Must be degree educated

[okgo]

So I was nosing about and have noticed a few sales based jobs having this as a requirement, I'm trying to think where somebody could justify not having one and still applying for said roles, in the covering letter? In the CV itself?

I fully see why some jobs require a degree, however this particular area I cannot see any real reason to have one, apart from the usual reason ofwanting a basic level of education, which I don't see an issue in doing..

Just wondering how other people have dealt with this kind of thing in the past?

[rhinochopig]

okgo said:

So I was nosing about and have noticed a few sales based jobs having this as a requirement, I'm trying to think where somebody could justify not having one and still applying for said roles, in the covering letter? In the CV itself?

I fully see why some jobs require a degree, however this particular area I cannot see any real reason to have one, apart from the usual reason ofwanting a basic level of education, which I don't see an issue in doing..

Just wondering how other people have dealt with this kind of thing in the past?

The one thing a degree tends to give you - if you left your home town - is a much broader perspective on life and an ability to mix with others more easily. Obviously there are exceptions but it's something I've always noticed when comparing mates who stayed at home and those that left to go to uni.

[okgo]

Not doubting that at all.

I must say I am not looking for cast iron answers, just opinion on how it may be bypassed. I feel confident that sitting infront of somebody I can present myself better than at least half of the recent graduates I have worked with, much of this, like you said is down to flying the nest and living a bit

But in a formal situation I wanted to know how to get past that initial pointless barrier that has been constructed.

[singlecoil]

I should think it has to do more with the sort of person they don't want, IYSWIM. They will get lots of applications from people who don't have degrees, though, so no harm in trying, especially if you can say something positive about your background, experience etc.

[Silver993tt]

Unless some one has a degree that is very specifcally related to the role in question, anyone with at least 5 years solid working experience in the area related is a better bet. That's how we look at people who we take on. Often, someone without a degree but 3-4 years working experience instead of 3-4 years at university is a much more compelling choice.

[okgo]

This is what I would have thought for such a sector, seems not to be the case with some places though. Although I think this may be down to the sheer numbers of CV's some plces get, they need to ct it in hal instantly.

[Matt Harper]

I would suggest that higher education also demonstrates an ability to apply yourself to academic tasks with some self-discipline, as opposed to being 'forced' to do it in general education.
In my experience, good sales recruiters look for evidence of achievement, perseverence and commitment.
I think you can certainly demonstrate these kind of qualities without a degree education, but you do have to, er, sell yourself in order to get the opportunity to do so in a face-to-face situation.
I have enjoyed a long and sometimes quite successful career in sales and I think I've snagged a couple of jobs where I was competing with academically stronger competition by being creative and giving good examples of situations where I personally made a difference.
Being unconventional carries a degree of risk, but standing-out from a crowd (of competing applicants) is also important, so what you might lack in academia, you need to over-compensate for in other areas. I have also had some success by applying with something other than a regular cv/resume - but I've also bombed too.
One, last thing, springs to mind. I have always asked why I was not selected and what I could have done to have made my proposition better - that follow-up in itself got me hired once.

[ShadownINja]

To compete with recent grads, you'd have to highlight your experience better.

[Vron]

In my career I have only been asked to provide proof of qualifications once.

[Gaffer]

I got turned down for a fair few jobs as I wasn't degree educated, daft in my opinion as I have more than enough experience for what they were asking, a lot the agents seemed to agree but its what the clients wanted and had to go with that and they were struggling to find people degree educated with the relevent experience.

Not sure what the UK job market is like nowadays..hopefully it will have picked up when/if I decide to return in a few years.

Claire

[bint]

As long as you can show you have equivalent experience and know you can do the job well, employers will always consider a candidate without the qualifications as long as you can justify it and prove it to them.

[singlecoil]

When they are sifting through the applications they will look at the relevant section, and when they come across people who don't meet the degree requirement they will either toss the application or they will read it, so you might just as well reply anyway.

[Ewan S]

Anyone had problems where they ask for a candidate with a degree from a decent (ie top 8) university yet? I've seen this a few times, but fortunately as an engineering graduate I don't seem to be applying for jobs where its an issue.

[Chilli]

This is something I have been thinking about recently. In my line of work, everyone has them.
I was up for the job I have now, and flew throufgh the interview with to issues. Then just as they were about to offer, they noticed I hadn't got a degree. This would have been a showstopper had my new boss not been a mate and an ex-colleague.
I'm now thinking about doing one of those study from home thingy's, but no idea how long it would take, and the hours required.
Anyone done this?
Oh, and if I were an employer, I would look for practical experience over a degree every day of the week.

[Silver993tt]

Chilli said:

Oh, and if I were an employer, I would look for practical experience over a degree every day of the week.

Exactly what we do. We're in the IT/Business solutions industry and a degree isn't much use when people have 5-10 years good experience.

[Office_Monkey]

It affects me slightly as I am studying CIMA without having a degree, and many jobs I have looked at require a 2.1 upwards. Saying that, from experience and what I have heard, most jobs at a higher level depend a lot on who you know, so networking helps regardless of qualifications.

[FamilyGuy]

I worked with a guy who simply bought himself a "degree" from an American university so he could apply for this kind of job. It got him through the handle-turning first stage so he could then sell himself on his abilities in the interviews.

[Nidjit]

In my line of work, the job ads often required a life-sciences degree or equivalent. I've had a couple of interviews where they've brought up my lack of degree, and for that matter, lack of A-levels. I've just been honest with them and explained what my reasons were for not going into higher education (long story) and that I've worked hard from the age of 16 and progressed up the ladder in every role/job I've taken. Now my experience is worth more than the degree.

I've also told them that for me, it was a reason to go the extra mile and prove myself because I knew I'd be competing with people that did have degrees, so it made me raise my game. That's never seemed to hurt. I'm 30, have been employed since I was 16, have been for 5 interviews and have only been rejected once. Not having a degree can't be the worst thing in the world.

Good luck, chap.

[okgo]

Thanks guys. Interesting stuff.

I am not trying to break into anything revolutionary here, and I cannot see a possible reason for needing a degree to progress in said area. So if I do decide to try anything I will use tips from here.

[Silver993tt]

Well, I've "only" got A-levels but have been running a company for the last 16 years and some of my employees have degrees and some don't. We tend to take on people with a minimum of around 8 years experience, so the degree factor isn't really relevant.