Six-Figure Hotline: Network Past Education Bias

Posted By: Dave Opton
Filed Under: execunet, executive job search, dave opton, six-figure hotline, career change, bias, education, hr

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As part of ExecuNet membership, I conduct a weekly teleconference called Six-Figure Hotline where members call in to ask the questions keeping them up at night, and to gain market and trend insight from the career experts who join me in talking about issues that are important to executives today.

An ExecuNet member asked: "After over 15+ years of a successful career as a procurement specialist, considered a lobbyist/partner within the law firms where I was affiliated in DC, I am changing careers to business development and want to work in-house. Although I have worked with corporate CEOs, Presidents and Emirs, I find that my lack of formal education stops my application when it hits HR. I'm frustrated because in my field it's about delivery and not about your degree. How do I overcome this challenge?"

Here's how I responded:
I would suggest that one of the major sources for the frustration here is due to the fact that you are trying to fight your way through a bias that has been around for a long, long time. As we all know, there are biases on age, sex, race, religion, industry specific experience, and any number of others. The education bias is but another. How many times do we see ads that say a degree is a must when we all know that there are literally millions of folks who have been very successful across almost any business segment you want to name who never graduated high school much less college? Indeed lots of them have been far more successful than people with Ivy League MBAs. Bottom line, it is what it is, and as a candidate 50 percent of the battle is to be aware that it's there.

As with anything like this, you are probably going to run into a spectrum of people. Some whose minds are simply closed to the notion that even with no degree your track record speaks for itself, and on the other end, people who really don't care about anything other than what you can do to help them overcome their problem. Most are going to be somewhere in between — biased but willing to listen.

So what can you do to help make them listen? Research and network. In other words, answering an ad is probably a lost cause because they are going to screen you out based on paperwork and you'll never get the chance to influence them. Networking your way into a target organization, however, is a different story. You are going to be there because they have some interest in what you have to say, because they already know that you have some experience that may help them solve a particular issue. More often than not, the pain they are feeling around something probably hasn't even made its way to a job description yet.

I would develop a very specific target list of organizations, research the heck out of them, and then expand your network until you can get in to talk to someone about the issues that your experience can help them solve.

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Dave Opton's avatar Dave Opton
Dave Opton founded ExecuNet in 1988 to provide a trusted environment where senior-level executives could build career opportunities by facilitating connections to other executives, experts and key market insights. Dave has drawn upon his 35 years of experience in human resources to develop and grow what has become the leading business and career membership network for executives and senior managers. A widely recognized executive career management expert, Dave is regularly quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Business Week, Fortune, Fast Company, and other leading business publications. Mr. Opton received his BA from Indiana University. Dave blogs at Six Figure Learnings