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I am one of those people who came in through a back door, and I do not have a
degree. It has been frustrating at times because so many companies place so
much emphasis on degrees.
I have reached a point in my life where if a company thinks a degree is more
important than anything else, then I probably do not want to work for that
company because I don't agree with their business philosophy. A degree (while
definitely of benefit) is not a measure of intelligence or capability (well -
not always).
The company I am currently working for has a tendency to hire people with MBA's
for their buying and marketing departments. Nobody gets even an interview with
this company though, until they have completed IQ testing, Aptitude testing and
Logic testing. You must score in the upper 25 percentile to get an interview.
They only give one interview, which is four to five hours in length, with all
the necessary people present. In my situation, the interview was spent
reviewing my portfolio, reasons for wanting a change, and my overall business
philosophies.
Their philosophy is that they will only hire intelligent people, because
intelligent people have a tendency to make intelligent decisions. Logical
people are better suited to the Information Technology Systems department.
When they have a position available, they only need to interview a couple of
people, and try to make sure they select the best "fit".
There are companies that value a degree above overall intelligence, but if you
seek out companies such as this one, with philosophies similar to yours, you
avoid disappointing interviews and wasted time. It all comes down to knowing
the company background and beliefs before the interview.
By the way, when I got this position - this was the only company I interviewed
with because I was very selective. They offered me the job, I turned it down
twice, and then called back a couple of months later, and asked if they were
still interested in me. They were, and here I am.
Sorry for the long story.
Suzette Seveny
Markham, Ontario, Canada
sseveny -at- petvalu -dot- com or suzette -at- yesic -dot- com
