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My experience for low wage jobs where degrees weren't required, putting my degrees on my ap got me ZERO interviews. I can only conclude they thought it was the classic overqualified, this person will leave as soon as they find something better etc....
You always want to taylor your resume as being the ideal candidate for whatever job you are applying for.
Good point. It does generally look better, but the only negative is that the candidate typically has to explain why they aren't pursuing a career related to that degree which often times is not easy in itself.
You are right, i have a degree in History and i hate getting asked why am i nott a teacher
I have mixed feelings about listing degrees not necessary for the job. On the one hand, full disclosure is always better. On the other, it might make you overqualified for the job.
There was a period in my life where I wasn't secure. I had just switched career. In an act of desperation, I applied to be a technician. Passed all their tests. Went through 3 managers, all said they recommended me for hire. Then the hiring manager came in and told me outright I was an engineer not a technician. He said I was overqualified for the job and he was afraid I'd leave as soon as I found an engineer position. I hesitated and admitted to him this was the case. He shook my hand and wished me the best. A couple weeks later I was hired by another company as an engineer.
But there are probably an equal number of people who never found that engineering job and would of been happy working as a technician. Especially in today's economy.
Companies look at this situation all wrong.
They have a chance to bring in an overqualified candidate at a cheap price and try them out. They get to start them at the bottom, learn the business from the bottom, and if they are good you have now found a top person without having to pay them top wages, move them up in the company and still get their skills at a cheap price while the person is happy they are working, appreciated, continually earning more, getting promoted etc..... It's a win-win.
Now what if they leave. So what. You already have a ton of turnover anyway, I would rather turnover overqualified candidates instead of lower qualified candidates. While these people are working for you, the over qualified candidate will accomplish more while there.
You are right, i have a degree in History and i hate getting asked why am i nott a teacher
If you have a degree and aren't working in your field of study or applying your degree to something, you are looked at as a failure and we don't hire failures.
At least that is what most people and employers will think.
Of course there are a thousand different valid reasons why someone would be in this situation, but very few if any will take the time to find out.
I think it depends on what you're applying for. If it's a fry cook position, leave it off. If it's a paraprofessional role or better, I'd generally include it.
Definitely leave it on. Again, unless you have a very strong idea that it’ll disqualify you as being overqualified.
It doesn’t have to be directly related to say something about you. And it does. You worked for it, you stuck with it. It shows you are able to think and follow through and it shows an important accomplishment that many consider a factor indicative of professional success and good decision making.
I was listening to an interview on the radio the other day where the interviewer was questioning why it makes sense to teach the type of mathematics that are taught (geometry, algebra, calculus, etc.) when most people never really use it in the professional world. And even those who do use software. The guy being interviewed didn’t really give a good answer IMO. The answer is simply because those concepts teach you how to think – both creatively, logically, and in other ways. Education is about a lot more than overt learning.
Best of luck.
Yes.
I would include unless it was an advanced degree that may lead them to think that you are way overqualified.
Bachelor degrees are so common that I've seen plenty of low-level jobs prefer or require it, just to decrease the number of applicants. Leave a BA (or better, BS) on your resume. Lots of people don't work in the field they study, so just have a good explanation prepared about why you switched career tracks. It'll give you a chance to talk about why you and the job for which you're applying are right for each other.
For an advanced degree, if your hiring manager and potential boss aren't likely to have one, I'd leave it off. But be prepared that they may ask about gaps in employment and lying is inadvisable, so if your education is recent, you should probably be prepared to discuss it.
There has never been a time when I didn't give an edge to a person with a degree over a person without one.
How did I know they had a degree? It was on their resume.
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