Everyone is obsessed with the idea of landing a dream job – a job that pays really well, has a great corporate culture, and pays you for doing the work that you love. All of us deserve to get a career that we truly believe in but that seems to be somewhat impossible. Even when we are working for a few years now, the ‘when I grow up’ mentally never fades completely. We get somewhat realistic over time, but we still strive for the ideal. And I guess we need to strive for what we believe in, not only when there are intricacies, but also when you are underqualified for a job. So here’s the thing: You’re scanning through some career websites and unexpectedly you come across your ultimate dream job. You want that job so bad, but unfortunately, you don’t have any of the qualifications that the job ad mentions. They require someone who has a degree or certification in that particular field, and you don’t have one. So, what do you do next? In such scenario, most won’t even bother to apply because they aren’t qualified for the job. What if I tell you to apply anyway? You have nothing to lose. Also, you may be a step closer to landing a dream job. You may think it would be a waste of time when you are underqualified for a job. But here’s the catch – most hiring managers don’t bother about the qualifications if you are a good fit and have some specific skills (except your dream job is related to medical or law). So, how do you become that “perfect candidate” without having the required qualifications? What plays a crucial role in this situation is how your cover letter and resume stands out. You have to put some extra effort such as making a magazine-style resume to get noticed by the hiring managers.
Showcase your transferrable skills
When you are trying to land your dream job, there would be a lot of required skills that you don’t have. However, there also would be a list of skills that you do possess, even when they are irrelevant to the applied position to some extent. But analyze your skills and think about how those things can be applied to this new position. Sometimes, even the hiring managers are not aware of their requirement, so mentioning that you can apply your previous experience to fit this new job and can help them in some manner, may increase your chances of getting hired.
Harness the power of networking
Over 80% of vacancies are never posted in the form of a job ad, so when you are applying through career sites online, you are applying for those 20% jobs. How about having access to those 80% jobs that get filled in no time? You can do that by connecting with the employees of the company that you want to work with. Landing a dream job becomes much easier when you are recommended by an internal employee. After all the efforts, if you fail in getting a dream job, don’t be traumatized – knowing that you weren’t qualified on the first place and are applying anyway is what’s noteworthy.