Those Advanced Degrees - You Bet, They Can Be a Liability in Job Search

 On Reddit Career Guidance, a job searcher questions if PhD studies are getting in the way. Therefore, should it be not volunteered as information on a resume?

The feedback from responses indicate that, yes, it could be a liability. Among the reasons why range from the old "overqualified" to a "distraction" to the probability that the highly educates professional will fly the coop when a better opportunity is available. 

As a coach, I would add that America is the land of brutal pragmatism. We do not lean intellectual as do many in Europe. If employers bump up against what they assess as "too much education" they could knock you out of the box.

For many opportunities, full-time and contract, it could be wise to only list the BA/BS.  In a large number of contexts it is not required to detail higher education. That is, voluntary. So, it doesn't have to be mentioned. When it is required as data, then ethically it must be cited.

During the 2008 -2009 carnage, in my coaching I advised those with graduate/professional degrees to keep them under wraps in a hunt for survival kinds of jobs unless that was a must to include. The game became to keep income flowing in. The risk of being labeled as "overqualified" was all too obvious. My clients needed a job, any job. 

Complimentary confidential intuitive coaching session. No pressure. Maybe even some lightness of being. Please contact Jane Genova for an appointment (text/phone 203-468-8579 or email at janegenova374@gmail.com)


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