Job application question- those with JDs

[Deleted]

Background- I am a fully licensed non practicing attorney with 6+ years in firm administration- marketing and business development and exploring the possibility of getting out of the legal field completely.

When a job application only asks "Do you have a master's degree" How do you answer?

Normally, they also include "or the equivalent" but I am seeing more and more that are just asking about the masters. 

My concern is that with the online applications, this question is being used to electronically sort applications, so a "No" is an immediate rejection when a masters degree is preferred. 

Thoughts? 


EDITED- Sorry I meant to say preferred not required. Obviously if it say required, I don't qualify. 

[Susie]

I'd say "no." Although a JD is more like a masters than a doctorate, IMO, it's not one.

It sucks if that's a 'sorting' question, but I don't think you can honestly answer yes. What does the job description say about a masters? Required? Preferred?

[Deleted]

I think this is more a question for those in marketing and business development than for JDs. If asked if I have a master's degree, I would say no because I don't have one. There isn't another way to truthfully answer that yes or no question. But wouldn't other spaces on the application ask for educational background and such? I don't think I've ever submitted an online application that didn't ask me to enter information regarding my degrees and schools.

Do you know what kinds of master's degrees they're looking for?

[Deleted]

All of them have listed Master's degree as preferred, but none of them say required. The only required degree is a bachelors.

[Susie]

It sounds like the only route to take is to say "no" to a masters, and include your JD in any space that asks for degrees to be listed.

I've never applied for a job that didn't include kind of a blank form to include any degrees (BS, MS, PhD, JD, whatever you've got) that you've earned. At a bare minimum there's probably a "miscellaneous" field for anything not previously mentioned?

[Deleted]

Thanks!

This system is set to ask 3 Yes/No questions before you can even access the application where I can include the JD info. I talked to the HR department and they said to say Yes because they just prefer an advanced degree.

[Deleted]

:Y:

I saw your follow up, but even before that would have answered Yes.