MacGregor, my Scottish terrier, is excited today about an excellent opportunity to earn his MBA online thanks to a diploma mill operating outside the USA. Check out this dog's story about his degree. I learned about this from a posting in the Chronicle of Higher Education about a group called GetEducated.com which rates online education programs and helps consumers identify the scam schools, presumably to avoid wasting their money. Fake degrees are a major headache for employers, and are part of the bigger issue of lying on a resume. In the future, I'll post more about this topic, but I think it's safe to say that if a dog can get your degree, you probably shouldn't put it on your resume.
For the moment, I'm more interested in pointing you to a great job search resource: the Chronicle of Higher Education
Don't let the publication's name fool you: in addition to faculty and administrative postings for colleges and universities, they list job opportunities in other educational organizations, research institutes and think-tanks, nonprofit and government agencies, and even some for-profit groups such as consulting firms.
Not surprisingly, the majority of positions require at least a master's degree. But even if you don't qualify for the positions,they post thoughtful articles about the search which can be applicable to a variety of professional settings. Some articles are limited to subscribers, but most of their information is free. They offer columns on managing your career , improving your performance at work, and general advice columns.
A particularly helpful aspect is they provide information from the employer's perspective as well as the job seeker's. It's imperative that job seekers get into the mind of the employer before they write their resume or go to the interview. For example, a recent posting is called "The Aggressive Online Search." Usually a title like that leads to an article warning job seekers about their Facebook pages or other potential digital dirt. This one warns employers about the hazards of their online presence.
Search the archives for valuable articles: I discovered one today about the perils of blogging for job seekers. Hmm....I'm not even job-seeking and it still makes me pause.
Oh, about MacGregor. He's not going to get his MBA. He flunked puppy kindergarten at PetSmart.
