Here at CareerCircle, our goal is to change the technology industry for the better by making it more diverse and inclusive. We get there by impacting individual lives like the ones below.
Here&rsquo;s what our members have been saying recently.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">What Our Members Are Saying</h2>
One of the services that we offer to members is the chance to have a 1-on-1 call with an experienced career coach to guide you through your job search. 

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 &ldquo;Lena [one of CareerCircle&rsquo;s career coaches] was very knowledgeable and professional, and fit many helpful tips into our call. Her upbeat tone and friendly manner opened our rapport immediately. I was grateful and excited to work on the action items from our call and appreciate having her as a resource for questions from now on.&rdquo; - Kathryn Deeks

 
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/2gUgS9z0Q8u08f2QLhHW" alt="undefined" width="145" height="145" class="butter-float-right"> &ldquo;The career coach was wonderful and she helped me to make a very smart choice. I am so grateful for such an opportunity given to me to air out my issues and get the advice that she gave to address such a problem. Thanks a lot! I really do appreciate it!&rdquo; -&nbsp;Chizitere Izugo


 It&rsquo;s not just the career coaching we provide! We also partner with nonprofit organizations, like RISE, to support members throughout their career certificate program and then advocate for them as they begin their new career journey.
Many of our members move on to roles that dramatically change their lives, including better titles and pay. Jen and Curtis are two of those members! 
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/HeKCvBADRHKYzBilokRo" alt="undefined" width="145" height="145" style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;" class="butter-float-left"> &ldquo;I felt that Data Analytics would be a nice certificate as a way to be a provider of the data rather than a receiver, and the base pay that was presented to be associated with the certificate was appealing. I had a job gap and I felt like upskilling was a way to leverage my career. I had about a 4-year job gap and my current company found me via LinkedIn because of my resume and skills. My pay has increased 13% since my previous job. Thank you for all of the support!&rdquo; -&nbsp;Jen Kober, RISE


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 &ldquo;Taking the certificate helped me refresh my knowledge and get back on a technical path. The resources you get from the certificate and from CareerCircle after completing are so helpful. Can't wait to start my new job!&rdquo; - Curtis Johnson 
It means the world to us to be able to be a resource and advocate for our members. To learn more about what we provide, <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/blog/post/what-is-careercircle">check out our recent blog post</a>.
To join CareerCircle and get access to tools like 1-on-1 career coaching, resume builders, and more,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.careercircle.com/candidates/signup">click here</a>.&nbsp;

Here at CareerCircle, our goal is to change the technology industry for the better. We get there by impacting individual lives like these.

What Our Members Are Saying

Here at CareerCircle, our goal is to change the technology industry for the better by making it more diverse and inclusive. We get there by impacting individual lives like the ones in this post.

