As a leading staffing agency in Wichita, KS, at Top Notch Personnel, we speak from experience when we say that most job postings follow a familiar pattern: an overview of the role followed by a list of requirements and qualifications.
But these requirements can leave out people who could be great for the job, even if their resume isn’t a 100 percent match. For example, just because you don’t have a degree in advertising arts or graphic design, or spent five years in real estate, doesn’t make you underqualified for a graphic designer role — not when you have a pretty impressive portfolio as an amateur or freelance designer.
Fortunately, there are ways to get around this problem. What you need to do is bring a hiring manager’s attention to these aspects of your resume.
Transferable Skills
Transferable skills are skills that can be transferred and used in almost any job setting or industry.
For example, if you have experience in copywriting or news writing, these same skills will prove useful in advertising, marketing, public relations, or pretty much any job requiring communication — which is to say, every job out there.
Of course, you still need to show hiring managers how skill X you acquired in company Y can be useful in their organization. You can do this in the objective/summary section of your resume and in your cover letter.
Highlight Complementary Skills
It’s no secret many companies can have unrealistic requirements for potential candidates, whether they are seeking temporary, temp-to-hire, or full time careers (think companies that require three years of experience for fresh grads) Oftentimes, job descriptions will have one or two requirements that don’t seem all that relevant.
Similarly, you can make your application stand out by listing complementary skills that don’t quite match the requirements of the job but can still be connected in some way.
For example, you see a posting for a web developer that requires five years of work experience, but you only have three. However, if you spent two years on web usability or graphic design, you can still be a strong candidate for the job.
Avoid Technical Terms
Specific details about your work experience can be very impressive to people in your industry; however, outside of it, they will have no appeal at all. In fact, you may end up alienating potential employers.
If you’re switching to a career in graphic design after spending years in healthcare, terms like “phlebotomy training,” or “BLS (basic life support) certified” will be meaningless to employers. What they’ll care about will be your problem-solving skills, organizational skills, ability to work with a team and leadership experience.
Partner With a Top Employment Agency
As a premiere employment agency in Wichita, KS, we have seen plenty of successful hires from candidates that didn’t fully meet all of the qualifications.Follow our blog for more job search tips from industry professionals. If you’re changing careers or coming off graduation, and are in need of job search assistance, contact our team of job recruiters in Wichita today! We’ll help you connect with our local network of hiring employers.