would this bother you - job not asking for right qualifications.

[Ireallydontcare]

Name changed for this.

My dream job has been advertised. It asks for experience in a particular area and with a particular client group. It is full time working from home and salary is great so again ideal. I was recently made redundant so looking for something else and this job is perfect.

I tick every box. I have the highest qualification you can get in this field and 22 years experience. I specialise in this particular client group.

Except the job is asking for experience in XYZ, rather than qualifications in XYZ and it is clear that the director doesn't know the importance of the qualifications. Nor the importance of registration with professional bodies. Its a small organisation.

It would be very outing to say what the job is but the best comparison would be to imagine a job asking for an HR manager but not specifying you need a CIPD qualification. (its not HR but its a good example to use)

I've seen lots of people online who are from the particular client group or who have experience working with them, saying they will apply and the director going "please do" - but they neither have the qualification nor the professional registration.

Another example is like a childminder applying to be a teacher. It shouldn't be possible.

So I worry I will be unsuccessful and that the employer will value experience more than the qualification when I have both.

I have tried to emphasise in my application the value of my qualification and professional registration and why it is important.

Would this annoy anyone on here too? I worry about not sounding too critical of the entry requirements in my application or to sound like I think I'm better than (most of) the other candidates.

This would be my first interview and application in all those 22 years.

There is more than one vacancy and I think I might feel annoyed if I'm the same grade/pay as someone much less qualified.

YABU - as long as you get the job, who cares?
YANBU - I am right to be annoyed and maybe politely point it out?

@terfterfterf that's a good idea, I might try that actually

@Lonelykettleshed it is the norm, rather than a legal requirement but you wouldn't be doing the job properly without the qualification and professional registration..

@Oblomov20 yes that's what I feel too

@goteam that is my worry

@waveysnail no internal candidate afaik

don't know why the pp didn't show me as the OP, must be the capital letter

@ireallydontcare the thing is if there is more than one position you will end up picking up the work of the unqualified colleague. This is what is happening at my work. A suitably qualified person needs to check certain pieces of work so the individual I mentioned never gets asked and the qualified staff have to do more to compensate. I never ask this person and I feel awful for piling work on others but I need people to know what they're doing.

Unless it’s a case of an area where the qualification and membership is essential to do the basics of the job (which I can only know for certain if I knew what the job is) then you would be unreasonable. Most sectors have professional bodies where the majority/a lot of professionals are members, however it doesn’t preclude companies hiring nonmembers unless it’s a legal requirement.

It might be a plus for them, but not enough o exclude someone otherwise suited.

Its mainly the public sector who recruit this qualification - local authorities, NDPBs, universities and FE colleges. ALL of them ask for my qualifications.

But charities (which is what this job is) do not, they tend to care more about the experience with a particular group side of thing.

I have both the qualifications and the experience. (and this job is working from home which I really want too)

I want to work more with this particular group as its my specialism and my university dissertation was around this client group. Public sector is more generic use of the qualification.

It does look like I will need to swallow my pride if I want this job.

I bet you'll get the job OP. I think you may just need to not worry too much about how qualified the others are unless it begins to impact your workload.

In my job there is a massive shortage of people with experience let alone qualifications so I know employers are lowering their requirements in order to get more applicants.

I'd be emphasising how experienced and qualified you are and why, and making it clearly how important the qualification is. E.g. my Masters in basket weaving and membership of the Chartered basket wavers association means I am able to access external training and auditing expertise which can be used to enhance your trainee basket weavers' training. Furthermore as a member I am indemnified if any trainee basket weavers use their baskets inappropriately and your organisation wouldn't be held liable.

Agree with @titchy that you emphasise how valued your basket weaving qualification will be externally and how it adds value to the organisation. Also the networks you have through professional membership that can benefit the organisation.

I couldn't get too worked up about it. Maybe when you have the job you could ask about it.

Maybe they think that they can put someone through the qualification if they don't have them, but they can't put someone with the qualification into the client group/experience with the client group...if you have both you will be a strong candidate, good luck

I work in a profession with a similar qualification / CPD structure. When our service director post was advertised, it didn't even specify the postgraduate qualifications that more junior staff have. In my experience this is a warning that your potential company doesn't value your profession so you're right to be wary that they may recruit someone without your qualifications, not least because they'd be cheaper.

Gosh I hate it when people use their baskets inappropriately.

It might be that someone else in the organisation has the qualification and is happy with someone experienced. Or you've missed that it's a supporting role. Or they want one qualified role but not bothered for the other and just put the advert our. Or forgot to add it. Or it might be that the qualification just isn't required by this company, you have now clarified it's "the norm" rather than a legal requirement after all. If it isn't a legal requirement then it would usually only be listed as desirable.

I don't really understand why it's annoyed you so much; you have the experience and qualification so should get on well at interview for practical questions. The human race got to this point by teaching and learning; there is genuinely nothing wrong with an apprentice-style route of learning through experience rather than formal courses. Sometimes experience really does matter more; after 22 years I'm really amazed that you don't value experience (and that you even remember the qualification). This nit-picking assumption that you know better what the charity needs than the person recruiting makes you seem arrogant. If you start that debate then it may make you come across as being difficult to work with; people who are too rigid and determined they know best are great for QA in large firms, but don't tend to thrive in small companies where everyone needs to flex a bit more.

Well I did the email suggestion (from a fake account) and got a speedy reply. They are considering a wide range of qualifications (there really is only one relevant to the industry) and getting advice from someone high up in the field (is it the correct field though)

I don't feel much more reassured.

Oh the reply also said they would consider managerial experience so maybe they do want someone to train the others. I wouldn't mind that if it was a different grade or pay.

Thanks for the advice on how to emphasise my qualifications and skills. I'll just have to do that and hope for the best.

@SoCrimeaRiver unfortunately where I work is the same. It's a charity and it operates as a bit of a chumocracy where unqualified friends of senior managers are appointed to senior roles but then don't know what to do so everything gets delegated to more junior but better qualified staff.

@MRex apprenticeships are great but apprentices are paid less until they become qualified.

Other staff do end up absorbing the work when people are recruited who don't know what they're doing. And if the qualifications aren't stated then it is unlikely senior leadership really do understand what is required.

It sounds to me like the OP does know better than the charity. In order for staff to learn and be taught senior managers need to be able to recognise what qualifications or experience they are lacking and address the gap.

Qualifications are fine but you can’t beat hands on experience.

@Ireallydontcare I'm guessing your a social worker going for a job that is essentially similar to social work role but without the title? Correct me if I'm wrong?

Also, regardless of qualifications, is this really an ego thing? Take no offence by that. Im guessing you feel like if you as a qualified say chartered account was working alongside an unqualified but experienced accountant but with the same title and pay you'd feel put out?

But what you have to remember and probably know is that you can have a shitty lazy qualified experience worker as a colleague or an unqualified hard working grafter!

I think you need to shake that feeling of needing to feel somewhat superior if you get the job even if you feel you deserve it more.

As a qualified registered professional myself, I can honestly say some of my assistants are far better than the qualified staff and I'd much rather have them by my side and on the same pay grade.

Not a social worker, no

Thank you for the advice though

you wouldn't be doing the job properly without the qualification and professional registration

This is quite a claim, for a job which is not protected by law, many employers and employees see little value in the professional registrations, they don't always add value. As others have said, you sound very arrogant as to knowing everything the role entails, and that utterly sure of yourself that everything the job needs and doesn't need is different to the advert.

The main thing to do if you want the job is drop this attitude and find out first what they need and want they want in the role, once you actually have identified that from more than an advert, then you can explain how you can meet all those things better than others - including why particular things are necessary.