No matter how skilled you are, one day you will find a job that you want to apply for and you think you&rsquo;ll be good at it, but for a split second your brain will say, &ldquo;Well, you&rsquo;re not really qualified for that one. Why bother?&rdquo;
If you&rsquo;ve ever thought that, this blog post is for you. 
<h2 style="text-align: center;">The Role of Qualifications in Job Postings</h2>
Most job postings follow a familiar format that includes:
<ul>
<li>An introductory paragraph that shares the job title and summarizes the role</li>
<li>A small section that shares more about the company</li>
<li>Details about the role itself, like what the successful hire will need to do on a day-to-day basis and what the role&rsquo;s responsibilities are</li>
<li>Qualifications which are often broken down into &ldquo;required&rdquo; or &ldquo;minimum qualifications&rdquo; and &ldquo;preferred&rdquo;</li>
<li>Contact details and any application steps to follow</li>
</ul>
While the sections may move around, most job postings include all of these sections, but qualifications are often the section that stick out.
Qualifications are skills, traits, experience, and training that the company is requiring of the person who gets the role. They often include things like software proficiency, college degrees or relevant experience, particular soft skills, like &ldquo;attention to detail&rdquo; and &ldquo;communication,&rdquo; and more.
Qualifications are used to sort through the people who apply for a role in order to hire the one most qualified in the context of the needs of the team. 
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Required, Preferred, and How Qualifications Scare Applicants Off</h2>
Qualifications are a critical part of any job posting. After all, if a company is looking to hire someone who will manage a team of 15 while also managing a budget and providing mentorship, that&rsquo;s not the role for a person fresh out of college with no experience in an office environment.
But qualifications are also what result in applicants being less-than-willing to apply&hellip;even if they would be a good fit for the role.
And this often comes at the expense of more diverse applicants. According to <a href="https://business.linkedin.com/content/dam/me/business/en-us/talent-solutions-lodestone/body/pdf/Gender-Insights-Report.pdf" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">a 2014 study</a>, women only apply for roles if they meet 100% of the listed requirements, whereas men apply if they meet 60% of the requirements. While that is changing slightly in current times, <a href="https://hbr.org/2014/08/why-women-dont-apply-for-jobs-unless-theyre-100-qualified" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">women still often feel more likely that they will be rejected for a job than men</a>.
When job postings say that <a href="https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/compensation/pages/college-degree-requirements-hinder-black-workers-earnings-advancement.aspx" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">the role requires a college degree that can end up dissuading Black applicants from applying</a>, even if they have the skills needed for the role.&nbsp;
But in reality, these qualifications are often a wish list of their perfect applicant. They aren&rsquo;t always expecting people to check off every box. In fact, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/18/how-to-land-a-job-if-you-feel-underqualified.html" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">in a 2019 study, 84% of employers said that they are open to hiring someone who doesn&rsquo;t have all of the requirements for a role</a>.&nbsp; 
<h2 style="text-align: center;">When To Apply Anyways</h2>
It&rsquo;s worthwhile to still apply if:
<ul>
<li>You have most of the requirements - If you&rsquo;re at 60 - 75% of the requirements, apply!</li>
<li>You have transferable skills that would make learning the qualifications simple, apply!</li>
<li>You are in the process of attaining the qualifications (i.e. nearly done with your Google Career Certificate), apply!</li>
</ul>
It&rsquo;s important to not waste your own or the hiring team&rsquo;s time so make sure you&rsquo;re only applying for roles that you truly can do (for example, if you are a marketer, you shouldn&rsquo;t be applying for a senior accountant position).
But if you are simply concerned about hitting all of the qualifications, it can be worth giving it a try. The worst that can happen is you get told, &ldquo;No, thanks!&rdquo; 
<h2 style="text-align: center;">How to Apply for a Job You Feel Unqualified For</h2>
There are a few things you can do to <a href="https://www.themuse.com/advice/should-you-apply-for-a-job-youre-not-qualified-for" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">put your best foot forward</a> when it comes to applying for a job you may not be 100% qualified for.
<h3> Tailor Your Resume</h3>
While you are more than your resume, it&rsquo;s the simplest way for hiring teams to get to know you. Make sure your resume <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/blog/post/the-5-resume-tips-recruiters-want-you-to-know" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">highlights your transferable skills and the qualifications that you do meet</a> on the job posting.
<h3> Use Your Cover Letter To Tell Your Story</h3>
While not all companies require cover letters anymore, they can be a great tool when you&rsquo;re applying for a role that you may not 100% qualify for. You can expand the story around the skills you do have, while highlighting what you&rsquo;re doing to achieve the rest of the job&rsquo;s needs.
<h3> Be Ready To Face the Questions</h3>
If you move through to the interview stage, you&rsquo;ll likely be asked about the skills that you don&rsquo;t have. There&rsquo;s no need to lie, but it&rsquo;s important to reframe the question into how you are gaining those skills now or how you hope to gain them, just like you did in the cover letter.
You&rsquo;ll also be up against people who do meet more of the qualifications for the role, so remember to be enthusiastic and prepared for the interview so you can stand out!
Remember: You can use our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.careercircle.com/quizzes/interview-prep" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Interview Prep tool</a> to get ready!
 While qualifications are important to make sure that companies are getting the skills they need into roles they need to fill, don&rsquo;t underestimate the power of passion for the position and dedication to learning.
For daily job search tips including how to use AI tools to personalize your resume and how to build a job search schedule, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/careercircle/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">follow us on LinkedIn</a>!

Here's what you can do if you feel unqualified for a role, but still think you have what it takes to be successful in the position!

So You Feel Unqualified for the Role...

While qualifications are important to make sure that companies are getting the skills they need into roles they need to fill, don’t underestimate the power of passion for the position and dedication to learning.

