Picture this. You're on the Internet perusing job listings, and something catches your eye. The job description is matches what you have wanted to do for years, and the company posting the job seems as if they would be a great employer. You aren't just confident that you want the job, you are confident that you would be amazing at this job. Then, you scroll down to the qualifications, and your mood changes. According to the person who wrote the job posting, you don't qualify. So, do you write this job off and move onto the next one, or do you apply anyway? If your instincts tell you to apply anyway, you are on the right track.

Break Down the Skills Required to do the Job

The first thing you need to do is determine whether or not you can do the job. Unfortunately, the descriptions on most job ads are quite broad and quite vague. Terms like “problem solver” and “good communicator” don't mean a whole lot. What you'll need to do is figure out what somebody in this position would do on a daily basis, and how the required skills could be broken down to match those requirements. Good communicator might mean, able to speak to non-technical staff about technical issues in a way that they understand. Problem solver, might really mean that you have the ability to connect somebody with a problem to the person that can resolve their issue. Once you have these breakdowns, you can analyze your current skill set, and determine whether or not you can do the job.

Separate the Real Requirements from the Fluff

When people write job descriptions, they often write them with the intention of attracting the ideal job applicant. In addition to this, a job ad is viewed by many company decision makers as another representation of the company's brand, so they use wording in the ad to boost the company's image. What better way to do that than to give the impression that the company is only interested in the most elite candidates? The ad might ask for a person with 5-years’ experience and a graduate degree from an Ivy League school. The person who actually gets the job might be somebody with 3-years’ experience who is a year into getting their graduate degree from a state university.

Be Prepared to Talk Transferable Skills

If you called back for an interview, your goal should be to nudge the discussion towards the topic of transferable skills. This will help you to demonstrate how the skills you possess now can be used to do the job you are applying for. Ultimately, this is what the hiring authority is looking for, and is your key to landing the position even if you aren't a perfect match.

Writing job descriptions is a crap shoot. Many of them are written by people who are doing the best they can to encourage the right people to apply. In fact, in many cases the person writing the job posting has little if any experience working on the job that is being advertised. Before you give up on pursuing your dream job, remember that there have been plenty of positions that have been filled by less than perfect candidates and plenty of hiring managers who have opted to follow their instincts in hiring employees, rather than adhering to what was written in some job posting. Your application or resume prepared by custom writing company may be more welcome than you think. Here are a few tips to help you land an interview, even if you aren't qualified.