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You have experience now. Some people don’t even have their education on their resume. Leave it off. And, if someone asks about it, say what you just told us. School isn’t for everybody and I was able to get into the industry based on the merit of my work alone.
I haven’t had a single interviewer ask me about my schooling in years. Nor, have I even provided a resume, honestly. The portfolio is the focus at your level.
See my comment below.
It’s vetted in your background check
The company that I'm at right now called my college to confirm my degree. I will admit that I'm pretty sure that's the first time that's ever happened in 25 years of working, but it is possible.
If you have a ton of experience, I'd just be honest about not having a degree. They may overlook the degree, but they won't overlook the dishonesty.
You won't get caught
You absolutely will get caught. It’s part of the background check.
Depends on the company and type of background check they run. Some verify education and employment history, others just do a criminal check.
Did you not go to college at all? Or did you just never graduate?
In that case I would list the name of the College under Education on your resume but don’t include the years you attended or a degree. You could include the discipline. Then technically you aren’t lying and as a CD it’s highly unlikely anyone will ask.
Had a junior who was interviewing for my team do this and the background check caught it. HR wouldn’t let us make an offer.
Rising Star
No and no one cares about college in the creative dept. Just your book.
The great ones don’t care. You don’t need a degree to be good at advertising. Hell, I’d go as far as to say not doing a degree can make you better at it.
For everybody saying to just either list the college, and not say I graduated or just tell them the story, a fair amount of gigs, I would venture to say about half, are bachelor degree gated, meaning they will not consider a candidate that does not have a bachelors degree. They will not look at the portfolio. They will not look at the résumé. This usually comes from on high, or it could even just come from an overzealous recruiting team that assumes not having a bachelors degree is a basic non-starter. Whatever the case, it keeps me from even being seen much less considered.
Hmmm…re-reading your prompt, you asked specifically about an application. So, I’m assuming some type of AI-reader would give it a first pass, which would automatically reject your application.
I don’t typically apply for jobs using that process. So, I immediately thought of resumes. I mostly go through recruiters who never ask about those things. Maybe that could be a route?
That all said, gatekeeping a job at your level and in a creative industry is lame. I’m sorry you have to deal with that. The work and experience should speak for itself.
There are jobs out there that specifically want a 4 year degree and no matter your experience they won’t hire you. If it’s a big enough company they will absolutely check.
If your book is good, I don’t care if you finished middle school. Just be honest.
You should try to bypassing those folks whenever possible and reach out to ECDs directly. I’m obviously a sample size of one, but I’ve hired very few people that internal recruits have brought to me over the years because, to your point, they’re awful judges of talent and are usually just checking boxes
I do say it in my resume but I don't have certificate or transcript to show. I did graduate but did not process those papers.
However, the five companies I worked for never insisted. No negatives from background checkers, too.