I often apply for positions that are related to my qualifications but that I’m lacking direct experience or certification for. For example, I have a urban planning degree, but I put out apps for environmental tech jobs.
I’m finding that almost every position (no matter how menial) tries to legitimize itself by listing a whole host of ‘required’ qualifications, tickets and certifications. I was looking at manual labour positions in the oil sands recently and I couldn’t believe the required two-bit junk for scraping crap off the side of truck. You need a ticket in X, you need to be certified in Y, you need WHMIS, you need your power-washer credential…blah, blah. I know it is a lot of HR bullshit, but it is a real damper on the desire to write out a brand new resume and cover letter that caters.
I didn’t and wasn’t involved in the process. Just heard the tale from the boss lady, who sits about three feet away from me. I really don’t know what criteria she used to narrow the field down to the final four. I would bet that all four had at least a Master’s in English or Journalism, had at least 3-5 years working as an editor, and may have had teaching experience (this is a gig in education, so it’s relevant).
My friend, whom I referred, had the Master’s and teaching experience, but no print production or web production like we do here. She made the 2nd cut, which meant if the four all fell through, they’d have done another round of interviews and my friend would have gotten one.
In years past, we’ve had upwards of 20-30 resumes, but could barely find 3 with editorial experience and either an advanced degree or teaching experience. I’ve managed print production for years, but have neither the advanced degree nor teaching experience; I wouldn’t be qualified for my own job right now if I applied for it.
I did once for a summer student position (to do with proofreading). The reason I applied was because they said an ideal candidate was someone who was in the same program I was entering in the fall (a tech program).
I ended up getting hired. The tech program stuff had virtually nothing to do with the job, but if you trained a monkey to be competent at English they could do it. Best job I ever had! It was slack government work.
IT and tech positions are so odd because the ads often give a very specific skillset but a lot of the time you can cobble together knowledge on the job.
If you do it, the best thing that can happen is you get the new job, they train you where you’re lacking, and everyone is happy. That’s pretty good.
The worst thing that can happen is that you don’t get the job and you stay where you are, or you get that other job in your department. That’s not so bad. There’s no chance really that applying for this other job will make you end up worse off. So I say go for it.
Don’t try to BS, though. Be honest about what you know and what you don’t. You don’t want to get the job and then now know what the f* you’re doing.
I’m of two minds on this. I apologize if I’m a little off-topic, but it’s something I have some experience with.
My previous company often had positions with certain technical requirements, such as SQL Server administration, VB programming, and so on. We advertised those requirements because we needed them. I’d say about 70% of the resumes I received were from people who weren’t remotely qualified. It was a waste of my time to pore over the resumes just to figure out which ones to toss before considering qualified candidates (we didn’t have a fancy key word searching program). Even then (and I know this doesn’t apply to the OP), it wasn’t unusual to discover someone in an interview who had just flat-out lied about his qualifications (“But I’m a quick learner!”). This is like my saying that I’m fluent in French. Yeah, I might get the job, but eventually I might be expected to, you know, speak French.
On the other hand:
I’ve also seen employers advertise for positions with completely unreal requirements. For instance, they might be asking for someone with 5 years VB.NET and Fortran programming experience, MSDBA certification, and a Masters in Computer Science for $30K. Yeah, there are people out there who fit the bill, but not for $30K. Eventually they’ll either have to settle for someone with fewer skills or pony up a bunch more money. This reminds me of some dating sites where someone is looking for that special someone who must be between 5"7" and 5"9"", can’t be over 120 pounds, and have black hair and blue eyes. And they have to be Rastafarian. What the hell, he might get lucky, right? In the meantime, he’s missed out on some wonderful possible matches.
Given all that, my advice to the OP is, sure, why not? The worst that could happen is a few wasted hours and a rejection. Seems like a small investment for the potential return.
:rolleyes: This is the key - you’re covered. That is assuming he really has any pull and he’s a decent person who won’t turn around and screw you behind your back if you mess up.
Well, I would hope he’s a decent person, but I’m sure he wants the best for his workforce, friend or no.
I think I’ll spend my free time here on out studying up as much as I can, and see if I even get called for an interview. If I feel competent enough about the subject then, I’ll go for it. I would dread a scenario like what happened to **EvilTOJ **. Thanks again for all the responses!
My experiences at the moment too. It’s frustrating and confusing at the same time.
From what I’ve gathered, it’s a complete waste of time applying for “Professional” or Government jobs that you’re not completely, totally, and utterly 100% qualified for here; because if you (an “unqualified” external applicant) get the job, your appointment can be challenged by unsuccessful internal candidates.
On the few occasions that I’ve felt my qualifications and skills are “near enough” (eg “Experience with Microsoft Visio”, which I’ve never used), I’ll mention my familiarity with similar things to whatever the job requires, or mention I can learn the skills quickly (possibly with an example of a time I did learn a new skill quickly), but it hasn’t done any good so far.
I would definitely apply for a job I’m not totally qualified for if someone higher up and/or from that department suggested I apply, and I have some experience that’s at least somewhat related. It’s not just nepotism or favoritism, I think sometimes (depending on the particular job) there can be a good justification for hiring someone who doesn’t have all of the credentials. If you can hire someone who you know who has at least some related skills, is a fast learner, and is a good fit for your department, then having to take some time to train them after hiring is no big deal. Far better than hiring someone who has the qualifications on paper but after hiring it turns out they aren’t a great learner or very flexible and isn’t a good fit in some way.
Shesh, and possibly because it is IT security they just are not getting a load of internal applicants eager to move into that. REmember you also bring knowing the corporate culture, proven working ability in that culture, as well as your at least in the ballpark related IT experience. It’s not like you are an external candidate applying because they worked concert security while getting an undergrad degree in Economics.
Plus, most companies the “low risk” strategy is to hire someone internally that comes recommended versus the “higher risk” of correctly assessing external candidates during the hiring loop that will beat expectations.