Over-optimistically applied for a job and now I have an interview

[AnnaGrowsAMustache]

Except I'm fairly sure that I'm completely under qualified and under experienced...... my first thought when I was called about the interview was 'oh shit, what do I do now???'! I was kind of embarrassed the morning after I applied, kind of in the delusional category for even applying.

Should I just go in being straight up or should I see just how good at bullshit I actually am?

[Astatine]

Some quick thoughts:

1) Congrats on getting an interview!

2) Any chance there is some impostor syndrome at play here?

3) Ask A Manager has a free guide on how to prepare for an interview (it's US-based).

4) Remember an interview is as much about you interviewing them to see if you'd want to work for them as much as them checking to see if you're what they're looking for to fill their position.

5) Good luck!!

[anotherAlias]

I say go and be completely honest about your skills, stressing a desire to learn.  Having been on the hiring side for multiple companies I've learned that job descriptions are usually a HR/manager fantasy compared to the actual position.  It's more like a wish list for a dream candidate that really doesn't exist.  In my location and industry we struggle to find candidates that aren't complete morons let alone fully qualified.  So usually we hire people that might have one or two key skills, answer questions thoughtfully and appear eager and capable of learning. 

Good luck

[Little Aussie Battler]

If I'm 100% qualified for a role and already have experience, then I don't want it as it will immediately be boring.

That imposter syndrome panic for the first few months is healthy and good for personal and professional growth.

Don't bullshit, but don't sell yourself short either.

[Laura33]

Many women have a tendency to undercount and undersell themselves.  An issue that arises over and over is that a man may meet three of six requirements for a job and believe he is qualified and go in confidently, whereas a woman may meet five of six and believe she is underqualified and not even apply.

Or to put it another way:  the company believes you are qualified, or they wouldn't have offered you an interview.  So the answer is C:  go in and be straight up about all the awesome skills and abilities you would bring to the job.

And, sure, they will probably ask you about the criteria you don't meet -- most likely because they want to judge how you respond as much as they want to know the actual answer.  So don't lie, don't make stuff up, but come up with past experience you have that suggests you will be able to either meet the intent of that criterion or pick it up quickly.  Many, many skills are transferable, so even if you don't meet all four corners, that's not a death knell if you show energy and an ability to learn.

[Livingthedream55]

I see absolutely no down side to showing up and having a great conversation about who you are, what your skills are, where you can grow and how you may (or may not be) a good candidate for this opportunity.

As someone who has drafted job descriptions I have been amazed about how little grounded in reality they can be sometimes. When I left my last job (out of sheer exhaustion because it was too much even for me and I am a high output, "can do" attitude. rock star performer). My boss took my job description (already soul crushingly heavy with duties/responsibilities; I had an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of 36 distinct work groups/projects/timelines/budgets I was managing) and added the equivalent of another full time job to that! I said "you will never find one human being who can do everything that is listed here!" and they responded: "oh we know, we are just putting everything in to see what we get in terms of responses."  And of course they hired someone with much less experience (who they paid significantly less) who is only doing a sliver of what I was doing.

It's a great experience, the more you interview the less scary they become.

If you are not selected for this job, the same company may have other openings now or in the future where you would be the perfect fit.

As others have said people often apply for jobs where they meet only a fraction of the qualifications, employers know this too and are still willing to meet a candidate to discuss the possibility of a fit.

Also, things can be very fluid even in the interview. I have had the experience (more than once) about getting hired because of things I told them I knew how to do (in the interview) that weren't part of the original wish list in the job description. As an example, for the job I am in now, I brought with me an example of a consumer educational manual I wrote and did some basic graphic design/layout on and left them with a copy. The interviewers were so excited during the interview saying: "Oh .... I can think of so many areas where we'd love to have nice materials describing our programs." So, that's one of the things I do now. 

You are in the driver's seat - you can show up and test the waters - and let us know how it goes!

[Slow&Steady]

You have great timing in posting this.  I am at the do I even apply stage.

As another poster pointed out I am aware as a female I second guess myself much more often than a male would.  I have been asking if I should apply for a job, and what would a male with my same experience/background do.  A male would apply, time to update the resume.

[GnomeErcy]

Go for it. What's the worst that happens?

Besides, there should be something to push you in a new job - if you were perfectly qualified I'd question if it was the right fit for you to grow, if you'd end up being bored, etc.

Even if you aren't a good fit for the role, perhaps they like you and would see your skills and experience in aligning with a different role that would be of interest to you as well.

The only downside is the time invested. Good luck!

[Proud Foot]

Except I'm fairly sure that I'm completely under qualified and under experienced...... my first thought when I was called about the interview was 'oh shit, what do I do now???'! I was kind of embarrassed the morning after I applied, kind of in the delusional category for even applying.

