Not an exact match? No problem!

You don’t have to be ‘qualified’ to get the job

So, you’ve run across a job that you don’t have enough experience for – you have two options in this situation. You can either be intimidated by the job and forget about it or you can go after it anyway. We will be dealing with the second option in this course because, believe it or not, it is still possible to get a job that you are not qualified for on paper.

According to Rebecca Zucker, “whether you are just starting your career or looking to make a career change, you should anticipate questions about your relevant experience – or lack thereof.” In her article, “How to Ace the Interview When You Don’t Have the Right Type of Experience,” Zucker goes over six strategies that you can use to improve your chances of getting a job that requires experiences you do not have. We have chosen to elaborate on two of these.

Develop rapport

Develop an easy rapport with the interviewer. The easiest way to present yourself as likable is by making a real connection with your interviewer.

In fact, according to cnbc.com, “candidates who focus on ingratiation, or who are likable, have a better chance of being hired.” In interviews, most hiring managers conduct the airport test; i.e., “Would I want to spend 6 hours with this person in a random airport if a flight got canceled?” If the answer is no, then they probably won’t want to work with you either.

How do you become likable? The honest answer is that you research your interviewer. You find them on Linkedin and highlight common likes and dislikes; anything that you can find that will connect you to them is important. For most people, all it takes is a few commonalities to get that “likable-ball” rollin!

“Yes, and”

It is extremely important that you never get defensive about your lack of experience or try to minimize it. Instead, employ the “Yes, and” technique as a way to lessen your interviewer’s fears.

One example given by Zucker is to say, “Yes, I know there are other candidates with more experience in this field, and noticed in the job description that you are also looking for someone who can take initiative with little direction. Let me give you some examples of where I’ve done this, directly contributing to the success of my team at…” This response will answer the interviewer’s questions while simultaneously showcasing your directly-applicable abilities.

Pro Tip: Job descriptions are sometimes posted with “aspirational” qualifications. That is, the hiring team will list every possible attribute that they would ideally want in a candidate, but they don’t expect that someone will have 100% of them. Many times, they are just casting a “wide net” to get a larger candidate pool. They may intend to hire for potential.