Or is it not that easy to get a job without the relevant experience?

[doistayordoigo]

Not a thread about a thread, but prompted by another thread...

There's a thread at the moment where someone was asking about whether her background has prevented her from getting a higher paid position, and lots of advice from other posters to apply for jobs where she doesn't necessarily meet all of the criteria. Someone even said that they would apply if they met 25% of the criteria., and that women particularly tend to not apply if they don't tick all the boxes.

I'll be honest, I definitely do this...if I can't meet all of the requirements I won't apply. But how do you actually handle it in reality? Certainly in my current workplace, if you don't meet the essential criteria you wouldn't even make it through the initial paper sift done by HR. So how do you actually get through the application process?

I know this might be better in another section, but posting here for traffic.

I was wondering that precise thing myself.

If they shortlist & offer interview, they can see for yourself if you didn't perfectly tick all the boxes but they decided to interview you anyway. So only loss is in the time to write application. AND, they agree that you have potential.

In application, I would try to emphasise either similar skills or experience I already have, or emphasise (which works in my case) how I have quickly picked up similar skills/experiences in the past and become very competent at them.

Same msg in actual interview if topic comes up.
Also look for any online relevant tutorials.

This is how I blagged my way into a job that asked for mySQL, even though I never got any computer to run a server so I could only do online multi-SQL tutorials which don't require complicated scripts.

By essential criteria, do you mean quantifiable things like

Must be ACCA qualified
Must be fluent in French
Must have full, clean driving licence and own transport

Those things, no you can't really blag.

But if it is
Degree in relevant subject
Knowledge of Salesforce.com
Experience of dealing with purchasing teams

Then you can. You can apply transferable skills, knowledge and suchlike to each of them.

Well there are jobs and jobs, aren’t there? You wouldn’t get into a profession without the relevant qualifications but you could definitely talk your way in as a sales manager (for eg) and work up from there.

A good friend of mine worked up from office junior to finance director in 15 years, she left school with one gcse. She applied for jobs a lot of people wouldn’t think to reach for and is very good at her job (and earns accordingly). And she got qualifications along the way, funded by the companies she’s worked for.

own transport... I wrote in my application "independent means of transport". Which could mean taking the bus, and indeed one of my senior colleagues does only that! To get to meetings. He makes it work. I asked specifically in the interview about how much driving coz frankly I didn't want to drive 10 hrs/week for work.

(So far I am cycling to mtgs, which is working, too).

It depends on what the essential ones are surely -
Excellent excel skills, I’d apply anyway and turn my ok excel skills into excellent ones before the start date.
Experience using a CRM system, prefereably SIMs...well I’ve used other ones so I’d apply anyway.

Or sometimes recruiters call you up, the interview I’ve got coming up I think I don’t have one of the essential skills but I’ve been put forward for it anyway because the recruitment guy liked the rest of my answers.

Even if you only get interviews and not the job it’s still useful (especially if it makes you think I’ve got to learn how to do X,Y,Z before my next job application)

I'm about to start applying for jobs and forgot that a lot of them at my level ask for a degree. Don't have one. I'll apply anyway - I reckon some 30 years' of experience in my field is good enough.

Some things of course you can't blag, like driving. But 'excellent excel skills' or the like, of course you can! Men do it All The Time.

I didn't meet all the requirements for my current job (maybe 75% of them) but the ones I did meet were my key strengths and I have very good examples and evidence to support how good I am at these particular elements, which I included in my application. So these strengths outweighed my 'weaknesses' in the other areas. With regard to the requirements I didn't meet, with a couple I was able to show how they were things I did want to learn/achieve, and indicate how some of them were a natural next step building on my successes in the requirements I did meet. I was also able to explain how me learning these skills in the hiring organisation would benefit both me and importantly the organisation.

But I guess it also depends on applications - if all the applicants had met all of the requirements then I probably wouldn't have got through to interview.

My advice is always to apply for the job - if we all wait until we meet 100% of the requirements, we're going to be waiting a long time.

Those things, no you can't really blag.

"Blagging" infers a level of dishonesty or stretching the truth.

But there's still no reason not to apply for jobs with specifics which you don't have if you are close, i.e. 2 out of 3 of the specific requirements. There are ridiculously few candidates for lots of "higher" level jobs, certainly not the hundreds you get for entry level/low qualification/experience jobs.

Say in the example above, it stipulates ACCA, then they may be open to an AAT with relevant experience, or a part qualified ACCA - they may not get any actual ACCAs applying or just 1 or 2 unsuitable ones! But obviously, if you've no accounting qualifications nor experience, then clearly no point in applying.