Should I just go in being straight up or should I see just how good at bullshit I actually am?

Congratulations on the interview! You might be completely under qualified and under experienced but the company saw something in your application that made them want to interview you. Be straight up with them on your experience and qualifications but try to play up how those can translate into the position. Absolutely do not bullshit them in the interview. It will not go well if they offer you and then find out you actually can't do/don't have experience with something you told them you do after you start. 

[moof]

1)  Most job postings are a wish list, few hired candidates meet more than about 50% of the requirements.
2)  Personality fit is equally important to technical skills/experience.  You might be happily hired if you seem like a good team fit, even if you will be assigned different work than was originally envisioned based on skill set.
3)  Be open and honest about your concerns as to over qualification and your own limited experience, ask direct questions as to how the manager sees this playing out.  Will there be enough mentoring available?  Will there be enough interesting challenging work down the road?  BS'ing your way into a job rarely works well.

Good luck!

[GuitarStv]

Except I'm fairly sure that I'm completely under qualified and under experienced...... my first thought when I was called about the interview was 'oh shit, what do I do now???'! I was kind of embarrassed the morning after I applied, kind of in the delusional category for even applying.

Should I just go in being straight up or should I see just how good at bullshit I actually am?

Ignore the stuff you're not qualified for.

Go over the job description bit by bit and find every part of it that matches up with what's on your resume.  Remember these points and highlight them in the interview.  Remember, they called you for the interview.  That means that they see something in the information that you provided them with that they want.  As long as you didn't lie on your resume, you should be good.

[inline five]

The better companies hire for attitude and trainability rather than qualifications. That was what they looked for in the dark dark days of the financial recession. I think the better ones are realizing it’s much better to hire someone who has a good attitude, has proven they can do good work, hustle, and don’t complain. Pro tip when they ask why you want to leave your company don’t complain about it!

When I interviewed for my job a couple years ago I was truly sad to be leaving my previous employer. I loved the work environment and the people. But I wanted to expand my horizons a bit and move up the food chain. In no way was I the most qualified of candidates.

[Noodle]

Remember, interviewing is a two-way street...you are interviewing them just as they are interviewing you. There are many possible positive outcomes to this process:

1. They like you, you like them, you get a job offer.
2. You discover through the process that you don't like either the company or the specific job. Valuable information!
3. You make valuable professional contacts in your field. I mean, this is an opportunity for you to brag on yourself for an hour, without being rude! When does that come along? I once moved to a new area and interviewed for months for every single vaguely related position that came available. I only got a couple offers, only one viable, but by the time I was done I had a great network.
4. You don't get an offer, but you get valuable practice in interviewing.
5. You aren't right for this job, but they like you and remember you when the job that is right comes open. I actually got a job that way once.
6. You come away with a funny story to tell if it doesn't go well.

Just be honest about yourself, and trust your interviewers to make the decision that is right for them. Good luck!

[AnnaGrowsAMustache]

Thanks for the good advice, everyone. I've had a little ring around friends and acquaintances and it turns out that I know a couple of people who work in the company I've applied for, so I've organised a brain-picking session before the interview. I also have a detailed job description and some other information from various organisational structure google searches. I figure I'll go in armed with information and seriously hustle for the job (without lying, of course). This job would be DOUBLE what I make now. DOUBLE!! And if I don't get a good
 fit vibe about it all, I'm at second interview stage with another organisation that I think would be great to work at and has a salary 1.5x what I make now. I need a signed contract by Xmas!

[Raj]

Thanks for the good advice, everyone. I've had a little ring around friends and acquaintances and it turns out that I know a couple of people who work in the company I've applied for, so I've organised a brain-picking session before the interview. I also have a detailed job description and some other information from various organisational structure google searches. I figure I'll go in armed with information and seriously hustle for the job (without lying, of course). This job would be DOUBLE what I make now. DOUBLE!! And if I don't get a good
 fit vibe about it all, I'm at second interview stage with another organisation that I think would be great to work at and has a salary 1.5x what I make now. I need a signed contract by Xmas!

Good job getting a counter offer, it's not as high as the other job but at least you have another venue in case this company doesn't fit your needs.

Either way you'll get a raise and you'll have a lot more room in the negotiation table.

[lizi]

Firstly, congratulations on getting to the interview stage! I was in a very similar situation a few months ago, but mine is more of a cautionary tale. On the bright side, it was a learning experience.

I applied for a job I was almost totally unqualified for, and the interview consisted of me being extremely upfront and basically saying "I haven't done that before, but I have done [insert obliquely related reference here]". I got the job, to my surprise. One of the main reasons I got it was because I said I was willing to learn and be trained (but of course, I would expect that from every job). Adequate training was given for using the software and equipment, but not for anything else. Then after 3 months, I was told I wasn't working fast enough (with zero feedback before that), and then 6 weeks after that I was let go.