Career coaches help guide your job search by sharing industry knowledge and making sure you feel confident every step of the way.
But in order to make the most of those sessions, you need to know these key things. 
<h2 style="text-align: center;">What Is Career Coaching?</h2>
First up...what even is career coaching?
Career coaching is when a professional career coach and jobseeker/employee work together to help the jobseeker reach their goals. Career coaches can help you uncover what you&rsquo;re interested in doing when it comes to your career and can provide resources to help you map out how to upskill or reskill depending on your goals, feel more confident in your career, and more.
Most often career coaches have formal work experience guiding people through their career journeys, like a recruiter or HR professional.
When it comes to selecting a career coach, it&rsquo;s important to find someone who has experience and success in your chosen career path. Some coaches specialize in helping people set goals, which is helpful if you're unsure about your journey. 
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Is Career Coaching Worth It?</h2>
While it will be different for every person, career coaching can be perfect if you&rsquo;re looking for:
<ul>
<li>Personalized career advice based on your past experience and future goals</li>
<li>Guidance on how your values and goals align with a new career path</li>
<li>Advice about upskilling in your current role</li>
<li>Resume editing and portfolio auditing</li>
<li>And more!</li>
</ul>
One of the most important things to remember is that<a href="https://www.betterup.com/blog/benefits-of-coaching" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank"> career coaching is not about being interviewed for a role</a>. Many people think that by working with a career coach you&rsquo;re guaranteed a role, but career coaching sessions are an advice session for your career.
Some career coaches may have a networking aspect of their work that allows you to connect with people who may be hiring. But ultimately, they are there to help coach you on your journey, not provide a job.
If you&rsquo;re on the fence about working with a career coach but still want to seek out an expert, consider reaching out to a mentor. A mentor is someone who has had a similar career path that you&rsquo;d like and is open to sharing more about their story and providing advice based on their experience with you.
If you&rsquo;re working with a mentor, you can prepare for your meetings the same way that you&rsquo;d prepare for a career coaching session! 
<h2 style="text-align: center;">4 Things to Do Before a Career Coaching Session</h2>
<h3> Reflect on Your Experience and Consider Your Goals</h3>
When you&rsquo;re going into a career coaching session, it&rsquo;s valuable to<a href="https://www.themuse.com/advice/how-to-ensure-you-get-the-most-out-of-your-first-session-with-a-career-coach-aka-your-moneys-worth" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank"> reflect on your past work experience and what sort of goals you have for your future</a>.
Ask yourself questions like:
<ul>
<li>What are your values when it comes to your work?&nbsp;</li>
<li>How do your goals align with your values?</li>
<li>What do you want to do for a living and why?</li>
<li>How do you want your career to fit into your life?</li>
<li>What skills and experience do you have that can map to those goals?</li>
</ul>
If you have particular goals in mind, the career coaching session can be better geared towards what you&rsquo;re trying to achieve, but if you are unsure what sort of role you want, never fear! Career coaches can help you discover a good career path by using your skills and understanding your preferences from past jobs.
<h3> Prepare Questions To Ask</h3>
So long as it has to do with your career, there really isn&rsquo;t a limit to what questions you can ask.&nbsp;
Since career coaches often have experience working as a recruiter or HR professional, they&rsquo;ve often worked on hiring teams before which means they can share that expertise with you. You can check in on how a particular career may align with your values or the correct way to format a resume.
Remember to keep your questions limited to the time you have allotted for your session. If you&rsquo;ve only got 15 minutes, it may not be the best time to try to uncover what your lifelong career goals are, but that&rsquo;s a great amount of time to learn how to format a bullet point on your resume so that it highlights your accomplishments.
<h3> Have Your Resume at the Ready</h3>
You should always have your most current resume and contact information available to the career coach when you schedule the session. That will allow them to do their research so they can provide a more catered experience.
Your <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/resume-builder" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">resume</a> should include your contact information, work experience, any certificates or training that&rsquo;s pertinent to your goals, and your technical/hard skills like software programs or coding languages you know. If you need help building your resume, <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/blog/post/the-5-resume-tips-recruiters-want-you-to-know" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">check out this blog post</a>.
You should also ensure that your LinkedIn and CareerCircle profiles are up to date with<a href="https://www.careercircle.com/blog/post/how-to-verify-your-google-career-certificate-in-careercircle" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank"> all certificates listed and verified</a>.
<h3> Mentally Prepare for Feedback</h3>
In your career coaching session, you will likely get feedback about what you&rsquo;re doing well as well as suggestions for what you can do differently. Hearing criticism, no matter how constructive and helpful it is, can be hard so mentally prepare yourself.
Remind yourself that career coaches are there to help you reach all of your goals and that often means doing things differently. If you didn&rsquo;t need to change things up, you probably wouldn&rsquo;t have reached out to a professional so be willing to hear and take on their advice.
 Taking a bit of extra time to prepare for a career coaching session will make sure that you get the most out of it and can take the next step in your career confidently.
For more resources about job searching, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/careercircle/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">check out our LinkedIn</a> where we share daily job search tips!

Prep before career coaching to get the most out of it and take your next step with confidence.

4 Things to Do Before a Career Coaching Session

Taking a bit of extra time to prepare for a career coaching session will make sure that you get the most out of it and can take the next step in your career confidently.

4 Things To Do Before a Career Coaching Session

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So You Feel Unqualified for the Role...

4 Things To Do Before a Career Coaching Session

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