I only met about 50% of the requirements for the job I do. Crucially, I had the relevant professional qualifications. Then there is the fact that my degree and graduate job are ones seen as competitive which means that recruiters think you must have something to have got those. Then I decided that no one could do everything that they were looking for in the person they were trying to recruit so I may as well give it a go. I've now been in the role for 3yrs. Of the things I couldn't do, some I have learned to do, some were made part of someone else's role, some were outsourced and a couple of things have fallen by the way side. It's only since I've been doing the job that I've realised how many transferable skills I have.

I have just secured a good and bettter job, increasing my salary by 15% in a field completely unrelated to anything I have done.

I also have no qualifications.

What I do have is transferrable skills, I can learn the technical side, but they liked my experience and approach to people management and my work ethos. I really talked up what I could do in my interview (which I can't get over them offering in the first place).

Terrified I am going to screw this up. It is a huge leap! But I had to take a chance and try, and try and try. Hopefully it will pay off!

It depends on how many applications there are and how many of them meet the criteria. If there are very few or none that meet all criteria we'll interview the best candidates out of interest. If there are loads of great candidates, we'll be very strict on only interviewing those that meet all the criteria. No harm in applying, you never know.

I think it depends on the job. If you are applying to a position as a GP without a medical degree it’s not happening. If you are applying for a sales position that specified sales experience you may get the job without it if no one more qualified applies.

When I'm recruiting I don't really expect candidates to have all of the essential and desirable criteria on the job spec. If they do have them all then they are probably ready for a job on the next level up.

I expect them to have the majority of the essential things (although they could demonstrate these creatively/transferrably if they have come from another industry) and maybe a desirable or two.

However I expect them to have the potential to do all of the essential things within the first year or so if properly trained/supported. and the desirables within a longer time frame. (Except for languages, they are always a desirable on my job specs but never a deal breaker and if someone doesn't start speaking fluent mandarin then they are unlikely to pick it up in the first 6 months )

Depends. Some you can get away with, some you just 'cant'!

This a very interesting area studies have shown that men apply for jobs that improve their salary even if they only meet 10% of the criteria, women in general only apply for jobs where they meet 90% of the criteria.

When we recruit there are essentials and desirables
If you are not able to fulfil the essential criteria you won’t get shortlisted for interview
If you fudge or lie about essentials and it is found out about at interview you won’t get the job
If found out after job offered your employment will be terminated
I thought this was standard
Desirables tend to be more experience based and this is where you have a chance to demonstrate transferable skills
I wouldn’t apply for any opportunity if I couldn’t meet the conditions
I recently emailed for clarification about something I was interested in where one of the qualifiers was from a different body than the one I held and was told it didn’t count
Glad I didn’t waste hours on the application

Thanks for all the responses, it makes interesting reading. I think I'm not too bad in interview, but I'd always assumed there was no point in applying if I couldn't make a reasonable case on at least the essential criteria, but maybe I need to rethink and apply anyway if I think it's interesting enough.

For context, I'm currently only on just under £20k as I stopped working full time when my kids were young, then went back into a school admin role term time only. For the last three years I've been full time in a different sector, my kids are in their teens and I'm left with 25+ years of work still ahead of me before retirement. Part of me thinks I'm too old to be moving around for new opportunities, but then the other part of me wants to do something I'm more passionate about for the next 20 years.

I'm sure I'm capable of much more than I'm doing now, but convincing other people of that to transfer to a completely different sector without meeting essential criteria seems like a big challenge. Eg I don't have a degree, never mind one in the right subject!

I have just been successful in getting a job completely different to the career I have had for years; I saw that I didn't meet all of the criteria but believed that it would suit me well all the same. I was open and honest in my application - it was one of those where you have to reference all of the criteria in the job specification and detail how you meet them. Where I didn't have exactly the experience that they wanted I discussed related skills that I do have and how they could be transferable to the role applied for. Nothing ventured nothing gained and I told myself that, if nothing else, the application and interview would be good practise!!

When I'm recruiting I don't really expect candidates to have all of the essential and desirable criteria on the job spec. If they do have them all then they are probably ready for a job on the next level up.

Interesting. I never get a sniff of interest when applying jobs, but i tend to apply to things i meet all criteria for. I have been told i was aiming too low, even when i thought i WAS aiming a bit higher...maybe i'll just go mental and pick something way up there for a laugh and see?

I think all job applications are a bit of a numbers game

If you only ever apply for stuff where you meet 90-100% of the criteria, you are cutting out a huge number of potential opportunities

If you apply for jobs where you meet 40%+ then ok some won't even look at you, some will consider you if no one with 100% applied, some may be pretty bad at writing job descriptions, or just like the look of something else you've done or the way you present yourself etc etc and give you a chance

Also I think you get more experience of writing applications and going to interviews so when the right job does come along you may be more polished or confident

I'm not saying you should waste loads of time applying for everything but I do think widening your search parameters can pay off