Meet the team behind Beyond Credentials

Our mission: connect top talent with top companies in a better way.

• Andy O'Dower Co-Founder

  How I got my first job: My sophomore year I sent my resume with some photos of all my college marketing projects spread out on a table. I included a note that said, “I’m ready to take my make-believe project successes to a real company, even if it involves a make-believe paycheck.” The job was a marketing coordinator position where I basically organized all the promotions, emails, quotes and online projects that other people created. It was great to see what went into a real campaign, but it made me actually want to be a part of creating the ideas…that is where the fun happens. I had no problem landing a job after senior year since I made so many business contacts throughout college internships. Follow me: on Twitter. View my pitch page

• Kevin Melgaard Co-Founder

  How I got my first job: I freely admit that I had zero idea what I wanted to do or how to get a job when I left college. I interviewed with and was rejected by Fortune 100 pharmaceutical companies, travel incentive companies, and soon found myself staring blankly at the TV in my parents’ basement, increasingly envious of my friends working in the most monotonous jobs imaginable, just because they had real jobs in real offices. My Mother introduced me by email to a successful VP of a growing Property & Casualty Insurance Company who was not actively hiring, but who was always looking for good people and had also attended a Jesuit University. I reluctantly went to his office to meet him, we hit it off, and still keep in touch to this day. Every internship, clerkship, and job I secured during and after law school has been the result of talking with people about what I wanted to do, getting a credible referral, and then selling myself to the firm or company. View my pitch page

• Jessica Underwood Dir, Business Development

  How I got my first job: I waited to start my entry level job search after I graduated and moved home. I wanted to be an event planner because it sounded fun and something that my social self would enjoy getting paid to do. I started by reaching out to my aunt, who owned a catering company. She put me in touch with some contacts in her network at local hotels. One of these people agreed to have a call with me and gave me some great leads on event planning companies and consultants in the area. I called them all and met with a few. My first choice was a small destination management company, but they were not hiring. My second choice offered me an unpaid internship. I took it and babysat ever other hour in my day to make money. After a couple months of great experience and making a few bucks on the side to get by, my first choice company called me saying they had a position open up. They remembered me and wondered if I was still looking for a full-time, paid position. Yes please! I loved the job and I learned valuable lessons early in my career about managing vendors and the importance of going above and beyond to keep customers happ View my pitch page

• Jeremiah Reardon Head of Candidate Affairs

  How I got my first job: My Junior year in college, two of my friends and I started a website that we sold to Google for $4,500,000. Well, the story didn’t end exactly like that, but I did get an invaluable experience with websites, the internet, marketing campaigns and all the difficulties and perks associated with running your own gig. The exposure and experience from that venture eventually led me to an internship with another start-up, BeyondCredentials.com, which turned into a full time position after graduation. I was told by an extremely successful man, “Chase what you passionate about and success will follow”. I try to stick to that! View my pitch page

Our Story

In the spring of 2008 it became clear to us that while students and alumni from the top Universities in the US had a perceived advantage in an extremely tough job market, they still needed a better way to authentically connect with companies they wanted to join. Technology, especially social media, enabled more people and companies to enter the marketplace of career opportunity, but technology wasn't helping the right companies really connect with only the best and brightest people. Every new service or site was everything-to-everyone and offered nothing to those who've paid their dues to prove their worth.

One thing we knew back then is that, no matter the hype of a popular trend, there will never will be a technological silver bullet to find a great career or a great candidate. The essentials: good education, performance, adaptability in a rapidly changing workplace and social skills for any occasion are key traits of a successful candidate. And forward thinking companies that seek only candidates with these traits are the foundation of our economy's future growth and prosperity in a paradigm shifting, service and knowledge based economy. That is why we only accept the top students and alumni from the top 250 Universities in the US and only innovative companies with real opportunity to join our site. Exclusive networking then becomes much more fruitful for everyone involved.

Over the course of the next two years we utilized our expertise (Andy in marketing and communications, Kevin in employment law and business practice) and consulted with top experts in multiple fields to develop our business model on the philosophy that less wasn't more. Less was just...less. Less crowded marketplace = better connections. Better connections = better business. That is why we only allow certain job seekers and companies to join our site. Then to further enhance the job seeker/employer connection we provide web 2.0 technologies and let our community use them as needed.

We will continue to innovate and enable better connections between those seeking a great career and those providing them.