Leave business degree off resume?

thomas_

Wouldd it be better to leave a business degree off of my resume? Most of the jobs I see only are looking for bachelor's in a related field, so I'm not sure how much I benefit from listing it other than not listing it would leave a large unexplained gap in my work history.

OctalDump

Large unexplained gaps are a bad thing.

Generally, taylor your resume for each job. Highlight the relevant stuff, downplay or omit the less relevant. If you don't have a heap of other (IT) experence, then talking about some of the generic skills that the business degree gave you might be worthwhile - eg project management, account management, relationships, strategic/tactical planning, leadership etc.

Otherwise, maybe have 5-10 lines for each of the IT things, and 2 lines for the business stuff. Just so there isn't a gap. I don't think that generally it will be seen as a bad thing, but might make people wonder if you put in for an IT role and then spend a page and half about how you were junior vice manager of pencil sales.

techfiend

I'd leave it on, it's much better than no degree and it will never hurt. It shows companies you stuck with and achieved something you could have easily quit. A lot of companies list IT degrees but many accept any major. There's many doing well in IT that majored in something else.

pinkydapimp

Most definitely leave it on there. More and more business skills are becoming quite important in IT. Dont be ashamed of that skillset. Leverage it. Build around it.

bloodshotbetty

Leave it on. You can apply a college degree to anything. If they want something relevant, you can highlight your degree in your cover letter and HOW it applies to IT.

My degree is in social work. I point out that in SW I learned how to communicate, work with people, customer service, and all of those soft skills that are oh-so-important. College experience, in any form, is awesome to have.

6 weeks into my first IT gig and I am already known as the person to put on with the difficult customers because I can sweet talk them.

JoJoCal19

My undergrad is in Business Administration and it has never hurt me in getting jobs. As pinkydapimp mentioned, I use it to my advantage and in interviews I explain how to solve business needs with technology solutions.

TechGuru80

Where do people get the idea of leaving off degrees....such a terrible idea. Not to mention, a business degree actually is one of the few non-IT degrees that DOES BENEFIT a company.

OctalDump

TechGuru80 wrote: »

Where do people get the idea of leaving off degrees....such a terrible idea. Not to mention, a business degree actually is one of the few non-IT degrees that DOES BENEFIT a company.

One of the few non-IT degrees where you don't have to explain how it benefits. You could probably find something applicable in even a degree like medieval French poetry. Just the whole meta-education from dealing with University bureaucracy is worth something. Did you have multiple assignments due at the same time? Juggled competing priorities, time management skills. Group projects? work as part of a team, dealt with idiots and delivered. Distance/Online learning? Self motivated, technology.

As always, you tailor to the job. Not everyone is going to believe that your skills are relevant, some employers will scoff, but the good employers will be able to see the potential.

As for leaving off degrees. I know someone who doesn't list their Bachelor Science (Physics) Hons (I), on their linkedin page, since they think it is a distraction from their main selling points. Although they are fortunate to have a Bachelors in Engineering and a Masters in IT, so...

beads

One of the biggest complaint non-IT business has with IT people, particularly security people? Lack of business skills. And its hard to teach techs to think in business terms.

-b/eads

TechGuru80

beads wrote: »

One of the biggest complaint non-IT business has with IT people, particularly security people? Lack of business skills. And its hard to teach techs to think in business terms.

-b/eads

I don't remember ever seeing companies pay for their IT folks to go back to get a degree in art...even communications is a stretch.

OctalDump

TechGuru80 wrote: »

I don't remember ever seeing companies pay for their IT folks to go back to get a degree in art...even communications is a stretch.

Lol, hard enough to get them to pay for a degree in IT!

But if you already have the degree, use it to your advantage. I could see, for example, someone with a degree in Fine Arts and IT skills getting work in creative fields. Actually, I've seen creative companies look for IT people who 'can work with creatives', so maybe a degree or training in a related field could play to your advantage.

There's also demand for multi-lingual IT (everything from HelpDesk up), so a degree in modern languages could work for you there.

Funnily enough, I know someone with a communications degree that works as fairly high level with databases. It's about pulling the raw data out, transforming it, and delivering a non-technical report/presentation. He also does the client facing stuff, attending meetings, getting requirements, selling etc. But has the high level database stuff as well.

Arguably, as IT skills become more pervasive, having that 'extra' something could be what lands you the good jobs.

But it's about understanding what skills you have, how they can be useful for a given employer, and selling that.

Russell77

Having a 4 year degree in anything can help you get by an HR screen.

the_Grinch

Number one problem facing anyone in IT is the ability to show that IT makes the company money and is not just a cost. Being in this field for a number of years has taught me one big fact: if I could go back, I would have majored in Computer Science or Business Administration with a concentration in MIS. My school's Business Administration program required you choose three concentrations and that would have truly set me up right. Now more then ever I see postings for Business Analyst. List it.

Fulcrum45

Like BloodShotBetty pointed out many degrees and programs have qualities that could be incorporated to the very position you are applying for. I would think a Business Degree would be a hot-ticket item but I'm not really and HR person. I have a history degree that lends itself well to analysis and writing comprehension and I make sure to note this on my resume.

Khaos1911

Man, companies are in business to make money. So it's great that a bunch of people get their degree in comp sci and all, but from a business perspective, these business do not give a *&^% that you know what a algorithm is. They want to know how you can sustain and improve their technical capacity/capabilities to continue to make money and more importantly, make more money.

Definitely put you business degree on there and let the certs (and resume in general) speak for your technical accomplishments. I love to see well rounded people in interviews who are not only technical, but understand we run a fortune 100 business and if all you can do is speak techie jargon with no real understanding of how these routers, IPS/IDS, firewalls, etc you configure help protect and sustain/increase this business, you can kick rocks. As professionals we have to get beyond just being "technical" and "I've studied for my CCNA now the world should be my oyster" mentality and start seeing IT as a way to improve business processes/profits, not just another exam to study for. *END Rant*

--chris--

My business degree helped me (directly) get my internship and helped me get my first job in IT working for Dell as desktop support. Both times the hiring manager said the degree put me over the other prospects (each had their own reasoning, but both said it helped a lot). It probably even helped a little bit in my current role since I do some sales engineering.

tl:dr

education is good, I would (almost) never leave a degree off a resume

Mike7

Khaos1911 wrote: »

I love to see well rounded people in interviews who are not only technical, but understand we run a fortune 100 business and if all you can do is speak techie jargon with no real understanding of how these routers, IPS/IDS, firewalls, etc you configure help protect and sustain/increase this business, you can kick rocks.

As professionals we have to get beyond just being "technical" and "I've studied for my CCNA now the world should be my oyster" mentality and start seeing IT as a way to improve business processes/profits, not just another exam to study for. *END Rant*

Well said.
Or in PC (politically correct) terms, to align IT with business goals.

E Double U

I have a B.S. in Business Admin w/ an Info Sys concentration and yes I have it on my CV.

beads

TechGuru80 wrote: »

I don't remember ever seeing companies pay for their IT folks to go back to get a degree in art...even communications is a stretch.

I take it you spend much of your time in the back room?


- b/eads

636-555-3226

If you think you may need to leave it off then there's a reason. Leave it on and address that reason in your cover letter. That way you get the pros of leaving it on & can address the cons in a quick & concise manner from the get-go.

Chev Chellios

Fulcrum45 wrote: »

Like BloodShotBetty pointed out many degrees and programs have qualities that could be incorporated to the very position you are applying for. I would think a Business Degree would be a hot-ticket item but I'm not really and HR person. I have a history degree that lends itself well to analysis and writing comprehension and I make sure to note this on my resume.

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