Emanuel Carpenter ⋅ Alpharetta, GA SDR Master Class ⋅ 20 years experience

Mark - From a resume perspective, I suggest using a skills-based resume instead of a chronological resume. You can highlight all your skills without having to pinpoint which job gave you each skill. If you see common requirements for the roles you apply for and you have those skills, add them to your resume. The structure looks like this:

SKILLS
Work History
Education
References

Go to Google images to find examples of skills-based resumes. Although some companies require the college degree no matter what, many companies still prefer skills over education. If you are in college, list the degree you are pursuing and the projected month and year of your graduation just in case the company uses machines to scan for keywords.

Hope this helps.

Denise Kalm ⋅ Walnut Creek, CA DPK Coaching ⋅ 35 years experience

If you were just out of high school, this would be difficult, but what you want to do is own it - Be upfront about not having a degree and say, what I offer is X, Y and Z. Match closely to what they are seeking - in most cases, what people learn, even from an MBA, doesn't really get them very far in business. So you want to show what you've done and how it moved the needle - made things better. When you speak in business language and skillfully translate your substantial experience into things they care about (read the job descriptions), they'll see the value. After all, even a degree stops mattering years later.

Kenneth Daniel ⋅ Niles, MI Quality Tax Service ⋅ 48 years experience

Mark,
I did not make a very good employee; however, I do have some developed thoughts regarding finding the work that a person wants to do.

1. Review your hobbies and other things that you enjoy doing, and especially problems that you see around you, that need solving.
2. Study the ones that you would enjoy doing, and identify the entities that would best be able to utilize what you want to do.
3. Identify the areas of strength that you possess and which entity you would like to work with most.
4. Find out what entity would best use that which you have to offer.
5. Find out who in that organization is the person who is responsible and makes decisions.
6. Develop an outline of why that person is looking for you and that if the fit is good, that you would consider working with their organization, and that, you are who they are looking for and why!

The only reason a person does not buy what we are selling is because the risk, return ratio is not favorable.

Do not ask the 'employer' to take risk of anything but time, and make sure that he/she will not have to risk much of that either.

If you are good, you will be able to demonstrate it if you have picked the right candidate. If they cannot tell, it is because you, have not picked the right candidate, or the right time. Learn from that experience, and move on to the next one.

Jo Prabhu ⋅ San Rafael, CA International Services Group ⋅ 20 years experience

You have received a ton of suggestions to your question. Not every company can hire an ex-service man or woman but why try to pursue a background you don't have and education you have not? It would be more appropriate to join an industry such as Manufacturing, Construction, Security, Law enforcement, even Politics- where discipline, obeyance to commands, strict adherence and compliance to the rules, strong work ethic, dedication, reputation, leadership and direction, all come into play. Companies need you. You just have to apply to the right ones for you.

AMY EFSTRATIOS ⋅ Haverhill, MA Beth Israel Lahey Health Hospital ⋅ 15 years experience

Hi Mark - Thank you for your service! Looks like you have received a lot of good input and advice on this matter. What I can tell you personally is that a combination of experience AND education efforts go a long way. I am now in the healthcare industry which is a drastic change from manufacturing (14 years of experience) Explaining what you have accomplished will surely help you land that job. The ability to articulate the importance of that experience whereas you can transfer this to others within an organization is key too. However, in the healthcare industry, I am surrounding by highly educated professionals who dedicate their lives on continuous learning. In order for me to maintain credibility, I am seeking to gain further education myself. I hope this helps and good luck!

Jose Roman ⋅ Norfolk, VA Military Resource Center Regent university ⋅ 8 years experience

Yes, experience can be more valuable than a degree, but is your experience more valuable than a degree? That's the question you need to be able to answer on your resume and on your LinkedIn profile.

You do that by showing results from your personal valued experience in different leadership roles whether that was in the military or outside the military as a civilian. Show those accomplishments on your resume and flesh them out on your LinkedIn Profile. Start with the specifics.

June Webb ⋅ Chevy Chase, MD JWebb Inspire ⋅ 17 years experience

Mark,

In a short answer, you may want to consider marketing yourself via Linkedin with endorsements and written recommendations. This is a great platform to present you experiences by word of mouth because that will create trust that you have, in fact worked with that particular skill set and the higher level person that recommend you the better your profile will present it self to recruiters and other companies.

Good luck,
June Webb
www.healthiesuccess.com

Richard Ervine ⋅ Katy, TX BP ⋅ 23 years experience

The best candidate for the job is the one with the right blend of experience and training/education. I look at training/education as the candidate's proverbial toolbox and their experience as their ability to use those tools. If your car needs to be fixed, you don't want to go to someone who has never looked under the hood before, but has a big toolbox full of tools. You also don't want someone who knows all about cars but only owns one pair of vice grips and a hammer. Neither will do a good job.

