The 3rd of our 10 tips for anyone looking to progress their career. A two-minute read about knowing what the associated skills for the role in question are might be all the inspiration you need!
Expanding your Skill Set – Tip 3 of 10
The job skills shortage isn’t going anywhere so here is this week’s tip that you can take to improve the probability of your career success.
Tip 3 of 10: Know what the associated skills for the role in question are.
The two principal criteria to apply when deciding to respond to a job advert are quite simple:
- Do you qualify for the role as stated?
- Does the role fit with your long and short-term career goals?
There is no point applying for roles you don’t really think are right or for which you are not qualified, it is a waste of your time and the company’s. Note that the test is not whether you can do the job, it is whether you meet the requirements of the advertisement.
Go through the advertisement and underline the requirements. These will be in the form of task specification (‘to oversee the implementation of our restructuring plans’, ‘to manage the sales team’, ‘responsible for achieving challenging cost savings’ etc) and person specification (‘strong leadership skills’, ’10 years PQE’, ‘a history of implementing complex change programmes’ etc.). These requirements may be headed ‘The Role’ and ‘The Person’ or something similar, or may be built into the body of the advertisement.
Check how many of the requirements you meet. If it is not 90% – 95% (plus of course any mandatory requirements), don’t bother to apply. If you are convinced the job is right for you despite this (for example you lack exact sector experience or a degree is requested, but have very relevant alternatives), then you can try to identify a network contact, or else make a cold call or send a speculative letter to someone a little higher up than the likely recruiting manager.
So, closing the skills gap divide might not be as daunting as you first thought and may not require anything more than a fresh perspective and way of looking at it. It sounds simple and it is, it’s just not always easy, especially when trying to do it alone.
For practical advice on how to make the change without being overwhelmed contact us to discuss how we can help.