Unfortunately, most of what you learned in college is most likely not going to be relevant in your job. To succeed in your work, you’ll need to acquire skills you have not learned in class. And yes, that can be complicated. Let’s dive deeper to uncover why you don’t need to meet every qualification to apply for a job successfully.
Why don’t you need to meet every qualification to apply for a job?
When you take a look at some of the entry-level jobs, you’ll find that you might not have encountered many things from the qualification list. However, sites such as Jobsora.com will help you narrow your search to meet your particular skill set. Moreover, you can filter search results to find the right job opportunity for you.
Even if you find a job that involves using the technical skills you learned in class, your employer might require you to use tools, which you are unaware of. As such, you need to venture beyond your college course and learn other skills on the job. But, just because a particular job posting requires specific qualifications, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t apply for that job.
For instance, most job opportunities will require a few years of experience for anyone to be considered. However, does this mean that you should not apply for such a position? No! If you are completely qualified for a job opportunity, then you’re aiming too low. On the contrary, if you qualified on most of the qualities, then you should go ahead and apply for a job, despite having a lot to learn.
Most organizations prefer hiring people who are new to a role, to allow them to grow into the position. In essence, new hires ask a lot of questions, and most firms want that. They want new hires to seek out mentoring and make a few mistakes as they get acclaimed to a particular role. Hence, you should consider applying for positions that will stretch your talent.
The danger of applying for an over-qualified job position
Most people will only focus on applying for jobs, which they already overly qualify. However, there are some upsides to this. In a nutshell, they join the organization and pick up pace fast. These qualities make the employer happy and boost the person’s self-confidence. But, such job scenarios do not lead to much growth. This person will remain stagnant in the role and find it hard to transition to an alternative position.
In particular, people who apply for such jobs will find it hard to make a move in an upward trajectory. To be successful, one has to be in a position where the constant acquisition of a different set of skills is required. Learning these skills when you’re already in an overly-qualified position, will require you to learn off the clock rather than incorporating into your daily performance.
So why don’t people apply for jobs they aren’t fully qualified for? For a starter, most people don’t want to feel like imposters. In essence, the feeling that you have risen through the ranks into a position you have not earned. People who experience such treatment in their workplaces fear that if the management finds out about how unqualified they are, they wouldn’t be able to keep their jobs.
But, what people seem to forget is that they can’t see other people’s thought. As such, you may assume that these people have a higher degree of confidence in their abilities. But in the real sense, they have had to learn new skills on the job. Hence, don’t shy away from positions which you feel you’re unqualified.
Instead, consider treating each position as a challenge. The best way to maintain the orientation of a particular task is to continue learning. So, treat difficult tasks as an opportunity to learn a new skill.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, everyone needs to treat a job opportunity as a guideline to the position itself and not a strict list of job requirements. However, it is still important to meet the minimum qualifications each job requires. All in all, no one should limit themselves to a set of positions because they are overqualified for them.