Re: bogus resume requirements

[powen -at- MAIL -dot- LMI -dot- ORG]

Marilynne says:

     > Also, having worked with a large number of college graduates (grin),
     > my personal observation is that college scores in general have little
     > to do with a person's success on the job.  What really counts is the
     > information they absorbed in college and their ability to apply that
     > information to the needs of the work place.


Two years ago, when I went back to college, I got a 115, a perfect score, on
my Physical Geography exam (it had 15 bonus questions) and an "A" for the
course. The other day, my Australian neighbor asked me how what that day's
ambient temperature was, in Centigrade. I had to go look it up. In fact, I
remember almost nothing from that test or the course. I'd like to blame it
on age, but I'm not that old. What happened is that I did a great job of
cramming, but retained very little I learned that semester. For assignments
I've had since then that relate to physical geography, I've also had to go
back and reread what I, judging by my test score, had "learned."

In the course of the incredible variety of assignments I take on, I've found
that having become familiar, at some time in my life, with many subject
areas has helped tremendously - but less in remembering specific facts or
formulas than in understanding how to approach the subject and being more or
less conversant in its terminology.

So I guess I'm making two points here: judging potential employees (or
consultants) by their college test scores is truly bogus, and, no, you don't
have to be a subject matter expert to write about it, if adequate expertise
is on hand - either from people or from written references.


Pam Owen
Nighthawk Communications
Reston, VA
Nighthawk1 -at- aol -dot- com, or powen -at- lmi -dot- org