You Don’t Need a College Degree to Land a Great Job (2024)

In the 19thcentury, Horace Mann, a pioneer of American public schools, famously called education the “great equalizer of the conditions of men.” But for decades now, the education system has revealed — and amplified — existing social inequalities.

Sixyears ago, when I started out at LaunchCode — a nonprofit focused on bridging the education and employment gap for students — this was still true. There wasmore demandfor jobs than there were openings, and to be a competitive candidate, you needed a degree to demonstrate your competence.

Today, however, the tables have turned.

Now,companies need more workersthan workers need jobs. Instead of weeding people out, businesses are tasked with figuring out how to bring new talent in, andremoving the college degree requirement has been an effective way to do so.

Plainly put, not having a college degree should not diminish your chances of securing a good job. This is good news for many young people entering the workforce.

Fewer high-school graduatespursued higher education in 2020 than in previous years, and according to a recent survey, college enrollments dropped by 6.8% in 2020 — more than quadrupling the pre-pandemic rate of decline. Thesame surveyrevealed that Covid-19 exacerbated the decline in college enrollments for students of color from low-income communities. Only46% of studentsfrom high-poverty schools enrolledfora college educationin 2020 compared to 70% of those from low-poverty schools. Those same students continue to struggle to find adequate resources for virtual learning.

These trends, combined with theGreat Resignation, have forced companies to re-think some of their more traditional hiring practices. When it comes to finding the right candidates, recruiters are now looking at talent pipelines outside of college pathways. For job seekers without degrees, this meansmore opportunities, better pay, and loftier benefits than ever before.

It’s Time for Job Seekers to Get Social

Many people start their job search on sites like Indeed or LinkedIn. They search a few keywords and then browse the first few pages of listings. But often, it’s only the biggest, wealthiest companies — the ones thatpay money to keep their job openings at the topof those lists — that show up.As a result, hundreds, or even thousands, of candidates apply for a very small pool of job openings, increasing competition among job seekers.Hiring managers are more likely to favor those candidates withrelevant network connections, which puts students with college degrees at an advantage and those without them at a disadvantage.

For hiring managers, degrees are often a quick proof point. They indicate that a candidate has dedicated the necessary time and received the proper education to build skills relevant to a role. In lieu of a degree, candidates need to be able to prove this on their own — and social media is a great way to do it. You can use your profiles like a portfolio and engage in activity that demonstrates your experience, dedication, and commitment to bettering your skills.

How do you get started? Here are some strategies you can use.

1) Audit your social media profiles.

It’s very likely that hiring managers know you even before they meet you. In fact, most recruiters factor a job candidate’s social media accounts into their hiring decisions, and79% have even rejecteda candidate because of their social media content.For instance, if employers see hate speech, intolerant comments, images showing irresponsible or illegal behavior, negative posts about previous employers, and more, they’re probably not going to hire you.So, don’t treat your social profiles as an afterthought; establish your online presence to impress a recruiter. Use it to show who you are in ways that a résumé or interview cannot.

Cover these simple bases first.

Profile picture:Princeton researchers found that people form initial judgments after seeing someone’s facewithin one-tenth of a second, so you need a good profile picture to make a favorable first impression.One studyby Photofeeler, a website that allows users to share feedback on photos anonymously, found that dressing formally in profile pictures can make you appear more competent, and smiling with your teeth showing can make you appear more likable and influential.

If you can afford it, hire a professional photographer to take a headshot of you in formal attire. If that’s not an option, ask a friend to take your photo or take a selfie on your own — just make sure the photo is clear and well lit, without clutter in the background. Be sure to keep your photo consistent across sites. When employers look at your various profiles, you want them to be certain that they’re looking at the same person.

Without a profile picture, you run the risk of looking unconcerned with how you present yourself online — or even looking like a fake profile.

Experience and job descriptions:Ensure that your experiences and job description on social media match your résumé.You want to show consistency, and including a position on your social profiles but not on your résumé could create confusion.Since space isn’t a constrainton many social media sites, don’t hesitate to include any additional details about your jobs (such as additional responsibilities, awards, etc.) that you couldn’t fit on your résumé. If you’ve worked in different industries, list all of them and elaborate on how the skills you learned there can help you excel in your desired career path.

For example, if you’ve waited tables and are now looking for different opportunities, list the skills you’ve picked up along the way: communication, emotional intelligence, crisis management, and teamwork. Then, explain how those skills translate to make you a good fit for the next roles you want.

