Should you apply for a job where you have only half of the qualifications.?

8 Comments

1. AnonymousJune 30,2022 at 3:29PM UTC

   I'm of the mindset that you apply for any job you meet ANY of the requirements for. What's the worst that could happen?

   And I don't know why. Probably because they're easier to fill and there's a ton of them.

2. AnonymousJune 30,2022 at 3:53PM UTC

   It never hurts to apply but do your best to customize your resume to fit the description even if you don't have every.

   As for the job listings, the recession is impacting everyone's plans fir hiring. Most companies are freezing hiring until next year when they know more about the economy. Some companies like Tesla and Google are beginning to layoff their workforce.

3. Sabrina CortesJune 30,2022 at 4:02PM UTC

   Yep! I've applied to many jobs where I didn't meet all of the requirements and I let them know, either in my cover letter or resume, that I'm willing and eager to learn.

4. Sam P'hJune 30,2022 at 4:57PM UTC

   Years ago I was sent on a job interview for which I didn’t have the desired experience and the recruiter actually yelled at me! The hiring manager was cool and still spoke to me. He said that the job wasn’t that difficult to learn.

   I didn’t get it anyway.

5. Lesa Edwards, Career Coach & Master Resume WriterJune 30,2022 at 7:21PM UTC

   As a career coach specializing in the job search, I tell my clients to apply if they have 75-80% of the qualifications. When it comes to the qualifications you don't have, how are they worded in the job description? Where are they in the order of qualifications? These things make a difference in importance to the employer.

6. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistJuly 1,2022 at 1:24AM UTC

   It depends on what the requirements are.
   Are they Basic Requirements or Preferred?

   For companies in the US that follow OFCCP guidelines, you must meet 100% of the Basic Qualifications for them to legally be able to consider you as a candidate.

   It can also depend on things like is the 50% you have hard skills? soft skills?

   How far off are you? If they require 5 years experience in X and you have 4, I would try.

   I would caution that applying for positions that you're not qualified for can increase rejection, increase feeling frustrated - so if you're going to be "shooting your shot", you can't let it affect your mental health.

   Many of the positions are temp job listings for a couple of reasons: 1. because it's really hard to fire people. Bringing someone on on a temporary basis gives the employer the opportunity to see if you can do the job and if you fit on the team. From a candidate perspective, it gives you the opportunity to try the company out - find out if the things that are important to you - work/life balance, managers style, etc - are a fit for you. I have worked on projects where I was so glad it was not a permanent position because the more I learned about the job, the company, my boss, the team - the more I knew I would never want to work there permanent.

   Other reasons the position may be temp: it really is just a temp job to cover a temporary increase in work or for things like maternity leave. And after some companies had to do massive layoffs during covid, some are leery to bring people on full time, they have an increased work load but don't want to pull the trigger on hiring permanent yet.

7. Iris RodriguezJuly 25,2022 at 8:59PM UTC

   According to Harvard Business Review, men apply for a job when they meet only 60% of the qualifications, but women apply only if they meet 100% of them.
   As quoted in Forbes “Men are confident about their ability at 60%, but women don’t feel confident until they’ve checked off each item on the list.” The advice: women need to have more faith in themselves.

   I recently read this I was blown away. Certainly gave me confidence.

8. Rupali AJuly 28,2022 at 2:23AM UTC

   Yes, I apply to lower qualifications or lower salaries or lower positions quite often, I feel I will learn what I don't know pretty quickly, and bring a lot to the table.

   I also find, all work experience is experience and it has always helped me with something else that was unexpected.