To apply for a job if you don’t meet all the criteria

[WaspLady]

I’ve seen a job I want to apply for which has an online application form not a CV, I feel like I have really relevant experience that a lot of other people applying wont have but don’t meet one of the essential experience criteria. Is there any point applying? It’s an internship if that makes any difference. I actually did a short work experience placement with a different team within this organisation last year and got on really well but I’m not sure if it’s appropriate to ask the manager I was working with to give me a reference as I’ve been self employed since then so it’s difficult for me to get a recent professional reference?! Any advice gratefully received!

I’m just worried about getting to the interview stage and having nothing to say about that particular requirement!

You can (and should) plan for that, and work out what you could say - "I don't have direct experience of X, but I do have experience of Y and Z, and as my experience with W showed, I pick things up quickly, because within a month of starting there, I was able to do this thing I had never worked with before."

Definitely apply. That requirement may not even come up in an interview. Lots of people exaggerate a bit on their CVs, or apply when they only meet a job description partially. It is all about confidence, how you present yourself and willingness to learn. Show your strong points and focus as much as possible on the skills that you do have and how those will be useful, rather than on those you do not have.

not sure if you can mention the 'missing experience' without giving anything away - but if you can (e.g. it is something generic like customer-facing experience or knowledge of excel) then do mention it and I am sure that someone can help you with either ways of getting some experience or how you might be able to have that discussion around why you don't have that experience, but are still suitable...

Definitely apply. I recruit a lot and honestly no one ever hits all the criteria

Absolutely apply for it.

Every job I have ever had - I didn't meet all the criteria.

Go for it.

Yes apply. When I was in my 20s I found I got jobs quite easily despit not having all the relevant experience, sometimes far from it. However. In my late 40s I found it really hard to get jobs despite being a strong fit to the criteria.

Not true. I was offered a public sector job without one of the essential qualifications.

I've never met all the criteria for any job I've applied to, if 8 meet at least 50% I apply.

I have done that for 10 applications in the last week, I have interviews for 5 of them and haven't heard back from others yet. Ever since I read online about men applying for jobs even when they meet a small percentage of the essential criteria it really changed how I thought and it has paid off for me. So you should apply, it literally cannot do any harm 😊

I went to a Women in Leadership thing and the speaker, the CEO of a huge multinational said 'if there are 10 requirements for a job, a man will have 5 and go for it, and a woman will have 9/10 and not go for it.'
Is who we are and we need to fight against it every day.....so....go for it!!

Ah that's interesting. Back in the day I was a school governor and did a course on recruiting the headteacher and other staff and we were told that if it was essential and we shortlisted someone who didn't have that skill, it was unfair on people who would have applied if they'd known it wasn't "really" essential. So the moral of the story was to make sure you only list criteria as essential which are really essential and not just desirable. Glad to hear there is a bit more flexibility now.

Apply for it op, they can only say no.

(Retired) recruitment professional here; you said this was listed as essential so really it depends how essential it is to them

On the basis that they already know you it might be worth giving it a go, but do be prepared for them to consider you're wasting their time - and sadly there's nothing new about that in the field

I’d definitely go for it. You never know who else has applied and there is a significant chance that no candidate will have the perfect CV.

I spoke to a recruitment consultant recently and he said that they are encouraging companies to move as much as they can from ‘essential’ to ‘desired’ because there is such a shortage of candidates.

Good luck

You could discuss any transferable skills and stress how keen and quick you are to learn.

Do it. I applied for a job which says PhD was essential and I don’t have a PhD. I got the job. Even my boss doesn’t have a PhD! The adverts always say phd needed and nobody ever has one!

Yes apply

APPLY!
definitely apply.