Pilot fish is interviewing for a contract position in a research group at a government hospital, and the interviewer is an MD at both this hospital and the one at the local university. But the doc’s perfunctory questions and his body language convince fish he is totally uninterested in him and his résumé.



Until, that is, fish mentions that his MS is from the local university.



Suddenly, the doc is much more interested and engaged. Says fish, who remembers it all with dismay years later, “Having that degree didn’t change who I was or my abilities — and it certainly didn’t add significantly to my ability to perform the intended duties. But it was really important to him.”



Fish gets the contract in the end, but the close call doesn’t move him to place his education above his experience on his résumé, because he still considers the latter to be more important — to him, if not to everyone.

Sharky is sure your experience includes some great true tales of IT life. Send them to me at sharky@computerworld.com. You can also subscribe to the Daily Shark Newsletter.