Lacking a Degree? Top Resume Tips for Aspiring Leaders

Lacking a Degree? Top Resume Tips for Aspiring Leaders
If you're a senior-level professional or manager, you've
probably worked your way up the corporate ranks through
demonstrated leadership, dedication, and proficiency.

At some point, you may find yourself wanting to transition
upward in your career, and this can be where that nagging
doubt sets in: you never finished (or even started)
college.

What if this holds you back?

In my work as a professional resume writer, it amazes me
how often this question comes up. It seems that ascending
professionals divided into two camps: those who fear what
might happen during the job search because their career
took off too quickly to attend to educational matters, and
those without a degree who have ascended the career ladder
just the same.

If you aspire to the corner office, moving from the first
group into the second requires using some key strategies to
pique an employer's interest. Consider these tips to
present a confident image, no matter what your educational
status:

> Look at your career contributions with dollar signs.

Employers are always interested in the bottom line. Can you
add to it, or control the expenses affecting it? Then, by
all means, get this information onto your resume.

Now, extracting this data can be a challenge, but consider
the payoff! A powerful leadership resume must practically
shout this information in order to prove the strength of
your performance.

Ask yourself hard questions about the results of your work,
and then put figures to as much of it as possible.

For example, when working with a telecommunications
executive lacking a degree, I discussed his leadership role
in a reengineering project.

Our analysis yielded sentences such as "Eliminated $34M in
rework and achieved 78+% ROI by leading sales and service
delivery teams to identify core revisions." Information
such as this helped him quickly demonstrate fitness for a
leadership role, while minimizing questions on his
educational status.

Results such as these speak for themselves and can cut
through any doubt about your abilities-degree or not.

> Add professional training as proof of ongoing development.

You may have attended hours of seminars, leadership
training sessions, and other professional development
endeavors. Now's the time to take advantage of your
participation.

Keep a complete list as fodder for an educational section
on your resume, thus avoiding any temptation to simply skip
this information. Adding this data can demonstrate not only
a passion for lifelong learning, but also a dedication to
learning concepts that benefit employers.

> Mention partial degree programs and other studies.

College coursework, even if you did not finish a degree
program, still counts toward secondary education
requirements in the eyes of many hiring managers.

In fact, one of the key questions I always ask leadership
professionals is whether they attended college without
graduating. Most employers understand that life happens,
and that not everyone finishes their degree programs.

Use every opportunity to your advantage! Don't forget to
list college studies, including majors and areas of
concentration, on your resume.

> Showcase your personal brand and leadership qualities.

Everyone has unique strengths and capabilities to offer
their next employer. What are yours? Have you thought about
the impact you have on the company's business?

Ask yourself what pattern emerges when you name personal
qualities and traits that allow you to succeed. Believe it
or not, these are very relevant to employers, and OFTEN
stand out more during a job hunt than degrees do.

Make a list of what you achieve that consistently affects
revenue, the corporate reputation, or efficiency, and then
describe the steps you've taken to attain these results.

Ensure that this information takes center stage on your
resume, rather that just listing mundane tasks and other
details.

In summary, establishing a link between your expertise and
consistent corporate performance is the fastest way to gain
attention during your job search.

And consider this: For every employer requiring a degree,
there are probably two others that will look at your
"on-the-job education" as equivalent (and possibly even
stronger) credentials.

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A unique resume authority, Laura Smith-Proulx is the
Executive Director of An Expert Resume
(http://www.anexpertresume.com), a career services company
that caters to organizational leaders, from managers poised
for growth to senior-level executives. Laura has
contributed to the success of hundreds of leadership
professionals with powerful resumes designed to uniquely
brand candidates and facilitate career advancement.