On LinkedIn, this could look like:

• Server at XYZ Restaurant, 2015-2020

• Worked with a team of 12 servers to coordinate customer satisfaction in a fast-paced environment.

• Gained communication, conflict resolution, and teamwork skills that will help me collaborate with peers to address problems quickly and efficiently in future roles.

2) Next, pay attention to the people you follow.

Create a list of companies you’re interested in working for, and follow the CEOs and founders wherever they’re active on social media. It’s likely they’re active somewhere:62% of CEOswere present on at least one platform as of late 2020, which is a 15% increase from 2019.

When creating the list of whom to follow, consider smaller companies over larger ones. Leaders of smaller companies are more likely to engage with people on social media and are also more likely to use those opportunities to staff their organizations. For example, you might not see Mark Zuckerberg posting on Facebook to fill positions, but new startup founders will be eager to find talent that fits the bill.

Engage with company leaders by reposting the content they share and commenting on their posts with your own thoughts or questions. The more you get in front of them, the higher the chance of them recognizing your application should it cross their desk.Moreover, if you can tell a hiring manager in an interview that you stumbled upon their job listing in a tweet from the CEO, it shows that you were interested in the company (even before they posted the opening) and that you have done your research.

I’d also recommend following Venture Capital (VC) funding announcements and looking into the startups they’re investing in. If a startup has just received millions of dollars in funding — and especially if they are a smaller, newer startup — you can fairly assume that they’ll be looking to hire new talent.Get in front of them with an online presence that proves your skills and interest, and you may just get your foot in the door.

3) Prove your passion.

Without a degree, you need another way to convince hiring managers that you’re interested in their field and have the skillsnecessary to do the job well. Your résumé is critical, but know that you have endless room to build your brand on social media. For instance, focus on the content you share,write, and post. Use it to prove your drive, passion, and industry knowledge.

To do that, stay updated withindustry trends by following hashtags on Twitter or Instagram. Job seekers looking to find work in the marketing or advertising fields, for instance, could follow hashtags such as #adtech or #advertisingtrends and keep watch for topics that pique their interest.

When you see an interesting topic, repost the articles and share your commentary or thoughts. For example, let’s say you’re interested in social media marketing, and Instagram’s new video update has caught your attention. You couldshare an articleon the subject, and then write your own LinkedIn post about how more brands should lean into the platform’s shift toward video if they want to grow their followers.

Sharing your own writing is a great way to show recruiters you’re passionate about a specific field, and writing about industry trends, in particular, exemplifies your continued interest. In addition to posting directly on social media, you can use an open-platform site, like Medium,to house your articles and share the links on your various accounts. Add hashtags to your posts when you share your work to improve your visibility among others in the field.

Why does this matter? When recruiters see people who know what they’re talking about and have an interest and passion for their field, they feel more confident offering them positions. Even when you’re not actively looking for a job, it’s likely you’re on a recruiter’s radar.

As a case in point: When my organization is looking for new people to join our team, we often spend time online to see who’s talking about relevant things, seems interested in the work we do, and would be a good fit for our mission. Sometimes, if a candidate appears to be promising, we might even reach out to them and see if they’d be interested in working with us.

4) Develop and show off your skills.

College is not the only way to master technical skills. Candidates are increasingly investing in online learning tools (both free and paid) to build competencies in various industries. In fact,researchby Gartnershows that 43% of job candidates teach themselves one or more of the skills they need to do their jobs. If you are looking to expand your skill set before applying to a role, online learning platforms such asLinkedIn LearningorOpen Universityare great places to begin.

That said, building new skills is not enough to impress in and of itself. You also need to be creative about showing them off on social media. The easiest way to do this is to demonstrate your credentials on sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and even more visually-driven platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Think about the numerous Instagram Reels and TikToks of people demonstrating their expertise — from consultants spewing job advice to artists walking you through their processes. You, too, can and should take advantage of these innovative formats.

For example, one of our graduates at LaunchCode, Je’Nell McCrary, recently entered the technology field and now makes YouTube videos about her experiences in a new industry on her channel, Forever GeNella. She’s demonstrating her passion and ability to learn new things quickly and autonomously. Even if you’re not an expert, sharing the skills you do have can help boost a recruiter’s confidence that you’re the right candidate.

In today’s hiring landscape, you don’t need to count yourself out of the running if you don’t have a degree. What’s more important is to show that you’re driven, passionate, and possess the skills that the workforce needs. Recruiters are now turning to social media to learn about potential candidates, so don’t be afraid to meet them there and demonstrate how you’d be an excellent fit — degree or not.