While job seekers of all ages and experience levels can experience difficulty finding a job, those without a college education are at an even greater disadvantage. Often job postings will mention a bachelor’s or equivalent degree as a requirement, which could turn away lots of otherwise qualified applicants who didn’t have the opportunity to attend college.
Some jobs, typically for more technical roles, require a relevant degree to ensure that applicants already have the necessary skills and knowledge to perform their expected duties, and were evaluated and deemed competent at them. Other jobs don’t have any specific requirements and instead just require that applicants have a bachelor’s degree, whether it is relevant to the position or not.
A degree typically shows employers that a candidate is already equipped with skills for the job, whether that’s hard skills from a certain field like computer science, or soft skills like effective communication, teamwork, and personal responsibility. Since a college education is a typical metric of success in today’s society, a degree also represents some semblance of competency—if a candidate made it through college and graduated with a degree, then employers assume they can handle the responsibilities and challenges of the job.
However, a degree on a resume doesn’t necessarily suggest that a candidate has these skills. For instance, it’s possible that a candidate passed all their classes and graduated, but could also be an unmotivated worker who is challenging to work with and has poor communication skills. Meanwhile, a candidate who was unable to go to college because they couldn’t afford tuition could be a responsible, strongly motivated worker skilled at handling stressful situations and effectively communicating with teams and clients—skills that can easily be learned outside a classroom.
And it’s not just that a college degree checks off a box on an application. Candidates who were not able to go to college also miss out on lots of professional development opportunities and resources that make it easier to get a job. College career service offices offer valuable opportunities like workshops, interview prep, assistance with resume building, access to exclusive job and internship boards, and job fairs to meet with prospective employers.
Meanwhile, college offers mentorship opportunities from faculty and classroom or extracurricular activities that provide project or volunteer work that can serve as relevant career experience to add to a resume. The biggest advantage is all of the networking opportunities with faculty, peers, alumni, and local professionals that can often lead to successfully landing an internship or a job. Meanwhile, candidates without these resources and a professional network to seek out job opportunities or land an interview without even applying must navigate the tricky world of job searching on their own.
Links:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-do-employers-want-employees-college-degrees-rajiv-nagare
