Lack of a college degree may be a huge stumbling block because, for some jobs, the degree guarantees "a certain level of knowledge," says Carl Norcross, a high-tech recruiter in Boulder, Colo. "But in sales, I'd much rather see a strong record of achievement. It's not really relevant if the person has a degree in English. A guy who shows me that the first year out he sold so many thousand dollars' worth is probably a winner."

Stephen Fisher, chief executive officer of Chicago-based A.T. Kearney Executive Search, points out that degrees become less important than professional accomplishments over time. "It's not 'make or break' at the stage in your life where you're applying for a senior-level position," he says.

Laurence Stybel of Stybel Peabody Lincolnshire, an executive-outplacement and retained-search firm in Boston, tells of a client who rose to become a chief operating officer without a college degree in a technical field where most employees had Ph.D.s. Now, when interviewing for a new job, the client explains to interviewers, "I didn't appreciate the value of education then. It's something I very much regret, and I'm known as a champion of encouraging people to get more education."

"I would always submit my resume if I was interested in the job," says Lisa Gallagher, vice president of operations at background-checking firm HireRight Inc., Irvine, Calif., who was an HR executive before joining HireRight. "Then I'd contact the HR person and the hiring manager and try to persuade them that I was uniquely qualified." Personal follow-up is especially important, she says, in large companies that use tracking systems to prescreen applications.

Effective networking can help you bypass the resume-screening process. "If you can't come in the front door, come down the chimney," says Richard Taylor, CEO of Stamford, Conn.-based executive-search firm Taylor-Rodgers & Associates LLC. "You can always network into an opportunity." You're unlikely to be screened out for educational reasons after making a personal impression.

You also can start working toward a degree. "Then you can put 'B.A. degree in progress' on your resume," Mr. Norcross says. Mr. Stybel has steered clients to prestigious certificate programs such as Harvard's Advanced Management Program, which uses past accomplishments as prerequisites.

Job titles can be an issue -- especially for women, according to Mr. Stybel. "Women are often asked to assume responsibilities and not given the title. They have titles like assistant to the president but do the work of COOs." He suggests that when they leave a company, they negotiate with the former employer for permission to describe the job in terms of a meaningful title.

As for past failures, the truth may be easier to present in an interview. "You can tell the truth positively; people want to know you've learned from your mistakes," says

Jude Werra, CEO of executive-search firm Jude M. Werra & Associates LLC, Brookfield, Wis. "Most people aren't skilled at misleading people. It's difficult to lie credibly. It doesn't ring true. The managers don't know why; they just go on to someone else."