Searching for a job can be a daunting task. You scan through dozens of job postings without any of them fitting your idea of the job you want. But then there will be times that you will find it – a posting that describes a job that is everything you’ve been looking for.
The problem? You don’t have all of the qualifications required in the job description. You don’t have any of the education, work experience, or skill requirements specifically listed in the posting. What do you do? Do you give up now and keep searching? Or do you pursue the job and see what happens? It is a different decision for every person and every job. Not all requirements are written in stone, and employers may wave some requirements, if they think you have other attributes that would make you an ideal candidate for the position. Here are a few things to consider before making a decision whether or not to apply for a job you’re not completely qualified for.
- Ask yourself some tough questions: Before pursuing a job you need to ask yourself if you feel you are really qualified for even some of the position requirements. Could you do well at this job even without having all the requirements mandated in the posting? If the answer is yes then proceed with the application/resume submission process.
- Do you have different skills, education, or experience: If you have skills, education, or experience that differ from the requirements in the posting but would apply to the job, you may be able to get the job anyway. For example: The requirements say you need at least a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management, but you have a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting with a minor in Psychology. You earned a degree, and have learned other skills during your education that are marketable and could still get you the job.
- If you don’t have any of the above: The fact of the matter is, if you don’t have something to give the company in exchange for what they have posted, then you shouldn’t pursue the job. The company put those requirements down for a reason, so if you want to change those requirements, then you need to give them something worthwhile in return.
While it will be different for every job, if you have something to give a potential employer, for the most part, you may be able to get around specific job requirements and land the job.
One of the most important sections of your resume is your employment history. This is also one of the most interesting areas for potential employers. It will give them an idea of a few things: how long you have been working, if the work you have been doing is similar to what they do, and what you may have achieved in each position. A well-written employment history will give potential employers an idea of how you would fit in working for their company.
Employers are looking for quick, impressive information in a resume. Each entry in your work experience should look something like this:
Job Title/Dates of Employment (years)
Company Name, City State
Brief Narrative
- Achievement
- Achievement
- Achievement
This is merely an example. There are many other formats out there to document your employment history, and they should all have the same basic information: dates of employment, the name of the company you worked for, where the company is located, job title, and your duties and achievements. You should include your most impressive on-the-job functions, as well as the ones that are the most like what you would be doing at the new company.
Including the right information in your employment history may be the key to landing an interview, and then, hopefully an offer.
LinkedIn, as well as other forms of social networking and online branding, is a great tool for getting your name out there to employers. But in order for LinkedIn to work for you, then you need to make sure your profile is complete and written in a way that supports your career goals.
Here are a few things you need to ensure you include on your profile:
The first thing you can do is add a photo of yourself. It is very simple. Click on the square with a person in it on the left of your name and add a photo. Your profile photo should be clear and professional looking. Adding a photo will help potential employers see who you are as well as will help them to recognize you when you come in for an interview.
Next, upload the most relevant information from your resume. Include a brand statement, professional summary, specific jobs and achievements,and any significant career highlights. Don’t forget to add information to your “Skills” list. You can either use the LI format, or simply put your best areas of expertise with your professionaly summary. Finish up with your education credentials and any applicable certifications.
Finally, there is a button on the top right hand side of your profile that says, “Improve Profile.” Click on this button and you will be led step by step through sections that will make your profile look even more impressive. The sections range from courses you took in school to languages you speak.
These few steps will not only help you create a complete profile on LinkedIn, but it will also help you create a professional and impressive one.
Searching and applying for jobs is not enough to ensure land the job. You must make a good first impression in order to get the job, and in most cases you are going to have two opportunities to make a first impression to a potential employer.
The first, your cover letter.
Your cover letter is essentially your “on paper” first impression. While your resume gives information of your skills, experience, and accomplishments in the work force, a cover letter is more personal. It will still give information on your skills, experience, and accomplishments, but it will be written as a letter, which means it can also give your potential employers a glimpse into your personality. Of course, it must remain professional in order for you to be considered a serious candidate for the position, but feel free to let your personality seep into your cover letter, and finally, be sure to let the employer know the value you can offer the company.
The second, your interview.
If your cover letter and resume have done their job, then you may be asked for an interview. This is your real, in person, first impression. If you want the job, then the impression you make at the is the so important. You must look professional, smile and be cordial with everyone-from the receptionist who greets you to each individual member of the hiring committee. Your potential employers are not looking to hire a robot. They want to hire a person who they can work with and who they can see working well with the rest of the company. Be personable and be yourself.
Making a good first impression in your cover letter and your interview will help you land the job and start on the path to a successful career.
Salary can be a very touchy subject when it comes to negotiating a job offer. It’s an issue that can cause candidates to walk away, force employers to spurn one candidate in favor of another who will work for less, and make for tense dialogue between an employer and a would-be employee. Many job seekers are uneasy talking about their salary history with prospective employers. Divulging salary information first can often put you at a disadvantage, but you may have no choice. Potential employers may require a salary history before even considering you as a candidate. In this case it is helpful to know, ” Why do some companies ask job applicants for a salary history?”
The answers are fairly simple and they even make sense.
Requesting a salary history may just be a part of the employer’s screening process. It is their policy with every job applicant and that includes you. Give them the history, get in there and set the hook, get the offer, and then be a good negotiator.
Now, while that is a perfectly reasonable answer, there is one that is even better. As an applicant, you are a “business of one” and you are selling your services. With that in mind, would you buy from a business that, when you asked how much the product cost, responded with “We are not going to tell you until you buy?” In order to “make the sale” to your potential employers you need to name your price.
Your best course is always to do your homework before going into a negotiation. If you know what you are talking about, then you are more likely to get what you want, even if you have already given a salary history to your potential employers.
Just recently one big pharmaceutical company was fined 1.2 billion dollars for failing to disclose possible serious side effects of one of their FDA-approved drugs. Some companies take these fines in stride as the cost of doing business. Other potential employers realize that there are risks of employing someone from a company who repeatedly breaks the law. Think hard about how one of these companies will look on your resume before you accept a job.
Protect your professional reputation. You are a perceived liability to future employers when you work at a company with major infractions – so major that they are paying out big dollars in fines. If the company thinks it’s okay to do business this way, then you as their employee may be perceived as someone who bends or breaks the law at work, when in reality you actually are a very ethical employee. But today’s employers are not only concerned with what you do on the job, they also want to ensure that their employees represent them well outside of the workplace.
While many people feel that their personal and professional lives should be separate, in today’s social media-saturated world, what you do outside of work could also affect your chances of being hired for a new job. The recent rash of people faking their educational credentials on their resumes has employers doing full background checks, not just on educational credentials, but credit checks, Department of Motor Vehicles checks, drug screenings and anything else that can turn up infractions or crimes.
Your best option if you have DUI’s on your record, or if you have served jail time, is to admit to it up front on a background check. You may still be able to work for the company that wishes to hire you, especially if you will not be driving or handling money or other valuables while on the job. However, the best way to protect your reputation is to not engage in any behavior that will disqualify you on a background check in the first place.
Going to an interview can be the most stressful part of the job search process. It is difficult not to get stressed or feel anxiety before the interview-you know there is a lot riding on the interview and how you perform during it can get you an offer or shown to the door. Being successful during a job interview is all about being impressive to your potential employer and keeping your cool.
So how do you keep your cool? With so much pressure to impress and get the job, how do you keep calm and ensure your answers effectively tell the employer why you are the best candidate for the job? While controlling your nerves during an interview may seem impossible, have no fear. We offer some tips and tricks that you can try:
- Schedule a practice interview: have friends or family set up a mock interview for you to practice, or you can go to a career counseling or career services center and see if they do mock interviews. If you have an idea of what is going to happen, you will feel more calm and will come off confident instead of nervous.
- Take deep breaths before going into your interview: It seems simple, but if you take deep breaths and focus on your breathing, then it will help slow down your heart rate and help keep your mind from racing. This will help you remain cool, calm, and collected.
- Smile: Smiling does a few things. It will show your interviewer confidence, help them feel more at ease, and if you do it long enough smiling can actually change how you are feeling so you are happier and more at ease during the interview.
While these strategies will help, there is nothing more important than reviewing your resume and making sure that your content is factual and that you are prepared to speak easily about your expertise and achievements. If you have been called for an interview, there is something in your resume that impressed the employer. Keep your cool, be honest and forthcoming in your answers, and clearly communicate to the employer the value you will be able to offer the company.
You’ll do great!
You may think that if you search a recruiting agency’s job listings and there are only a few jobs, that a recruiter won’t be able to help you. That isn’t necessarily true. One of the actions a recruiter can take when he gets an exceptional resume, one with unique skill sets, is to skills market that job candidate.
Skill marketing occurs when a recruiter contacts a company that does not necessarily have a job opening, but knows that the company may find a particular candidate to be a valuable asset regardless of not having open positions. Skill marketing can be a good tool to use to get noticed and hired by a company. However, you must be able to present your skill sets clearly on your resume, and keep up to date on trends in your field so that you know which skills may get your foot in the door.
A good recruiter knows what those skills are, too, based on industry trends, but also on building relationships with companies. He/she often has a unique perspective on where a company is headed. For example, company Q may be known for digital printing, but the recruiter may know through conversations with hiring managers that company Q is moving towards other types of digital imaging as well. If you have skills working in digital imaging, the company may just create a position for you to spearhead their new ventures in digital imaging.
So don’t just rely on job aggregators that list job postings from all over the internet. Feel free to use them. But also develop relationships with recruiters. Let them know what you are looking for in in you next job. If they don’t see any immediate openings for someone with your credentials, ask these recruiters to skill market you. You may just end up with a great job that didn’t even exist before you asked for their help.
