Should You Apply For A Job Even If You Do Not Qualify?

This is the advice Social Media Career Influencers give to job seekers, but it is not good advice, and any variations to this statement need to be explained because absolutes rarely work for every situation.

Let me unravel this nonsense.

When you are applying for a job, you need to assess where you are sending your application.

In some cases, you will need to meet all the qualifications, and it varies if your client is in the public or private sector.

I will address Canada and the United States, but it you are outside of these two countries, check and verify the standards set by your governments when applying to government positions.

CANADA

The Canadian Federal Government has a system for evaluating their Professional Service Contracts which may divide the job requirements into Mandatory and Rated requirements.

A candidate MUST meet all mandatory requirements (Must haves) and a percentage of the Rated requirements (known as Nice to haves).

The percentages used are 60:40, 70:30 and 80:20 for technical vs. financial considerations.
The lower the evaluation criteria, the lower the per diem/rates the candidate will receive.

A 60:40 score indicates that the rates for your services will be lower than a 80:20 split.
Not to make this too complicated, if there are 10 rated requirements, you need to have at least 6, or 60%, of them for a 60:40 score, etc.

USA

The United States Department of Labor (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) enforces laws to ensure fair employment practices.

When recruiters discuss Basic Qualifications (BQ), these are MUST HAVEs—you must have them for the evaluator to continue evaluating your application.

Preferred Qualifications (PQs) are used when there are multiple candidates that meet the basic qualifications and further assessment is required.

Note that the system of hiring Contractors or Consultants for many Government bodies is different from the hiring of permanent staff. The allocation of funds for staffing contractors is also made from a different budget than for permanent staff. However, their requirements may be similarly delineated to show Mandatory and Rated Requirements.

Kristen Fife, big tech recruiter, and Amy Miller, 'Recruiter in Yoga Pants,' my fellow founding members of the JobseekerGuardians group on LinkedIn, post quality content around OFCCP and the requirements in the United States.

The private sector requirements are usually divided in a similar way but there maybe no hard percentages to determine evaluations.
If you are applying to the private sector, meeting over 60% of the qualifications should be O.K.

However, the lower the percentage, the lesser your chance of being called for the job because you are always in a competition, and there will be the possibility of someone scoring over 80% who will apply.
Therefore, if you apply for a position and you do not meet a high percentage of the qualifications, do not be too disappointed when you are not called for an interview.

WHAT ARE OTHER PEOPLE SAYING ABOUT THIS?

In a recent post curated by Bernadette Pawlick, a founding member of the JobSeekerGuardians, Lisa Sandonato wrote,

“I think the mantra is ‘Apply even if you don't have ALL the qualifications,’ which is sound advice. No one is ever going to tick off every box on a job description, much as hiring managers want that- if you can do 80% of the stuff on the list, trust me, you’re probably going to be more than ok.”

I tend to agree with Sandonato or anyone who says apply if you meet about 60%, but as indicated above, it depends on where you are applying and what the job requirements are.

APPLY EVEN IF YOU DON’T HAVE THE QUALIFICATIONS, is not good advice, but other absolutes are equally flawed.

CLICKBAITING—THE SHOCK VALUE

Why do career influencers say, “Apply even if you are not qualified”?
Do not take them too seriously because it is a bait for you to click and engage with them.

Social platform algorithms encourage clickbaiting.
Content creators have figured out that to get eyes on their content, they need to clickbait. The other term is “shock value.”

LinkedIn is no different; the more they show your content to more people, the more comments and likes you will get, and the algorithm will push out your content more and more.

You may have the best content, but LinkedIn may not show it to audiences because, according to LinkedIn, you are not getting the engagement for them to care.

“Apply even if you are not qualified” is a job search strategy that should not be encouraged because your chance of winning is very low.

WHAT CAN THE JOB SEEKER DO?

Time is money, so you should use the time you take to apply to all those jobs to do something more productive.

Search and apply for the jobs you are qualified for and improve your chances of being called for a job interview.

Hi,

I am Yvonne Robinson, a past university professor and teacher, technical recruiter and director of recruiting, and now a career advancement coach.

If you do not have a clear plan and strategy for advancing in your career or a clear vision of where you want to go, I will work with you until you achieve your results and your transformation.

💎Information + Application = Transformation

I have a menu of Pro Bono content on my website and on social channels: LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.

I provide personal 1:1 consultation to fast-track your success so that you achieve your transformation in record time.

💎Remember! Career Goals are Life Goals: Outperform, Outshine, and Outlast!