In hindsight, what I should have done when I started is ask for a more formal learning plan and feedback on my performance. I was aware of my deficiencies (i.e. not having a degree in mechanical engineering), so I could have broken that down and said "Ok, this week I'm going to spend time learning about electrical component design. I'm planning on reading these chapters from this textbook. Are there any other resources you recommend?" I'm not sure that would have helped me, as it might have been more of a personality conflict or something else behind the scenes. Also I was also doing so much learning the day at work that adding time after work would have been really draining. But I would have done it if it meant keeping my job!

In short, be completely honest in the interview, and ask them what sort of learning/training systems they have in place to ensure you succeed. If you aren't successful it's a great opportunity to say you really want that sort of position, and ask what you can do in the meantime to ensure you're successful next time.

[RedmondStash]

Many women have a tendency to undercount and undersell themselves.  An issue that arises over and over is that a man may meet three of six requirements for a job and believe he is qualified and go in confidently, whereas a woman may meet five of six and believe she is underqualified and not even apply.

Or to put it another way:  the company believes you are qualified, or they wouldn't have offered you an interview.  So the answer is C:  go in and be straight up about all the awesome skills and abilities you would bring to the job.

And, sure, they will probably ask you about the criteria you don't meet -- most likely because they want to judge how you respond as much as they want to know the actual answer.  So don't lie, don't make stuff up, but come up with past experience you have that suggests you will be able to either meet the intent of that criterion or pick it up quickly.  Many, many skills are transferable, so even if you don't meet all four corners, that's not a death knell if you show energy and an ability to learn.

This.

[Bicycle_B]

Anna,

I love the fact of you researching the heck out of the position and going in with a prepared plan.  I also like the poster's suggestion of getting training and feedback loops to be built in to your initial work plan. 

Fwiw, seconding the idea that job descriptions are often inaccurate.  To your plan of honesty plus a well-researched plan, I suggest adding a layer of interview questions about how the role fits into its department, what are the actual needs and objectives of the team that is adding you to it, and so on.  You'll show thoughtfulness about the work environment, and learn enough to sharpen your pitch on the fly.

Good luck!

[kanga1622]

As a member of a hiring committee that recently finished interviews for an open position, sell yourself and be honest. We interviewed someone who had experience in everything we could expect (we use some software you wouldn’t see unless it was an internal transfer) and the entire committee knew within 2 minutes that she wouldn’t be hired. So she checked all the boxes but her personality was a GIANT red flag and that caused us to keep looking. The one we hired had the best personality, a very positive attitude, and was honest about what she had or had not done previously. She showed a real desire to learn and was openly excited about the position.

Just give it your best at the interview and you might be hired. A lot of jobs that aren’t super technical are hired based on personality for with the rest of the team and a willingness to jump in and learn.

[AnnaGrowsAMustache]

So the research for the interview I'm doing is kind of funny.... I actually know half a dozen people that work there reasonably well (I would be their op manager), I've used the software they use before (although not in some time) and it's turning out to be fairly similar to the job I'm doing now (but on a MUCH larger scale). I've even managed to find out why the last manager left, some current office politics and a bit about the people interviewing me. I think it might have just been the organisation that freaked me out, because they have a very, very high level reputation. Information is power, huh?

[Carless]

Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

[Step37]

I’m posting to follow how this ends up for you. You’ve been given great advice and it sounds like you’re going to appear informed and interested, which matters a lot.

I recently hired for an admin position and deliberately put three small (but glaring) errors in the ad. At the end of the ad, I requested that the applicants submit resume, their salary expectation, and point out the errors. That certainly weeded out the candidates I would not want (ZERO attention to detail); in fact, only about 25% bothered to mention anything at all about the ad. 

The position you’re interviewing for is clearly a higher level one than my example, but I firmly believe that the majority of people don’t make much of a special effort. You’ll stand out. Best of luck!

[Johnez]

Over and over again I've seen "potential" hired over "qualified" candidates.  If you're really good at something, chances are you can fill in your knowledge gaps as you go.  If you are simply proficient at your tasks, it's pretty hard to stand out from the crowd.  Also, you never know who's got who's ear, you might have impressed the right person.  Just getting on the radar for a position is half the battle sometimes.

[jlcnuke]

The guy with 50% of the qualifications has more than double the qualifications of anyone else if no one with more than 25% of the qualifications applies for the job...

Also - Only slightly more than 0% of all jobs were filled initially by someone who was fully qualified to do it before they started trying to do it when they were first invented. Every job involves some level of "figure it out".

[Livingthedream55]

I’m posting to follow how this ends up for you. You’ve been given great advice and it sounds like you’re going to appear informed and interested, which matters a lot.

