Do I Need to Go Back to College to Change Careers?

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You are well into your career. You’ve made all the right moves, you have a track record of success, salary increases, and promotions behind you, and yet you’re feeling bored and unfulfilled. What can you do to spread your wings and pivot into a new career path?

The most traditional historically has been to return to college to earn an advanced degree, or to study another discipline. In the economy of the past, this was a no-brainer, but is it the best approach today? Going back to college to earn a graduate degree or some other diploma can be an expensive, time intensive endeavor, and your return on your investment is far from guaranteed – even if your next diploma is from an elite and prestigious college or university. It’s important to weigh your options carefully. Here are some factors to consider:

Does the new field you are choosing require a specialized type of education?

Some jobs require specific advanced training and education. For example, you can’t just apply for a job as a nurse without a nursing degree, or as a lawyer without a law degree. But for those who have the time, resources, and aptitude to pursue such a specialized education, it’s entirely attainable to make such a change.

Do you want to jump start your career?

Presuming you like your line of work, if you want to jump start your current career, going back to college to elevate your position in your chosen field may be the best option. An advanced degree may open your world to new opportunities that would not otherwise be available, regardless of your talents and accomplishments. For example, many Fortune 500 companies have management training programs that are open only to newly-minted MBAs from top programs. Many careers have built in career progression ladders and at some employers your distance to the top may depend on your level of formal education, with the advanced degree serving as a gateway to promotion. And don’t underestimate the positive momentum an alumni network at a highly-ranked university can provide your career.

Do you need to reset your career?

If you’re not satisfied with your chosen profession, career advancement isn’t going to satisfy you. It’ll make you simultaneously wealthier and more miserable. Many individuals take a break from the workforce to find a new passion. For example, I’ve seen professionals of all disciplines (nursing, government, finance, you name it) go back to get an MBA and land new careers as brand marketers, management consultants, investment bankers, and other fields. That kind of “hard reset” can help you shift gears into a totally new career path with no penalty and, often a jump in pay. Which brings us to…

Can you afford to take the time and expense to go back to school?

If money is no obstacle and you can pay for higher education without taking out loans or making other major sacrifices, then your decision-making process will focus largely on the advantages another degree may bring to your career. But few people have such a luxury.

And yet, sometimes the risk and expense may be worth it. We are well acquainted with an individual who, in his early 40s, newly married, and with a baby on the way, was impacted by the Great Recession. He had a bachelor’s degree, and he suddenly found himself unemployed and competing unsuccessfully with applicants for jobs that didn’t require any sort of college diploma. After much deliberation, he and his wife agreed that he would return to college to get a masters degree while serving as the stay-at-home parent. He selected and was accepted to a local, elite university considered to be one of the best in the world for his discipline, but its marquee value would not come cheap. After three years of aggressive cost management, he earned his master’s degree and parlayed his new credentials into a full-time job with far more responsibility and compensation than he had ever had in his past. That said, he still has $40,000 in outstanding student loans to this day, and he needs at least one more promotion or a position with a higher salary to manage those financial obligations.

Are there good alternatives that won’t empty your wallet or consume years of your life?

Taking on continuing education that can positively impact your career doesn’t necessarily require returning to college. There may be well-regarded training or certification programs that will help you get where you want to go. You can become a computer programmer – fast – by signing up for programmer boot camps, Launch Code, or other programmers. Individuals with a passion for project management or business analysis can boost their qualifications with a certification from the

Project Management Institute (PMI). And functional subject matter experts in ERP systems such as JD Edwards, or customer relationship management (CRM) systems like Salesforce, can earn advanced certifications that can help transition into customer support or systems management roles. Certifications are often much more expedient and considerably less expensive than returning to college.

Are there development opportunities within your existing company?

Lastly, there may be new opportunities right in front of you. Many companies believe that investing in their employees improves their long-term success, and may offer internal training, continuing education, and outside certifications that will help reposition you for various roles within the organization – often in areas or disciplines you hadn’t considered. And work with your manager to see if there are opportunities to evolve your current job to include new responsibilities or participation strategic projects. These, quite often, open new doors while providing enrichment without the pain of having to change employers.

Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

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Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercareerstrategies.com.

How Much Does Personality Matter In The Hiring Process?

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How much does personality matter in the hiring process?

It’s often less a matter of personality, and more a matter of behaviors that impact the hiring equation.

In other words, companies will often have a variety of personalities working under their roof, but you will generally see consistent threads in their behaviors and competencies. For example, depending on the job function, you might find employers value demonstrated behaviors such as:

• Action Orientation – Motivation to get stuff done

• Business Acumen – Good sense of strategy and the industry

• Creativity – Ability look at (and solve) problems a different way

• Organizational Agility – Knowledgeable about how companies work, and how to successfully maneuver them

And so on. Hiring managers may or may not have terminology to put on this type of assessment, but this is generally what they’re looking for.

That said, the candidate’s personality does play a factor. Your manager will spend more waking hours with you than they will with their family in a given week. Therefore, if you’re charismatic, personable, and easy to get along with, you may have an easier time convincing an employer to hire you.

Conversely, if you demonstrate an inability to connect in a positive way with the team might not be offered that same job opportunity after an interview because they may negatively impact team dynamics. In my experience, 90% of job seekers fall somewhere on the spectrum between these two extremes, and in those cases the selection primarily tends to come down to a consideration of the candidate’s technical aptitude and competencies.

That said, some people have badly needed skills and expertise, and personality may not play a factor at all. If the company you’ve applied to is actively looking for a COBOL programmer, facing a deadline to fix some old spaghetti code, and you’re the first qualified candidate they’ve interviewed in months, you’re probably going to get an offer regardless of your interpersonal skills.

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Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and career coaching services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercareerstrategies.com.

In Praise of Professional Manners for Job Seekers

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When it comes time to look for a job, manners matter.

If you treat the people involved in the process poorly at any contact point – the initial contact, the phone screen, the interview, salary negotiation, or any other part of the process – you may kill your chances of getting the job.

Let me be blunt: nobody wants to work with a jerk.

Surely, many employers could stand to learn how to better treat their job applicants, and the candidate experience is known to frequently suffer. But that's a topic for another day.

I spent 19 years filling jobs, both as an internal corporate recruiter and as an outside recruiter with staffing firms. The most difficult part of my line of work was not trying to find that "Purple Squirrel" – the rare candidate with a highly specific set of skills.

By far, the most challenging aspect of my job was trying to convince managers to hire people who possessed every required and preferred skill in the job description, but whom the hiring manager simply didn't like. If a manager told me they just "weren't feeling it" about a candidate, that usually meant they didn't like the person.

You may be thinking to yourself, "Why would a company be so dumb as to pass on somebody who clearly meets all the requirements, and then some? What kind of idiots are these hiring managers?"

The answer can be explained by a simple number: 2,080.

That's how many hours of work there are in a year, based upon an average of 40 hours per week, and 52 weeks in a year. Sure, you need to factor in overtime and deduct vacation days and holidays, but generally speaking, that's how many hours your hiring manager and peers would spend alongside you. Every. Single. Year.

Sure, sometimes personalities simply don't mesh, but just as often, this personal aversion comes down to basic human interaction. People with poor manners can be rude, annoying, and generally uncomfortable to be around.

So, why give employers additional reasons not to extend you a job offer? The job interview process is the time to be on your absolute best behavior. Interviews are an intensely social setting - I can promise you that you're being observed for your ability to positively enhance the dynamics of the workplace (or at a minimum, not detract from them). Failing to use your absolute best manners sends a clear message about what it would be like to spend time with you.

Here are some (rather) common breaches of etiquette that are quite likely to cause annoyance or offense:

• Showing up late to the interview.
   
• Not saying "please" or "thank you," or not saying these with enough frequency or to everyone involved in the process.
   
• Checking your cell phone during an interview.
   
• Bringing up inappropriate topics, such as sex or politics. If you're applying for a job at the Kinsey Institute or at a Washington, DC, think tank, these topics could be quite appropriate – otherwise, steer clear.
   
• Swearing, cursing, blasphemy, or irreverence.
   
• Sexist or racist comments.
   
• Complaining. About anything.
   
• Being dismissive or condescending toward anyone you encounter.
   
• Not sending "thank you" notes after the interview.

Clearly, these demonstrations of poor manners don't all carry equal weight, but any of these, during any point of the interview process, could give an employer ample reason to label you "unprofessional."

While it's difficult to muster empathy for interviewers who are passing judgment on you, failing to do so could cause you to come across as someone they don't want in their organization. Be your best self, and show ample respect for everyone. Don't be "That guy."

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Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and career coaching services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.