That said, your job is to make potential employers understand what training you DO have. You need to translate the training, etc. you did receive into something that a civilian (like me) can understand. An idea might be to take course requirements from a local college and show how your military training and experience match each of the degree requirements. There will be gaps, but not all degree components are applicable to all jobs and you should also have other beneficial skills for the job that make up for gaps.

Victoria Leo ⋅ Federal Way, WA Business Owner ⋅ 27 years experience

Don't fight that battle. It's NOT true that experience is more valuable than a degree, just as education is more important than experience. You need both. [Experience just means you know how to do what you've done, it does not mean than you have a comprehensive preparation for rapidly and effectively dealing with what you haven't experienced. Right? Right.]

So go down to your local community college right now and talk to an advisor. Find out what parts of your military education and experience can qualify for credits (mostly electives, possibly some English or math.) Then enroll in some classes toward a degree, and update your CV to say BS, Blah-deBlah, in progress. That is totally accurate and appropriate.

Now you have lots of experience and you have education in progress.

This tells an employer that you understand the need for a comprehensive knowledge of your subject matter, that you're not too proud to admit what you don't know and you have the grit and determination to buckle down and do the work that's required. Think of employers as the senior officer in charge of your work group. They are telling you what they want. Do you think it's your place to tell them they're an idiot? No, it's not. They want it, they have a good reason for wanting it.

Show what a good service member you were and get the job done. Good news: the older and wiser you are, the faster and the better grades you get as you learn.

I went back for a 2nd masters at <insert large number> years of age, and walked in graduation with a 4.0 in half the time the rest of 'em did.

Try American Military University if you have the discipline to work independently and you can work entirely at your own pace. As hard and as fast as you can, show what you can do. It's private but well-respected. Your local community college or even 4 year school might have an online division, many do.

Howard Turk ⋅ Denver, CO Turk & Co ⋅ 30 years experience

The only source of knowledge is experience - Albert Einstein

The ability to earn good grades in college has nothing to do with how well you will perform on the job; the skill sets are different.

Alan Reese ⋅ Naperville, IL Reese Financial Services ⋅ 1 years experience

HI, by using real life specific examples of previous examples and successful experiences with solved problems and people challenges.

jeff milam ⋅ Longview, TX U.S. Air Force, Senior Airman ⋅ 10 years served

Hi to everyone who reads this opinion!

I worked my way up from a radio electronics technician to network administrator of the Air Intelligence Agency. I was so far out of my career field the officers above me wondered how I even got the position.

I had no degree. Basic Buck Sgt (yeah, I was one of the last E4 Sgt) yet I was the administrator for the entire building of TS/SCI clearance computer network.

I worked every day and night to become the best there was at this new technology called Windows Server.

I have been in computers and networking ever since. That is over 30 years of experience in this field and sometimes get offended when companies require a degree to do the job (I send the resume anyway).

I think about it this way, if I had a masters or doctorates degree in 1996, how relevant would that information actually be now?

I have current experience in what is being used every day, not what a school taught me 20 years ago.

I continue my education every day, this is what makes experience more valuable than a degree.

Henry ("Dr. Hank") Stevens ⋅ Fort Lauderdale, FL Human Resources Quality Assurance, LLC (Now Retired) ⋅ 50 years experience

Greetings fellow Vet!

I have a slightly different take on answering your question. First to the theme of my response: TALENT trumps experience and education EVERY time.

The "proper educational" requirement has always meant to me - as a life-long recruiter and vocational counselor - that the candidate CAN learn. The "right experience" means that there is SOME familiarity with the tasks that need to be done - but too often, "the way we do it here is different from they way you did it there."

What is of real value are the TALENTS you bring to the employer. For but one short/simple example: Introversion and extroversion are not attributes that can be taught. Thus, would you hire an introvert for a customer-facing position, regardless of his.her education and experience?

Point being - identify your TALENTS, embrace them, and use those attributes as talking points. Tell 'em about your talents, cite examples, and forgive your education, certifications, and experience as they may just not be relevant -your talents are.

Here's a link to a free resource that may help you identify and articulate your relevant talents:

http://www.humanmetrics.com/hr/jtypesresult.aspx

If you need help interpreting the answers - feel free to contact me off-channel at hlstevens42@gmail.com

Dr. Hank

Steven Mathews ⋅ Spring, TX The Boeing Company ⋅ 40 years experience

The three recommendations have nailed it. When you demonstrate the value you brought to your military organization, that experience surpasses the academics in a cert or degree.

