Here's a reader question that will hit home for many job-seekers, whose educational backgrounds may not match the requirements in job postings.

DEAR AMY: While I do not have a formal degree, I have 15 years' experience in "degree-required" professional positions with large, "household-name," international corporations. I'm seeking a similar job, but the transition to Web-based application processes presents a significant challenge: While previously I could explain my background in a cover letter, now I must click a response button indicating whether I have a degree.

Clicking "No" ends the process with a message such as "Sorry, you are not qualified for this position." But if I click "Yes" based on equivalent experience, I fear some human resources people and/or hiring managers will view it as an untruthful response, especially if other candidates have degrees.

How do you suggest handling this? Obviously, the simple answer is to get a degree, but that's not feasible in the short term.

- RUSSELL IN ATLANTA

The situation Russell describes is so full of ironies that I hardly know where to start. With only about one-third of U.S. workers having degrees beyond high school — and with a projected labor shortage, as "retiring" baby boomers reduce their working hours — these organizations are fishing in ever-shrinking ponds.

And now that student loans are endangered, when college tuition is extremely expensive, one has to wonder about future graduation rates. Just where do employers think they'll find all these degree-

holders? And, if people with degrees also have high student debt, do employers think they will come cheap? Or, heaven help them, that they won't require any on-the-job training?

AMY LINDGREN

WORKING STRATEGIES

One of my favorite curses for inane hiring practices is this: I wish upon you the workers that you seek.

Which is not to say that I think degree-holders are less favorable hires — or any other broad generalization. I do think that employers would be better served by defining the actual tasks they need performed and then seeking the people who can perform those tasks.

Assuming that holding a degree means "I can solve your company's problems," however, is a bit goofy.

To be fair, I give the same kind of lecture in reverse to degree-holders: Figure out what the company needs, then prove that you can do it. Don't assume that they'll worship your degree, when it's results they want.

But none of this fine talk helps Russell or the millions of others trying to find jobs online. The following tips should help.

1. Don't lie on any application, computerized or otherwise. Eventually, you'll be caught, and it won't help your candidacy.

2. Take a break from applying for jobs online. As you've already seen, this is a game you can't win. I'm actually relieved when online application processes shut down quickly, rather than making candidates wonder whether they're being considered.

3. Get involved with professional associations in your field, and circulate your résumé among your new friends.

4. Start fresh on your job search, using these steps: Target the employers you want to work for, identify the department manager who would supervise you and find a way to talk to this person. Sound difficult? Maybe, but it's better to work hard and get a job than to sort of work at it and have nothing to show for your lesser effort.

To target the employer, consider the companies around you. Which ones have good reputations, are growing in your area of expertise or are within walking distance? It doesn't matter why each company gets on your list, as long as you have a list so that you're not using a scattershot approach. Start with at least 25 companies.

To identify the manager who would supervise you, search the company's Web site, look for newspaper articles, check with your professional association, or call and ask. You need this person's name so you can make a personal approach.

Now, simply mail a personal letter and résumé to this person, and follow up with a call. Or start with the call. Your plan is to request a meeting, regardless of whether the company is hiring, so that you can be a first option when the need does arise.

5. Believe that this method works, because it does. Only 5 percent to 20 percent of jobs are filled through ads. What do you think the other 80 percent to 95 percent of successful candidates are doing? And where do you think the two-thirds of American workers without degrees are working? And how did they get those jobs?

Yep, the same way you're going to. Now get going.

- Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecaree rservice.com or at 1071 W. Seventh St., St. Paul, MN 55102.