PhD follow up

I received some great emails after last week's column about PhDs on resumes. Marcus, who is completing a doctorate while working in HR, agreed that a PhD should only be included on a resume if relevant to the role a candidate is applying for.

Dr Chris was irritated by the column: "I'm quite disgusted that having a PhD is an impediment to employment," he wrote. "This speaks volumes about employers and the future prospects for Australia as a whole. Sadly I suspect you are correct in your assessment that PhDs tend to hinder getting a job - in Australia. This is certainly my experience: I have a PhD and I have been looking for work for about 10 months, with barely a nibble from 'industry'. However, I strenuously disagree with your passive acceptance of this state of affairs. It is employers who need re-educating, not the people with doctorates who should be dumming themselves down so that they are palatable to the employment market. I don't think advising people to remove references to their qualifications an acceptable response, particularly from someone in your position." Point taken Chris. He also rejects the "stereotype" re how PhDs perform in the business world. "What does having a PhD got to do with being able to make fast decisions? Being able to analyse a problem in depth is not mutually exclusive with being capable of making a fast decision." Read Chris'comments in full on Kate's Blog on the CareerOne website.

And Dave, the engineering PhD I wrote about originally, emailed me from New York where he is enjoying life as a house husband while his wife completes a three-month business project. He found a job in the mining sector that he starts on his return to Australia.

By Kate Southam, Editor of careerone.com.au, March 21 2006.