The prime question in a Hiring Manager's mind is, "Will this candidate make me look good?" "Looking good" is defined as satisfying the Three Pillars of Success: Technical, Budget, and Schedule. When you demonstrate that you are more than qualified in meeting those three criteria, the job is yours to lose.

Jodie Prieto-Rodriguez ⋅ Pittsburgh, PA Allegheny Health Network- Highmark Health ⋅ 21 years experience

Thanks for your service and congratulations on changing careersThe answer to your question is a 50/50 split depending on your career field. I am in a career field that requires a degree; however, the degree requirement could be waived if sufficient experience is displayed. I believe this is a concern among many vets, especially combat arms and other fields that may not necessarily translate to civilian careers.

I was a medic in the Army and at one point in my career worked as the Flight Surgeon Clinic NCOIC. I noted that many of our maintenance troops were extremely talented, yet lacked FAA certifications and college degrees. One of them is a retired E-08. He left the service with no degree, and a few certs. He asked his network of aviation vets where he should apply; they recommended Boeing, Lockhead, Sikorsky, etc... He took a chance and applied to GM to be a program director for R&D projects (like a lot of aviation, he loves anything fast and powerful).

During his interview, the interviewer noted his absence of certs and degrees and asked him why he felt that he was qualified for the job; he stated his experience with managing multiple teams with varying deadlines in a safe cost effective manner. He rattled off his experience in managing maintenance schedules, inspections, culturally diverse teams, and gave examples of how he dealt with FAA crash investigations, employee conflict, and project leadership. They hired him to keep their R&D teams on tasks. His experience in aviation maintenance management; employee leadership, and product knowledge has allowed him to obtain, maintain, and prosper in his position. He tells people who question his ability to lead without a degree (he's obtained it since and GM helped pay for it <saving his GI bill>) that he knows engine systems, aviation process, culture, and standards, and when people are blowing smoke up his exhaust.

Point being; for what ever you lack in certifications, you should be able to make up in stating your experience in previous leadership positions and being able to articulate in a specific manner what steps you took to ensure safe mission success, or if you failed... how you learned from it and the steps you took to prevent the failure from repeating.

I currently work as a Healthcare Regulatory Compliance lead. My educational background is Business Admin, my MOS while serving was a combat medic (4NO series). My position requires a degree; however, my interviewer was less concerned with what my degree is and more concerned with my experience in regulation compliance, safety, and drafting/implementing plans of correction.

My combat arms, aviation, and recruiting colleagues have made a rather nice post service career for themselves in quality control, regulatory compliance, and program/project management. If you are having difficulty finding positions you are ideal for, use the three areas i mentioned in an indeed or linked-in search. The results may surprise you.

Scott Agnoli ⋅ Clifton, NJ GetAGoodStart.com ⋅ 30 years experience

Hello Mark,

First, I am, as are all Americans, indebted to you for your service, thank you.

As I am of the same age as you and have navigated the same challenges you are currently, let me please share what I can in hopes to help you.

I have found that experience is more highly valued than education with startup companies and established companies with younger teams. Typically, these are organizations that have great talent but can be unskilled in their workflows and customer service areas. These types of companies are typically on the lookout for the experience to show them how to avoid the pitfalls of the "learning curve". With many start-up tech companies and internet-based businesses, there could easily be a market for you in consulting.

From the corporate side, (I worked for a large bank for a dozen years), the experience is a tough tradeoff for a college degree. It is viewed as the proof point of your learned skills.

In the education arena, real-world experience is typically highly valued. However, without an advanced degree, it may be difficult to get in the door.

I have found being a consultant in my area of expertise and experience has opened doors to the higher education world. Educators are typically a wealth of book knowledge (other people's work and experience) and do seek out real-world experience to add to their curriculum.

I would take a look at some local colleges and universities, particularly ones which have programs in the area of your experience. See if there is the opportunity to present a workshop or seminars based upon your experience which would add value to their curriculum. In addition, working with a college could lead to you getting classes at a reduced or even free cost giving you the ability to close the loop on a degree. Getting one could lead to being a professor or gaining career opportunities in the private sector. You may even be able to get college credit for your experience and be able to opt-out of some classes leading to faster attainment of a degree.

In the end, with your background, private security or education may be the two places you can find an opportunity. Many of these private security firms look to hire veterans because of their service experience. A close friend of mine went from the Marines directly to a corporate security firm with no degree, just military experience. Post 9/11, corporations understand that practical experience gained from military experience is highly desirable when it comes to security and safety.

I hope this has helped. I am not sure it has but please reach out to me if you have additional questions.

Scott Agnoli