CAREERS NOW 01-19-11

Work Experience But No Degree

DEAR JOYCE: I am well experienced and qualified at the corporate director's level. I'm very good at what I do, so I'm told, and my results back up that opinion. But I worked my way up through the ranks and, working 60-hour weeks for years, never had time to stop and earn a degree. My company is wobbling financially (no fault of mine), and I've made quiet overtures to find another position, but my efforts aren't connecting. Help? - K.J.

Head for smaller companies whose management doesn't think the Holy Grail comes wrapped in a college degree. I think it was Oliver Wendell Homes who said that "The world's great men have not commonly been great scholars, nor its great scholars great men."

But back then, Ollie didn't count on software applicant tracking systems that companies use to require certain things, like a college degree..

Pick up a book on personal branding and figure out how to move from an unknown to a known quantity. Get professional help writing a resume sprinkled with accomplishments - as well as an "accomplishment sheet," a related document you leave behind after an interview as a reminder of your value.

Additionally, seek out a talented, skilled, experienced career coach who practices in your city. Your professional resume writer should be able to recommend several coaches for your consideration.

Look for contingency recruiters operating in your field of interest who are paid by employers only when they connect them with a candidate. Cultivate those who recognize your talent and convince client employers you're unstoppable in a drive for achievement - you're a tree that grows on rock.

Most companies, organizations and government agencies will consider granting exemptions from their rulebooks when presented with talent that cannot be denied. You're unlikely to come to their attention in an off-the-rack job search. The answer is a custom search where you can be presented as a special individual, not just another pretty resume with an education hole in it.

DEAR JOYCE: I have a bachelor's in a health-related field from over 20 years ago. I've recently finished an associate's in public relations and have worked in this field for 15 years and am seeking employment in it. I plan to begin a second bachelor's in this field as well.

If a position calls for a bachelor's, do I fess up to the earlier one, calling attention to my age, or is it better to just list the associate's for now? After all, people do have extensive work experience sometimes before heading back to finish their degrees. Which is more likely to put me out of the running - age or degree? - M.Y.

"I would list my bachelor's degree since it's a job requirement, and focus my resume on my 15 years of PR experience. A bachelor's in basket weaving plus 15 years of success as a PR guru will work. School only teaches theory; what employers want is a proven rainmaker." That's the word from James M. Lemke, vice president of organizational development for Opportunity International.

DEAR JOYCE: What practical career advice do you have for an individual who became disabled in her late 20s? - D.D.

It takes a book, not a few words in a newspaper. A good place to start is the 2010 book "Employment Options: The Ultimate Resource for Job Seekers with Disabilities and other Challenges" by Paula Reuben Vieillet (myemploymentoptions.com). Written by a certified vocational evaluator who's spent 20 years helping people with disabilities enter the workplace, think you'll like this book. I did.

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