Thinking about changing your career... but worried that you may not have the background or qualifications to make the change?

In some cases, you're right to be worried. Some careers do require you to possess specific qualifications and experience.

However... it could be that your concern isn't warranted at all.

Actually, you may have "credentialitis" - you think you need some kind of credential to qualify you for a promotion, new position or career change, when you actually have all the skills, talent and knowledge necessary.

Funny, really.

I always considered qualifications and credentials to be short-hand for skills and knowledge... but not the only "short-hand" and not necessarily indicative of the most valuable skills and knowledge.

For example, what if you're an entrepreneur who left high school before graduating, launched a super-successful business which you ended up selling, and now want to be the marketing manager of a large, established company?

If you suffered from credentialitis you may believe that you aren't qualified to become that marketing manager.

So much so that you seriously consider going to business school and enrolling in a marketing program. Now, you may well benefit a lot from doing this... but was it really necessary to study for one or two years to get that marketing job? Did you really lack the critical skills for the role?

Couldn't you present yourself as someone with unequaled business experience, skills and knowledge - someone who has built and sold a company, as opposed to someone with theoretical knowledge acquired from a business school?

Now, of course, in some cases you will need to study and get a particular qualification to make a career change - for instance, if you want to become a dentist or mechanical engineer.

But in other cases, you probably have the fundamental knowledge and skills required for the new job...

and what you don't know can either be picked up relatively quickly on the job or isn't all that important.

I know, I know - you may be confident in your own abilities, but how do you convince a potential employer who wants to see that certificate, diploma or degree? After all, it seems our entire society has credentialitis.

But if we agree that this societal credentialitis is unnecessary and damaging (in the sense that skilled, knowledgeable and talented people miss out on jobs and careers to which they're suited) then it's up to you and I to change things.

What this means is - get confident! Know and feel - and communicate - that you have the skills and abilities for the new career.

But if you still wonder whether some kind of formal education might be necessary, answer the following:

Would the course or program genuinely teach you something new... or would it give you a piece of paper to prove what you already know?

Really, if you manage to overcome your credentialitis you'll not save a lot of money, time and energy on unnecessary studies, but you'll also become a happier, more fulfilled person.

If you are challenged over your lack of credentials you can "reframe" your background... so that it's obvious that this has equipped you with the ideal background for the new job.

I, for example, was once questioned over my lack of an MBA. I explained that my background as an advertising copywriter, marketing manager, commercial lawyer and business owner had given me a real-world MBA.

Of course, you'll find some people who just won't "buy it" - they obviously have credentialitis themselves. In this case, it's up to you whether it's worth your while trying to convince them... or whether you're better off trying to work with people who aren't so hung up on qualifications and recognize true ability.

Also, try to look beyond credentials when it's you who is doing the hiring. An individual who has years of hands-on experience may well be just as, if not more, qualified than someone with a specific certificate, diploma or degree.