While writing my interview book, I knew I needed advice from the interviewer‘s side. So, I called two Human Resource experts while writing 8 Steps for Interview Prep. They both talked about applying for jobs you aren’t 100% qualified for. So, if you’re worried about being good enough for a job, this post is for you.
During those phone calls, I asked quite a few specific questions. And the experts had plenty of excellent answers.
I was mildly surprised, therefore, when this topic came up in two separate conversations… Because I had asked if they had other, general advice when they mentioned it.
This is, apparently, a pattern that they’ve noticed enough to really talk about it.
Should I even apply for the job?
HR expert Rhonda Siex, PHR, SHRM-CP, gave me the most in-depth advice about applying for jobs… Because she is concerned with the trend she sees along gender lines on applications:
“There’s one thing we see over and over again — and it’s usually gender-specific in America. Men will apply for any position they’re interested in, but women will try to match up every qualification and requirement. If [women] can’t check them all off, they won’t apply.”
You Don’t Need to Do It All
I understand feeling the need to match up with every bullet point on a job description. Why? Because I’ve looked at many applications from this viewpoint in the past. For every task listed, I believed I needed to have a fairly high skill level.
Unfortunately, I’m usually a perfectionist. Maybe a recovering perfectionist. Either way, it took a few years before I felt comfortable applying for a job that I wasn’t almost overqualified for.
And then I thought about how I’d feel if I needed to apply for a job in my target language. I’d probably be even more cautious about which positions I applied to.
Slightly over 50% of my clients are women improving their English as an additional language… So I knew this was an important point to talk about. I want to make sure everyone is taking all the opportunities they can!
So where should you draw the line? What skill level should you have?
Well — you should think more about the general job than the smaller side-tasks.
It’s about your ability to learn.
Siex continued: “Yes, we want qualified applicants — but if people look at the overall job description and feel capable, [then] you can be trained on tech.”
What does this mean for you? Well, if you know you can do the main job tasks, you should apply. For example, if the job requires a Bachelor’s degree and an understanding of basic marketing concepts, but you’ve never used the blog platform or specific software they have, then you should apply.
If you have the basic requirements for that industry, you’re interested in the job, and you know you can be trained for the parts you don’t know — apply.
According to Siex, “Every job is always evolving.” That means the job will change over time. Companies understand this, therefore they don’t always interview candidates who match the job description perfectly.
If you’re interested in something you can typically be trained.
How do you communicate your ability to learn?
If you read my previous blog post about behavioral interview questions, you might already know the answer!
Tell a story.
Use your experience learning and speaking English as an additional language. Talk about complex hobbies you learned on your own. Describe a past work project that required a new skill.
A good interviewer might ask you how you learn, so you should think about this, too. There are plenty of ways to answer it:
- Research online
- Watch videos
- Try a test project
- Find industry blogs
- Enroll in online courses
- Ask a friend
As long as you understand your own learning process, then you can confidently tell your interviewer that you can gain new skills on the job.
Is my level of English good enough for the job?
I’ll talk more about this in my next blog post!
My general advice is this: If you can talk about your job tasks in English, your English is probably good enough for the job! (As long as you have most of the technical requirements I mentioned earlier in this post!)
Business English is not some extra-formal academic way of speaking. It is simply the clearest, most polite way to talk to other adults in your industry.
Imagine explaining your job to your parents, your partner, or a teenager. If they can understand you, your English is probably good enough for the interview! You can continue working on your professional English by reading industry blogs, listening to industry podcasts, and going through interview prep workbooks like mine!
If you can understand behavioral interview questions and create some answers for them, you should apply for the job!