So You Feel Unqualified for the Role...

No matter how skilled you are, one day you will find a job that you want to apply for and you think you’ll be good at it, but for a split second your brain will say, “Well, you’re not really qualified for that one. Why bother?”

If you’ve ever thought that, this blog post is for you.

The Role of Qualifications in Job Postings

Most job postings follow a familiar format that includes:

• An introductory paragraph that shares the job title and summarizes the role
• A small section that shares more about the company
• Details about the role itself, like what the successful hire will need to do on a day-to-day basis and what the role’s responsibilities are
• Qualifications which are often broken down into “required” or “minimum qualifications” and “preferred”
• Contact details and any application steps to follow

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 “attention to detail” and “communication,” 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.

Required, Preferred, and How Qualifications Scare Applicants Off

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’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…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 2014 study, 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, women still often feel more likely that they will be rejected for a job than men.

When job postings say that the role requires a college degree that can end up dissuading Black applicants from applying, even if they have the skills needed for the role. 

But in reality, these qualifications are often a wish list of their perfect applicant. They aren’t always expecting people to check off every box. In fact, in a 2019 study, 84% of employers said that they are open to hiring someone who doesn’t have all of the requirements for a role. 

When To Apply Anyways

It’s worthwhile to still apply if:

• You have most of the requirements - If you’re at 60 - 75% of the requirements, apply!
• You have transferable skills that would make learning the qualifications simple, apply!
• You are in the process of attaining the qualifications (i.e. nearly done with your Google Career Certificate), apply!

It’s important to not waste your own or the hiring team’s time so make sure you’re only applying for roles that you truly can do (for example, if you are a marketer, you shouldn’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, “No, thanks!”

How to Apply for a Job You Feel Unqualified For

There are a few things you can do to put your best foot forward when it comes to applying for a job you may not be 100% qualified for.

Tailor Your Resume

While you are more than your resume, it’s the simplest way for hiring teams to get to know you. Make sure your resume highlights your transferable skills and the qualifications that you do meet on the job posting.

Use Your Cover Letter To Tell Your Story

While not all companies require cover letters anymore, they can be a great tool when you’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’re doing to achieve the rest of the job’s needs.

Be Ready To Face the Questions

If you move through to the interview stage, you’ll likely be asked about the skills that you don’t have. There’s no need to lie, but it’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’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 Interview Prep tool 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’t underestimate the power of passion for the position and dedication to learning.

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