Tuesday, June 19, 2012

No degree-No problem for your job search


 

 
Chris Wodke

 

 
Searching for a job is tough, even more so when you don’t have a degree required for a position. Some jobs like pharmacists, doctors and nurses absolutely require a degree. Other occupations like training and sales sometimes allow entry without a degree.

 
Here are some things you can do if you don’t have degree for the type of job you want.

 
Key words
Check job listings. Let’s say you want a training job, but don’t have a degree in Adult Education.  Check for experience key words you can put in your resume. If the job posting lists development training materials, highlight your writing experience on your resume. Highlight your skills with key words that match the job listing.

 
Experience
Degrees are crucial when first entering the job market.  If you have experience you can sometimes get away without having a degree.  If you are looking for a sales job, the most important thing you can list on your resume and talk about in your interview is your sales experience.  Focus on the sales results and the number of clients you obtained.  Results will get you the interview and the position.

 

 
Career Change
If you have successfully transitioned careers once before in your career, leverage that experience. Any of the efforts you did before can be used again. Making a transition once shows you have the ability to learn the new skills needed.  Talk about the transition you made and how you did it.  For instance I made a transition from engineering to Product Safety. I had changed from one branch of engineering to another earlier in my career. I showed I was able to learn a new field and would be able to learn Product Safety as well.

 

 
Volunteer Work
I got my start as a trainer by doing training for the National Ski Patrol.  I had years of experience working with adults  The experience I had as a volunteer more than made up for my lack of degree. I was able to function very successfully as a trainer based on my volunteer experience.

 

 
Network
Use your network to find out about openings before they are advertised. Companies will be more flexible about requirements before a job is posted.  Use any contacts you have inside the company to give you a recommendation. This will carry allot of weight and can make up for the lack of a degree.

 

 
If you have the skills and experience you can make up for a lack of a degree. Just be ready to show you have the skills needed to make you successful.

 

 
Copyright 2012 @ Summit Training Publications

 
 


Do you hate to write training programs? Too much work to do and no time to put together your training program? Asked to deliver training or a presentation and have no idea where to start?

Let Summit Training Publications take care of your program design needs with our off the shelf training in a box or one of our presentation modules.

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  • PowerPoint Presentation
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  • Quiz
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Subject areas include; Communication Skills, Employee Development, Human Resources, Quality, Product Safety, Safety and Supervisor Training.

 Titles: Product Safety and Liability, Aftermarket Product Safety,Hazard Analysis, Product Safety Meetings, Warnings, Instructions and Manuals, Product Liability European Union, Obtaining the CE Mark, Risk Assessment, European Union, Product Safety Management Product Safety Audit, Workplace Violence, Substance Abuse, Sexual Harassment, Manager as Coach, Hiring, Firing, Performance Appraisals, Diversity, Americans With Disabilities, Business Etiquette, Security Abroad, International Business Manners, Customer Service, Customer Communication, Terrific Teams, The Manager as Trainer, Coping With Difficult People, Managing Your Boss- Problem Bosses, Malcolm Baldridge Award, Presentations/Public Speaking, Discrimination, Listening Skills, Negotiation, Conflict Resolution, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Total Quality Management, Motivation, High Achievers, Time Management, ISO 9000 Introduction, ISO 9000 Implementation, Quality Audit, Introduction to the Internet, Stress Management, Telecommuting, Flexible Work Schedules, Creativity and Innovation, Benchmarking, Effective Business Writing, Customer Letters, Motivating Self and Others, Project Management, Managing Multiple Projects, Brainstorming, PERT Diagrams, Train the Trainer, Train the Trainer-Delivery, Train the Trainer-Writing Presentations, Train the Trainer-On the Job Training, Train the Trainer-Using Visual Aids, Project Management, Peer to Peer Feedback, Surviving Unemployment, Interview Preparation

 

 

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