over an
extended period. Here’s the kicker. Once you start going back you can put this on
your resume with an anticipated date of graduation. This in itself may get you past the
requirement. Secondly, I think that it
is fair to say that many companies look at this very favorably. It’s really easy to go get your degree
straight out of college when you have limited real world problems. It is a major accomplishment to balance a
full time job and adult life while going to school.
3. Achieve Industry Designations
Most places won’t look at a professional designation as a
replacement for a degree. However, most
designations require a great deal of studying and a significant time
replacement. Depending on why a company
requires education, they might look at this as proof that you can accomplish a
long term goal and finish something that you started.
So – what do you think?
I guess that the really important takeaways from this are that education
is important. However, you can overcome
the requirement by compensating for it in some way. Have a great week and feel free to share your
comments below!
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