You Don't Need A College Degree (But It Helps)

Dear Import/Export Compliance Manager,

I don’t have a four-year college degree but the import/export compliance job postings I see all require one.  Should I still apply for those jobs?  If so, how can I get an interview?  And if I get an interview, what do I say to counter the lack of a degree? 

Valuable (I think) in Vicksburg

Dear Valuable (I think),

The Import/Export Compliance Manager used to think that a four-year degree was essential for someone to be awesome in an import/export compliance analyst or management role.  Whether this was due to an unwillingness to change the status quo, a subconscious attempt to justify his own four-year degree or what, the Import/Export Compliance Manager used the four-year requirement as a filter to narrow down candidates.

Now he knows better.

That’s not to say that a four-year degree is worthless.  Quite the contrary, having gone through the rigors of college coursework, having to think in ways that you haven’t done before and learning through experiences, not only in the classroom but, sometimes as importantly, outside of it, makes a job candidate more valuable to any import/export compliance department. 

The degree, however, is not everything.  Obviously, experience is helpful, whether it be in a prior import/export compliance position, having taken and hopefully passed the U.S. Customs Broker’s Exam, or a school project or non-import/export compliance job that helped you gain skills helpful in import/export compliance. 

What is really the most important, in the opinion of The Import/Export Compliance Manager, is not skills but talents.  This is a concept from ‘First, Break All The Rules’ by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman.  Skills are tasks that can be taught such as how to classify using the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States and determining whether an export license is needed.  Talents, on the other hand, are innate parts of you as a person that cannot be taught.  The ability to give an amazing presentation, the ability to not get lost in a sea of Excel spreadsheets, the ability to get a recalcitrant engineer to buy into the extra work you are giving her and the ability to speak to executives without making a fool of yourself are all talents.  Sure, you can be trained to do them a little better but, let’s face it, if you hate speaking in front of large groups, it will be quite difficult for you to be an awesome public speaker.

The key, then, is to emphasize your talents.  What are the tasks that really get you going?  Accountants just love seeing the numbers match up, salespeople take rejection as a challenge and talented import/export compliance people have a passion for ensuring compliance and saving money, preferably with the support of co-workers.  Even if you don’t know what your talents are, that’s ok.  The big one, particularly for a field like import/export compliance that few people actually go to school to study, is to show that you can learn quickly.  You have to make the hiring managers (and the Human Resources screeners) realize that, once you get the knowledge (i.e. skills) needed to do the job well, you will be better than someone with tons of experience but who does not necessarily have the talent.

If the Import/Export Compliance Manager were in your shoes, here he would apply for the jobs.  If possible, provide a cover letter to make your case for why you are a great fit for the job, even sans degree (and get a polished writer or experienced import/export compliance contact to help you).  Work hard to network.  Find someone who works at the company you are applying to work at and invite them to lunch (you pay).  No one who can fog a mirror turns down a free lunch.  Use the time to pick their brain about the company.  Best-case scenario is for you to have someone within the company or someone the hiring manager knows recommend you to the hiring manager.  Emphasize anything and everything regarding your experience that is relevant to the job, your ability to learn quickly and your talents. 

You may get lucky and run into a hiring manager who, like the Import/Export Compliance Manager, has seen awesome people in import/export compliance who have no degree.  If not, you need to overcome it.  Read ‘What Color Is Your Parachute?’ for job interviewing tips and to understand the hiring manager’s point of view (you may be surprised).  Basically, you have to work harder against those with degrees.  It’s tough but not impossible.  And, if you get a job, the Import/Export Compliance Manager would love to hear about how you did it.