Ready or Not?

This particular issue is near and dear to my heart. Why? Because about 3 months ago I applied for, and was hired for, a job for which I was not going to apply because I was not sure I had the qualifications (after a rather extended period of applying for jobs I would enjoy and hitting the pitfall of being overqualified or apparently not having a qualification I felt I had). A friend suggested I apply for the job I did successfully get and I waffled about it until she made it clear that it is rare that employers get exactly their ideal candidate. It is completely right that having some learning to do makes a job much more interesting. I turned out to be their ideal candidate because I had the qualifications that they really wanted. I know one of my issues was determining what on the “wish list” was most important. When everything appears to be required, the guesswork of what qualities or qualifications outweigh a lack in another area can be nerve-racking. I’ve learned it’s worth applying though, even if you are turned down, because eventually you’ll find the right fit.

Always apply—that’s my advice too.  And at the same time, take the opportunity to ask yourself, “do I really not have this qualification?  Is there something I’ve done that might speak to this?”  It’s easy to get into a self-descriptive rut.  In my own case, applying for jobs that were stretches often catalyzed me to remember qualifications and experiences that I had forgotten about.

I’m having this very struggle right now.  When I read “An 80-percent hit rate? I own this job!”, I thought “oh my gosh”…I’m looking at ads where I’m 90+percent and have been reluctant to apply.  Likewise, I have looked at ads that I know I can do but the position would ultimately be less challenging and, so far at least, I opted to pass over those.  This article helps validate my later thought and encourages me to rethink the “80 %” approach.

Kirsten’s comments are motivational for me at this time as well, ’cause I have a friend who is encouraging me in like fashion, but I’ve been reluctant (for fear of rejection) to follow the good advice.  Thank you.

Great post. I’m a senior executive at a Carnegie I institution and have never been “fully qualified” for any job for which I’ve applied. Demisty makes an important point – when one applies indiscriminately for jobs without critical mass of qualifications, there’s more at stake than just people’s time; one risks professional reputation and credibility. At some point people will just stop taking you seriously. Self-awareness is essential, but I agree that part of applying for a job comes from the need to grow and learn. The important proviso is that a candidate must be reasonably confident in her ability to tackle the learning curve quickly and enthusiastically. I’ve found others to be patient, but that runs thin when there’s work to be done. And while others are more familiar with the scholarship in this area, my anecdotal experience is that women are less likely to assume their strengths will outweigh their weaknesses than comparably positioned men. Even as a manI isee this all the time in the workplace.

I have been doing this very thing for the past 6 months and it has been challenging yet rewarding. I have flown all over the place to no avail-but the exeprience gained from the process has been rewarding. So this article as well as some of the comments are very encouraging.

I’ve had a somwhat circuitous career path and often do not have the exact experience listed in a posting.  I usually apply anyway.  The problem I run into is when the on-line application reqires (for example) 2 years post-doc experience when I might have had 5 years post-masters experience and only 6 mons post-doc experience.  These questons are often (always?) used to make a first cut of the applicants which is a problem for those of us who did not take a traditional path to our current career.

Apply, but rethink your resume as well. When you’re sending a resume in snail mail, you want it to look pretty. But in the 21st century, more and more resumes are required to be electronic. There’s a benefit to the company (actually, the recruiter): They use software to filter out irrelevant resumes as well as to filter in relevant ones. The latter get interviews. So what makes a resume relevant?

Aha! That’s the million dollar question and the answer reveals there is a benefit for those who know how the software works. The almost impossibly simple answer came from a job seminar at the California Employment Development Dept. given by a vet representative. I would not be posting this unless I had had some success as a result of what I learned.

Here’s the two-pronged approach: (1) Make your electronic resume as long and detailed as you need to. Why?  Because (2) the software used by recruiters picks up on the number of times the KEY WORDS in the job description show up in your submitted electronic resume. Yes. Simple as that. The software doesn’t care how long your resume is. The really important thing is that you re-do your resume so that THE WAY YOU DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERIENCE *MATCHES* THE WAY THEY DESCRIBE THE JOB!  Clearly, that doesn’t mean making stuff up; but it does mean you employ the same KEY WORDS as the job description does. For example, if your resume says instructor or professor and the job description says teacher, then use teacher, the word in the job description. Don’t want to use the same word multiple times? Forget your thesaurus. Synonyms sound better to you, but this approach impresses the computer software and the results get into the recruiters box. That gets you interviews. Break down your experiences into repeatable sections. So rather than saying, “Same duties as above,” cut and paste those duties from above and put them in the new section. This repeats those all-important key words and gets you more points in the scoring scheme of the software. Don’t write a better resume than the recruiter (even if you can): Write the resume the software is looking for on behalf of the recruiter. Write to the job description. Happy resume editing and good luck.