I recently hired for an admin position and deliberately put three small (but glaring) errors in the ad. At the end of the ad, I requested that the applicants submit resume, their salary expectation, and point out the errors. That certainly weeded out the candidates I would not want (ZERO attention to detail); in fact, only about 25% bothered to mention anything at all about the ad. 

The position you’re interviewing for is clearly a higher level one than my example, but I firmly believe that the majority of people don’t make much of a special effort. You’ll stand out. Best of luck!

Badass!  Well played!

[Dicey]

I’m posting to follow how this ends up for you. You’ve been given great advice and it sounds like you’re going to appear informed and interested, which matters a lot.

I recently hired for an admin position and deliberately put three small (but glaring) errors in the ad. At the end of the ad, I requested that the applicants submit resume, their salary expectation, and point out the errors. That certainly weeded out the candidates I would not want (ZERO attention to detail); in fact, only about 25% bothered to mention anything at all about the ad. 

The position you’re interviewing for is clearly a higher level one than my example, but I firmly believe that the majority of people don’t make much of a special effort. You’ll stand out. Best of luck!

Haha! Someone I respect for his accomplishments in our community gave a presentation at a class I was attending. It was so riddled with errors that I privately offered to vet it for him before he used it again. Fast forward a few years and I received an email invitation to an event he was hosting. When I RSVP'd, he sent a personal response. At the event, he mentioned that he'd deliberately included an error for me. No, dude, there were two! I really like him, so I just said I hadn't caught it.

Step37, I dig your approach!

AGM, I can't wait to hear what happens next!

[ysette9]

Good luck! I'm curious to hear how the interview goes.

To pile on what everyone else has aleady said, Ive applied to a position where I was told I was the perfect fit and the only person qualified, and yet when I read the req there were requirements there that I did not meet. That has flavored how I view "basic minimums" on subsequent job postings.

[AnnaGrowsAMustache]

Right, so had the interview. Panel of three interviewing me. It ended up being very informal for all that, lots of giggling and exchanging of stories. They all seemed like nice people and they seemed to think I was fairly experienced. I have no frickin idea how this will work out! They asked how much I wanted, so I just blithely stated a number at the top end of their range, which is more than double what I make now. It's all kind of funny really. If I got the job, I don't know if I'd laugh or cry.

[Dicey]

Great news! You would neither laugh or cry. You'd save your ass off and move your FIRE date up. Price of cske.

[Dicey]

Oh, and dream up some imaginary vacation plans. When you get the job offer, be sure to ask for an extra week beyond what the package includes. Pre-existing plans are hard to say no to once they've decided they want you.

My last job offered only one week the first year and two thereafter. WTF? I told them I needed three weeks a year out the gate and I got it. They never want you more than before they have you.

[JLee]

Right, so had the interview. Panel of three interviewing me. It ended up being very informal for all that, lots of giggling and exchanging of stories. They all seemed like nice people and they seemed to think I was fairly experienced. I have no frickin idea how this will work out! They asked how much I wanted, so I just blithely stated a number at the top end of their range, which is more than double what I make now. It's all kind of funny really. If I got the job, I don't know if I'd laugh or cry.

In for the update!!

After 2 years at my new employer, I make nearly double what I did when I quit my last place. I was not remotely qualified for this job, either -- but sometimes getting tossed in the deep end accelerates your learning!

[AnnaGrowsAMustache]

Well, the update is thus: I did not get the job. Apparently I was the preferred candidate but the fool who was doing the job and quit changed her mind. Bit shit, really. It's like the universe can't even be bothered with the old 'we had a very high level of applicants' brush off anymore and is actually going with 'oh yeah, sorry, there wasn't really a job!'.

[JLee]

Well, the update is thus: I did not get the job. Apparently I was the preferred candidate but the fool who was doing the job and quit changed her mind. Bit shit, really. It's like the universe can't even be bothered with the old 'we had a very high level of applicants' brush off anymore and is actually going with 'oh yeah, sorry, there wasn't really a job!'.

On the bright side, now you know that you can get jobs that look impossible on paper!

[AnnaGrowsAMustache]

Well, the update is thus: I did not get the job. Apparently I was the preferred candidate but the fool who was doing the job and quit changed her mind. Bit shit, really. It's like the universe can't even be bothered with the old 'we had a very high level of applicants' brush off anymore and is actually going with 'oh yeah, sorry, there wasn't really a job!'.

On the bright side, now you know that you can get jobs that look impossible on paper!

Yeah, the silver lining on that one's looking pretty thin at the moment!

[Step37]

Oh, that’s a burn! Maybe she’ll change her mind again, soon?

Fingers crossed for you that something good comes up in short order. