In the job market people with and without college degrees are competing for the same jobs. What’s more, huge numbers of job ads state that college degrees are mandatory. What is someone without a college degree to do?
To be clear, there is no shortage of jobs that don’t require college degrees. You have only to look at resources such as one company’s report on “20 Great Jobs Without a College Degree“. The key issue for these people is that they are qualified for jobs that require a college degree based on their experience and must somehow convince their future employers to substitute their real world experience for the diploma.
The truth is it may take longer or require smarter job searching technique for candidates without at least a Bachelor’s degree. But the situation is far from hopeless. In fact, the best practices for getting hired don’t change regardless of whether or not you have a degree. Have the sharpest possible resume with the smartest possible job search strategy, and you are on your way.
Nick Corcodilos, author of the Ask The Headhunter newsletter, recently fielded a question from a woman with terrific experience but no college degree. She was having problems getting interviews and wondered if her lack of degree was to blame. Nick replied:
I looked at your resume. Your experience is stellar. But no one’s going to give you a job, because nowadays they’re not giving them out. Even to people with college degrees. You’re not getting interviews because you’re doing it all wrong. So I’ll offer you some advice because it seems your husband is a fan, and I love my fans even if I don’t know them.
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That’s how you’ll get a job, college degree or not. Managers sometimes create jobs for people who can show how they’ll drop profit to the bottom line. But managers don’t figure that out from resumes. You must present a plan.
Read the full article.
The suggestions Nick gives for job seekers are great… much along the lines that I also recommend to many of my clients. Nothing beats a research-driven and proactive job search. Successful job seekers sometimes need to get employers to create jobs for them based on their ability to contribute to the bottom line, and wise job seekers can use that to their advantage.
A solid college diploma is a credential which tells your future employer that you’re smart, hard working, and ambitious. It may also signal that you have been exposed to a wide world of ideas and diverse people and are more cosmopolitan for it. If you can demonstrate convincingly that you are all these things, then you can more than hold your own in the job marketplace.
