August 9,
2010
By Debra Donston-Miller (reprinted from TheLadders.com)
Bill Gates never
graduated from college. Neither did Michael Dell or Steve Jobs. Outside of the
tech world, Richard Branson has done pretty well for himself without a college
degree, as has Barry Diller.
But Sharon Willis is a
more common example of the challenges to American workers who never graduated
from college.
Since February, Willis
has been the acting vice president for external affairs at Uniformed Services University of
the Health Sciences, a medical and health-sciences graduate school of 850
students. She will continue in that role until some time in the fall, when she
will resume her position as deputy vice president. The VP role is one she
wanted to apply for when it became vacant but couldn't, even though she had the
experience and knowledge. Why? She doesn't have a bachelor’s degree.
Willis started at the
university 28 years ago as a clerk typist and worked her way up through the
ranks. She describes herself as the "go-to" person for just about
everybody with whom she works. Willis has done the job of vice president, and
the college president knows she is up to the task on a permanent basis, yet her
lack of a college diploma — a job requirement – means she does not qualify for
the position.
Willis has hit a
professional wall at the university, and she realizes that things would likely
not be different elsewhere.
"When we have
vacancies here, I see the qualifications of the applicants, many of whom have
master's degrees," said Willis. "I realize that if I were to leave
here, I would probably rank at the bottom of the applicant pool because of my
lack of a degree, despite excellent experience, job stability, a very strong
work ethic and great references. It's disheartening."
What Willis suspects to
be true about the world outside the university is only too real for many of the
millions of people the recession unleashed into the job market. Many of these
people started at a company in an entry-level position and worked their way up
the ladder. Not having a college degree may not have mattered – until the time
came to apply for a new position.
Bruce Hurwitz, president
and CEO of Hurwitz
Strategic Staffing, said he sees this issue come up regularly. "Every
time I have tried to get a client to waive the college-degree requirement in
light of the candidate’s exemplary work experience, I have been refused,"
he said. "They almost always say that it is their policy that all
employees have at least a college degree."
Such jobs now account for
most of the economy. Nearly 60 percent of American jobs now require at least a
bachelor’s degree, according to "Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and
Education Requirements Through 2018," a June 2010 report released by the Center on Education and
the Workforce at Georgetown
University. That number
jumped from 28 percent in 1973 to 59 percent in 2008 and is expected to rise to
63 percent over the next decade, the report said.
Resume and networking
solutions
So is your dream job,
even most jobs, out of reach if you don't have a college degree?
Not necessarily. Experts
who spoke with TheLadders said solid, long-term professional experience and
proven results can often supersede the need for a college diploma.
"I believe that
employers want the right person for the job," said Karla Porter, director
of workforce development and HR for the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of
Business and Industry and a private consultant on human capital and new media.
"They're not looking for a certificate, a degree, a piece of paper; they
are looking for a solution provider. If there is a person who can do that for
them and has a proven track record and can show what they've accomplished for
other companies, I believe they will be considered."
All of this must be
conveyed in a carefully constructed resume. "To replace the college-degree
situation on a resume, the person needs to stress the results they have been
able to achieve due to their extensive experience," said Dianne Durkin, president
and founder of Loyalty
Factor, a consulting and training firm.
"Make sure the
resume is very, very well done," Porter said. "If it's not, it will
go to the 'C' pile."
Tony Deblauwe, founder of
HR4Change,
agreed: "Your resume has to be rock-solid. It has to demonstrate your
experience, your skills, and your accomplishments. You're promoting your best
skills so that people focus on that and not get to the end and say, 'Well,
where's your degree?' "
Cheryl Palmer, president
of Call to Career, said
she has worked with many people who have been to college but never got the
degree. When writing a resume for a person in this situation, she mentions the
college major and degree program but does not state that that he has a degree.
"I'm being truthful, but not drawing undue attention to the fact that they
don't have a degree."
This strategy will also
help you get your resume past the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) software that
most companies use to screen resumes.
"If [a job
description] says 'bachelor's degree required' and you don't have a bachelor's
degree, your resume can say 'bachelor's degree not completed or not attained'
so the system will pick up the keywords 'bachelor's degree,'" Porter said.
"You don't want to say anything that is not true, but you want your resume
to get in front of people. Make sure your resume contains the same keywords
that the job description contains, and then rearrange them to how they fit for
you."
All the experts who spoke
with TheLadders emphasized the importance of describing any training, certifications
or licenses you have to show that you have invested in some training for
yourself. "I haven't found too many scenarios where people have done
nothing," Deblauwe said. "They've at least taken some college classes
or gotten some certifications or something to talk to. Or something internal from
a previous company."
It's commonly understood
that networking is one of the most important things you can do when pursuing a
new job, but it's even more critical if you don't have a degree, said Palmer.
"If you don't have a degree, the whole idea of networking is much, much
more critical," she said. "Employers prefer to hire someone that they
know something about. They prefer people who have come referred. If you are trying
to land a job in this very competitive job market and you don't have a degree,
you really have to take that networking to another level, to get around the
fact that most employers are looking for a bachelor's degree at an absolute
minimum."
Along those same lines,
strong recommendations from clients, former employers, co-workers and
associations can go a long way toward making up for the lack of a college
degree.
It's never too late
So, what else can you do
if you don't have a college degree? Well, you can get one – or at least begin
working toward one, no matter what your age.
Once enrolled in a
program, you can write on a resume that a degree is "in progress,"
experts suggested.
That's just what the Uniformed Services University's
Willis is doing.
A busy single mother of
three, Willis is taking classes in business management in the hopes that she
can break through the barriers put up by the lack of a degree. Willis said her
boss is very supportive and is giving her whatever time she needs. In addition,
because she works for a federal institution, she gets tuition reimbursement.
All of this, along with flexible options such as online classes, has allowed
Willis to start on a path she hopes will lead to a higher-level position.
"I think in the long
run, people are much better off just going ahead and pursuing the degree, no
matter how hard it may be," she said. "That's what everyone will be
looking for. You do get to a certain point where you just can't go any further,
and that's where I am right now."
Debra Donston-Miller
covers work-life issues and difficult job-search situations for www.theladders.com
