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Subject:Re: Job Information From:David Hamilton <david -at- URSUS -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 27 Jul 1993 10:43:02 PDT
Kelly Hoffman writes:
> I agree that the experience will get you the job. A good portfolio speaks
> volumes.
> On the other hand, I've seen many job postings that request a fair amount
> of experience (say, 8 - 10 years or more) and want a degree, too. Why? If
> the degree dates back that many years, why is it important or relevant? Is
> it simply a knee-jerk thing?
There are a few reasons why degrees have become so important recently,
at least from what I've seen.
- The current job market is definately a factor. There are so
many applicants for each job opening, that an employer can add
requirements at will, and still have a hundred or more resumes.
For example, all secretaries hired here within the past year
have degrees.
- More than ever before, resumes are being screened by HR
departments. Since the HR clerks must have degrees to qualify
for their jobs, it is natural for them to extend this
requirement to all jobs.
- The quality of graduates has declined to the point where a high
school graduate can no longer be expected to spell or compose a
simple sentence. One of the managers with whom I had lunch
recently claims that a college degree now guarantees the same
level of proficiency in the English language as a high school
diploma did 15-20 years ago.
- The knee-jerk factor.
This situation can produce some rather humorous interchanges. A
colleague of mine reported that on a job interview, he was chided by a
personnel clerk for listing his experience on his resume ahead of his
degree. When he told the personnel clerk that he expected that his 20
years of experience was more important than a 20-year-old degree, the
clerk informed him that here was only one "correct" form for a resume.
Then she asked him about his GPA... The hiring manager, however, was
only interested in his portfolio, and barely glanced as his resume.
-dh
_____________________________________________________________________
David Hamilton david -at- ursus -dot- com
Ursus Information Technology, Inc. Santa Clara, CA
