PSA: No one cares about your education

Last week, I had a call with a recent Graduate. 

Frustrated with the job hunt, they reached out to me to gain insight into why they couldn’t secure a role in Marketing and the Creative industry.

They’d applied for over 100 jobs in 3 months (!!).

Mainly Easy Apply on Linkedin. 

And they got nothing. Not a single interview.

In their exasperated state they told me: 

‘I have a Masters from a Top 10 UK University; it makes no sense as to why I can’t get a job. Most of the people who work at these companies I’m applying to haven’t even got a Masters, let alone attended a Top 10 university’

And here in lies the trap.

We attend high school and we are told ‘if you don’t get top marks, you won’t succeed’.

Then we attend university because we are told ‘if you don’t have a degree you won’t succeed’

And then we graduate. And we expect the jobs to fall in our lap because we have an education.

Finally - with upwards of £40k in debt - the lie is uncovered.

No one cares about your education.

This might sound harsh (and, of course, there are nuances to this statement). But if you work in Marketing and the Creative industry, I can assure you, the doors will no open simply because you went to a Top 10 university or have a Masters Degree.

But no one was going to tell you that until you’d spent all that money.

If you want to secure a job in Marketing and the Creative industry - whether you are a graduate OR more advanced in your career - it is not enough to just sit on Linkedin and Easy Apply for roles.

Nothing will come easy in an industry that is ultra competitive.

One of my clients - with 6 years working for a FAANG tech company - recently told me:

‘I thought after 6 years working for [FAANG company] jobs would just fall in my lap. I can’t believe how hard it is to secure a role’

Again, roles will not just fall in your lap. You have to do more than just Easy Apply on Linkedin if you want to secure the best roles out there.

If you are struggling to secure great roles, do not rest on your ‘amazing education’ or your ‘great CV’. You have to push harder than that.

Here’s some things to think about:

1. How can I focus my job-hunt so that I know exactly the roles I want to go after?

If you want help with that, we have a mini-course on exactly how to do this. Check out Strategy Focus.

2. How can I make sure I’m creating high quality applications?

If you don’t know how to create a high quality application, check our Application Booster.

3. Am I leveraging my network? Am I growing my network to secure roles?

If you don’t know how to build and grow a genuine, authentic network, check out Network Builder.

4. Do I know in advance how I’m going to PITCH myself for every role? Not just answer questions but really pitch and position myself as the ‘must-hire’ candidate?

If you don’t know how to do that, check our Pitch + Position.

You MUST go over and above what everyone else is doing when it comes to your career and job hunting. Assume that ‘no one cares’ and with that mindset you avoid the trap of thinking it is all going to come easily.