Does education or experience matter in job hunting ?
If it's a question of quantity; say the job calls for ten years' experience and you only have seven, or it calls for a master's degree and you only have a bachelor's, this is your actual problem. But, if it's a question of quality, perhaps you're worried your diploma isn't from Harvard or your experience is with a small firm your real problem is a lack of confidence.
Don't focus on the quality of your education or experience; that's a subjective, emotional question. Instead, look at the objective nature of your education and experience as a total package. Experience can compensate for any lack of education, and education can compensate for a lack of experience. If you've already landed an interview, don't dwell on your insecurities; after all, your education and experience were good enough to get the interview. That means it's good enough to get you the job. If you're hesitating to apply for the job, don't presume to know more than the recruiter. Make your best objective case rather than giving in to your irrational fears.
Demonstrable expertise is the secret to overcoming this problem. Your education has made you an historian of the business. While you may not have personally lived through various events you know enough about them to have absorbed the same lessons as those who have experiencaed them.
Similarly, your experience has offered the best possible education in the business. Your classroom has been the real world, and you've graduated from the school of hard knocks. These attitudes should come through on your resume" as well as in your conversation. Any third-party endorsements of your knowledge and professionalism, such as memberships in professional or trade associations, will help bolster your case.
The more that you are able to generate trust during a job interview the easier you will be able to make the case that your education compensates for your lack of experience or vice versa.
If you've been turned down for lack of education or experience your only chance is to immediately ask for a reconsideration, based on your having forgotten to offer further examples of whatever was lacking. Maybe, because you were fighting off a cold, you forgot to mention that summer-long accounting program you took last year. Or perhaps, because you didn't realize its relevance, you failed to discuss the six months when you served as acting director of your department.
The secret, as always, is to provide new facts, but to do it immediately, blaming yourself for the failure to include them earlier. This has worked on a number of occasions for clients of mine who acted promptly.
Don't focus on the quality of your education or experience; that's a subjective, emotional question. Instead, look at the objective nature of your education and experience as a total package. Experience can compensate for any lack of education, and education can compensate for a lack of experience. If you've already landed an interview, don't dwell on your insecurities; after all, your education and experience were good enough to get the interview. That means it's good enough to get you the job. If you're hesitating to apply for the job, don't presume to know more than the recruiter. Make your best objective case rather than giving in to your irrational fears.
Demonstrable expertise is the secret to overcoming this problem. Your education has made you an historian of the business. While you may not have personally lived through various events you know enough about them to have absorbed the same lessons as those who have experiencaed them.
Similarly, your experience has offered the best possible education in the business. Your classroom has been the real world, and you've graduated from the school of hard knocks. These attitudes should come through on your resume" as well as in your conversation. Any third-party endorsements of your knowledge and professionalism, such as memberships in professional or trade associations, will help bolster your case.
The more that you are able to generate trust during a job interview the easier you will be able to make the case that your education compensates for your lack of experience or vice versa.
If you've been turned down for lack of education or experience your only chance is to immediately ask for a reconsideration, based on your having forgotten to offer further examples of whatever was lacking. Maybe, because you were fighting off a cold, you forgot to mention that summer-long accounting program you took last year. Or perhaps, because you didn't realize its relevance, you failed to discuss the six months when you served as acting director of your department.
The secret, as always, is to provide new facts, but to do it immediately, blaming yourself for the failure to include them earlier. This has worked on a number of occasions for clients of mine who acted promptly.
[posted by : OFP on Oct. 27, 2009]
TAGS: job, education, experience