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What Interviewers Want – Skills Matched to Job Listings

March 10, 2010 | Author: Allyn Horne | Filed under: Job Hunting, The Networking Habit

Getting the job when you don’t check all the boxes

You know you’re ready to start the perfect job tomorrow. You’re scrolling the latest job postings and a certain keyword catches your eye. As you review the requirements, line by line, you grow more and more alert: “This sounds perfect….” you think.

But wait; there it is, halfway down the page: a requirement for expertise in three specific software programs. You’re familiar with only one. What’s a job seeker to do?

Even though you don’t meet a job profile to a tee, you might still consider applying. After all, it’s unlikely that any one individual will check every box (although it is slightly more likely in this economy). If you’re facing a situation where you can’t check every box, use the following guide to help you decide whether to apply—and how—or not.

  1. Meet at least the basic requirements. Don’t waste their time and yours applying for a position when you fall short in a key area. For instance, that job where you’re familiar with only one out of three software programs? Don’t apply. Shortfalls in other areas, for instance, in years of experience, might be more negotiable.
  1. Network! Peruse your network: does a colleague of a colleague work within the company? Identify an inside connection, and then network your way to the interview. You have been systematically nurturing and serving your network to prepare for such a time as this, no?
  1. Acknowledge your shortcomings. Be truthful, no matter how much you want the job. The trick is to highlight the positive in your profile while also acknowledging the ways in which you’re not a perfect match. For instance, suppose you’re intimate with two of three required software programs; then, you might be able to say in your cover letter or resume (if it’s true) that you evaluated or demoed the third program while in your former position but determined that another alternative matched your firm’s requirements more closely.
  1. Highlight results. In an earlier post, we encouraged you to put your best you forward. Now, when you can’t check all the boxes, is the perfect time to do just that. The fact that you don’t match all requirements precisely may not be such a big deal if you effectively paint a vision that shows how you’ll deliver results for the company.
  1. Audition. Although this is less likely to work in an employer’s market, you might convince a hiring manager who’s on the line about you that they can reduce their risk and fill the position, pronto, by accepting your offer of a part-time or trial arrangement to start. Maybe set forth an agreement in which you transition to full-time if you meet certain performance objectives.

The bottom line: organizations understand risk. Your job is to illustrate how the return of hiring you outweighs the risk and why the leap of faith in hiring a not-quite-precise match is a sound business decision. Find your “ins”! Highlight results! Paint the vision!

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 and is filed under Job Hunting, The Networking Habit. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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