Today, a special treat!  Melissa over at The Job Quest talks about how higher education can help your job search.  Some good stuff here, learned from real life experience.  Thanks, Melissa.

For some, the thought of going back to school is daunting.  I know, I know.  You thought that you had put in your time and had secured your dream job.  School wouldn’t really be necessary anymore.

Unfortunately, life doesn’t always work that way.  With the economic situation in 2008 and 2009, many people who thought they were all set found themselves out of work.

I know.  It happened earlier this year to my husband, Rodney.  After 20 years in his industry, with seven years at the same company and four years in his role as a production supervisor, Rodney was told he was being let go.

So how can going back to school benefit your job search?  Here are four ways it can help:

1.  Keep your skills current.

The world is changing all the time.  When you are employed, you learn about changes in work processes or new technology that impact your field.  It just all becomes so integrated that it doesn’t feel like learning in the traditional sense.

But when you are between jobs, it’s like you are in a time warp — your skills stay the same, but progress in the industry keeps moving forward.  Even if it’s only been six months from the end of one position to the start of another, it can result in getting behind with all that’s new (this is especially true for high-tech fields).

Picking up a class about an upcoming workplace trend at your local college can help erase the impact of an employment gap.

2.  Learn something new.

“A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions.” Anonymous

Even if you are not looking to change fields, taking a course in an area of interest can “strengthen the brain by building new pathways and increasing connections.”  It really can help you think smarter in other areas of life, which is always necessary when you are working to come up with sizzling answers to the questions that interviewers pose.

So go learn a new language or take a weekend seminar in yoga.  Your brain will thank you!

3.  Increase your networking circle.

You meet all sorts of people when you take a class.  The connections you make there can help you find your new job.  Think about it…

Maybe your instructor is an adjunct professor who works for a company you’ve been researching.  If you really impress her with your leadership skills in the classroom, she might be willing to pass your name on to a hiring manager who is looking for someone with your skills set!

Or, there is a semester-long team project that you work on with individuals from various fields.  Even though they may not have any information that can produce a job lead, they could become connections on LinkedIn and possibly even write recommendations that speak to your work ethic and leadership during that project.  How impressed would a prospective employer be to see something like that?

4.  Make yourself more attractive by completing your degree.

During Rodney’s job search earlier this year, he felt fairly sure about his experiences.  In addition to his experience, he had an impressive list of accomplishments.  Companies would surely want to take a look at what he had to offer.

One thing that continually dogged him, however, was his lack of a bachelor’s degree.  He holds an associate’s degree, so he thought that his current level of schooling combined with his experience would help him get his foot in the door.

Rodney did get interviews, but the reality is that if another candidate had similar work credentials and a higher degree, that person would be the one to get the job.  I have a sneaking suspicion that happened more than once.  He’d go through the interview process and then receive the call, “You were a strong candidate, but…”

While my husband did get called back by his company as a supervisor in September, he had already reached the conclusion that he would need to continue his schooling.

In January, Rodney will be starting an undergraduate program that fits with his industry.  Not only will this help him stay competitive in his current position, but it will make him an attractive candidate should an opportunity arise to advance within his company.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 18th, 2009 at 12:57 pm and is filed under career advice, job hunting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.