Fair or unfair, in today's corporate world a degree from a four-year school is par for the course. Of course, the job market includes many successful men and women who have accomplished much without a degree. But while it isn't necessarily an obstacle to success on the job, the lack of a degree can pose a problem in finding one. In case any of you are ever confronted with this challenge, here's a conversation that you might find helpful.

QUESTION

This is a question ExecuNet recently received from one of its members:

"I'm closing my electronics manufacturing business and want to make a new start. I'm a self-taught tech, business owner/manager and hold no PM certificates but have over 20 years' experience managing the product development process and delivering products. I've searched for other opportunities and I'm finding that the lack of an appropriate degree or certificates is a road block.

"I'm pretty confident that if I could just get past the gatekeepers and speak to the decision makers, I could overcome my lack of formal education and build a strong case based on my track record. Do you have any suggestions on how to get past the gate keepers? And even if I can reach the decision makers, will they even give me a fair hearing given my lack of a degree?"

Degreeless in Dubuque

ANSWER

Here's how another ExecuNet member answered Degreeless's question:

"Unfortunately, many people do have a tendency to insist on certain credentials before they're willing to speak with you. And, I'm sorry to have to tell you, Degreeless, that the single most important credential most people, including those who play the role of gatekeeper, insist on is a four-year degree. The good news is that not having a degree isn't necessarily the kiss of death. Here's a strategy you can use to get past the gatekeeper:

The Reference USA Strategy

"Step 1: Identify the firms you want to work for.

"Step 2: Look those companies up online via Reference USA, a service that lists information about thousands of companies including in most cases the name and phone number of the CEO and top 5 to 10 key people in the organization. You can get access to Reference USA using the computer at your public library. The librarian can show you how to use it.

"Step 3: Call the company and ask to speak directly to the CEO or VP of sales.

"Step 4: When you make contact, sell yourself on the basis of your experience and successes."

Conclusion

The reason the degree is prized in the business world is because it represents the potential to succeed. But a record of actual achievement-whether accomplished with or without a sheepskin-is a much stronger indication that an individual has what it takes to succeed.

Wishing you career success,
Lauryn Franzoni
ExecuNet, www.execunet.com

THE EXECUTIVE JOB MARKET

The financial and banking industries are no longer the leading generator of executive jobs

A Brief Overview

By Glenn Demby

Lauryn's firm, ExecuNet, publishes an annual report about the state of the executive job market. Here are some of the key findings from the 2008 version:

Top 5 High-Growth Industries: Search firms predict that executive job growth in 2008 will be highest in the following 5 industries:

Conspicuously absent from this list is the financial services/banking industry which for nearly a decade has been one of the leading sources of executive job growth.

Top 5 Sources of Executive Dissatisfaction: The top 5 sources of job dissatisfaction among CEOs are:

Top 5 Job Seeking Methods: Here are the methods executives say they use to find new career opportunities:

Source: Executive Job Market Intelligence 2008, ExecuNet, www.execunet.com.

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