Stupid question maybe! Would you apply for a job...

[vodkaanddietcokeplease]

If you didn't meet all of the essential criteria?

Or would you think 'sod it, I could do most of it and I'm perfectly capable of learning the rest so no harm trying'?

Nothing to lose, go for it! Unless it's something like a Doctor

It depends. If the position was for a doctor and I didn’t have a medical degree then no. If it was a graduate position stipulating a minimum 2:1 and I had a 2:2 then no harm

Absolutely. Go for it.

why not? as long as you don't lie on the application and pretend to have skills you don't, It's then up to the interviewer to decide if you're qualified enough or not. Most job descriptions bear little to no resemblance to the actual role anyway...

It would depend if the criterion really was , er, essential and if I thought I had appropriate other experience.

For example if the job was driving lorries, I would not apply if an essential criterion was an hgv licence and I didnt have one, but if the job required a degree and I didn't have a degree but had worked in the field for the last 10 years I would apply.

Wasn't there research done to show that women typically only apply for jobs if they are a close match to criteria, but men are happier to apply if they only satisfy a few?

Fill in the application form, do your best and go for it.

Good luck

from one company's website: Diverse teams really are the best teams. We know that candidates (especially women, research tells us) may be put off applying for a job unless they can tick every box. We also know that ‘normal’ office hours aren’t always doable, and while we can’t accommodate every flexible working request we are happy to be asked. So if you are excited about working with us and think you can do much of what we are looking for but aren’t sure if you are 100% there yet… why not give it a whirl? Good luck! - so yes, apply!

I think there is some research somewhere that says that men are in general far more likely to take a punt on a job where they meet some but not all criteria and women are more likely to look for jobs where there is an exact fit. If true, this would exacerbate career progression issues for women

Ok so examples...

One requirement is that the successful candidate would have experience working with the system SIMS, but I've never used this in my life.

Another is to be ICT literate - I'm not bad! Could probably do with sprucing myself up a bit when using Office but not like I don't know how to turn a computer on.

Finally, 'experience of producing detailed analysis and evaluation of data'. This sounds fancy but I work in retail management. I don't necessarily write everything down but I'm sure I do this anyway when discussing with my line manager.

Everything is just worded so la-de-dah and I feel like it's scaring me off...

Statistically, men do apply in this situation, and women don’t.

Go for it!

Depends on the criteria.

If it’s something like “must have qualification x” where qualification x is clearly directly relevant - like a driving licence for a driving job - then no.

If it’s something more nebulous like “must have 10 years experience of doing y” - then yes, go for it!

@stillworkingitout just judging by my own household you are exactly right!
I have read every expectation of this job and convinced myself I couldn't do it.
When discussing it with my husband he said - 'of course you can! You have X degree, X amount of years working in retail management which has great transferable skills and some experience of HR for a big company. I could do that job and I have none of those things.' His self-confidence with regards to his own employment never fails to amaze me (in a good way!) and I wish I was the same.

Do you actually know what SIMS is? Can you do a bit of research into it if you get an interview?

I applied for a job where one of the essential skills listed was good IT skills (I can barely use a mobile phone ) but I knew for a fact that there wasn’t a lot of IT in the role, I got the job.

If you don't have the skill, so a certain software then no. The company will decline your cv or probably not come back especially if they are looking that right away.

Say it said 2 years experience but you have one year then yeah I'd apply. It's always worth it in those cases!

I’m guessing this is in a school?

SIMS is fairly easy to navigate, but the weird hidden bits definitely needs training to use it really well.

The data analysis bit would worry me - I can use excel but not well enough to format it well and extract data.

I've recently started working in a Secondary school....I may have ticked maybe 75% of the criteria and applied, I've never worked in a school and got the job. SIMs is easy to pick up, I said at interview although I had no SIMs experience my previous roles required me to use in house data bases and that I pick these up quickly.

@Ragwort not really! My very basic knowledge is that it holds all the data for schools and students. That's all I know.

@SandunesAndRainclouds it is yes I'm the same! Never had to use excel really so have 0 confidence of it.
Although I don't actually know if I'd have to use excel for that? The job spec isn't particularly in depth. The word 'complex' cropped up a lot but was used vaguely! I kept thinking 'but complex what!?'

Apply but be honest

What’s the job title?

Apply for the position, send an accompanying letter / email detailing your transferable skills.

I would go for it. Job I'm in just now I was put onto by a friend of my wife who new vaguely the owner. It required knowledge of a certain software program. I downloaded a demo version the night before (the interview was the day after) and played about with it. So not lying when I said "yes I have knowledge of XYZ".

Just passed my 15 year anniversary here.

I would apply OP. I would write a strong cover letter detailing the boxes yountick and the exoericne you bring.

I have both hired and been hired for roles where I don’t tick all the boxes .

You can learn everything you need to know about excel from google. And any software is pretty easy to pick up really. Go for it!

I agree with apply but be honest - I once hired someone who massively inflated their experience in an area that was critical to the role then complained that we didn’t offer any training to get them to the level they’d claimed they were already at. They didn’t pass probation.