Today we are going to be discussing job description qualifications and why they can be a little misleading. We’ve all been there, scrolling job boards, picking different positions to read through, “Oh I can do that!”, “Ehh that is a bit of a stretch”, “Absolutely not!”. The biggest gripe I hear from students and clients is that employers are asking for too much experience, or a set of skills that they do not yet have mastered. So, perhaps some of you as well have not applied to positions because they are asking for 1-3 years of experience, 3-5 years, etc when you seemingly feel as if you have none at all. Two things: One, you have far more experience than you think and just because someone didn’t pay you for the work doesn’t mean it is not experience. Two, these positions and postings with these job descriptions are nothing more than a “wish list”. Yup, the same thing you made for your birthday or favorite holiday. Allow me to explain:
When you were making that wish list of gifts as a child (or hey maybe even as an adult!) you probably had the understanding that you were not going to get everything on that list. Unless you pulled a, “There’s just one thing that hasn’t come yet!”. My point is, job descriptions are the exact same way for the most part. They know they are not going to get everything in a candidate they are asking for in that posting. For no reason other than they are describing a person who does not exist. Seriously, try it. Go find any job, read through it, and ask yourself if any one person could possibly be an expert or proficient in everything that is listed. Nope! That’s why it is called the wish list. They are hopeful they get most of the attributes or experience asked for in the posting, but 100 times out of 100 are “settling” for less than what they posted. I encourage people if you match 50% or more of their wish list, apply. They’re asking for 3-5 years of experience and you have 2 years? Apply. Now, I’m not saying you should be applying for something that is asking for 7-10 years or a senior level position if you are early on in your career, but certainly you are just as entitled to mid level roles as anyone else. Plus if everyone who felt unqualified scrolled by the posting then nobody would ever apply for any job, because again, no candidate is a perfect match for what has been posted. You deserve to have your hat thrown in the ring, but you have to be the one to do it. You have no idea what the rest of the applicant pool looks like. Hey, you could feel like you are underqualified but depending on who else has applied, you might be the most qualified in the room. Don’t sell yourself short and make the decision easy on them. It’s their job to tell us we are not qualified or that we did not meet their needs/expectations, etc. How many times have you spoken with people who are in a role that has nothing to do with what they studied? I can say I have numerous times and it really is not all that uncommon. You are so much more qualified than you think so don’t be scared off by a company’s wish list. Ralphie (A Christmas Story) didn’t think there was a CHANCE he was getting that Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas, but heck if he didn’t ask anyway.
