Right Job, Wrong Background?
Eager for a career change... but lacking confidence in your existing background and credentials?
You may be right - you may need specific skills, experience and qualifications for your desired career. Then again... maybe you're exaggerating the consequences of not having the "right" qualifications. You may actually have "credentialitis" - where, although you actually do have the skills, knowledge and talent necessary for a promotion, new job or new career, you still believe you need to get some qualification or credential to get that career or job.
You know, I thought credentials and qualifications were a convenient means of proving that you have certain skills and knowledge. But if it's obvious that you have those skills and knowledge... why do you need a certificate, diploma, degree or some other kind of qualification to prove it? For instance, let's say you're a college dropout who's built and sold a business and now wants to get a job as a sales manager within another company. If you have credentialitis you may doubt your ability to become the sales manager of a large company. You may even consider going back to college and investing thousands of dollars, not to mention a few years of your life, to get your degree...
But is this necessary? Does a college degree better qualify you than having started, built and sold your own business? What if you repositioned yourself as the best possible sales manager - someone who has acquired rare and valuable skills and experiences through building and selling your own company?
Again, I'm not questioning the need for formal education when it comes to making career changes like engineering or teaching. However, for other career changes there's no need to spend megabucks on courses and programs. Certainly not when you ALREADY have the critical skills and knowledge required for the new position. Or where it's just a matter of investing in a book or short workshop... or you can simply learn by doing the job. Ofcourse, I understand that while you may know you have the skills, abilities, knowledge and talents for a particular career... you may still face an employer who wants to see a certificate, diploma or degree.
But if we agree that this societal credentialitis is unnecessary and damaging (in the sense that skilled, knowledgeable and talented people miss out on jobs and careers to which they're suited) then it's up to you and I to change things. What this means is - get confident! Know and feel - and communicate - that you have the skills and abilities for the new career.
And if enrolling in a formal education course or program continues to intrigue you, answer this question: Will you be undertaking the course to acquire new knowledge and skills or to acquire a credential that proves your possession of that knowledge and those skills?
You see, overcoming credentialitis and becoming more self-confident will not only save you money, time and energy... but it will also enhance your sense of self-worth and happiness. And if someone ever questions your "lack of qualifications" you can simply explain how your unique background has armed you with knowledge and skills that are superior to those you could get from studying.
But if you discover that a potential employer isn't satisfied with such an explanation, you may wish to consider making a career change elsewhere - with people and companies that aren't preoccupied with credentials. Of course, when you are recruiting people, try to look beyond someone's qualifications too - their "real-world" background may well have armed them with skills, abilities and knowledge that is just as valuable (if not more so) than those obtained through formal education.
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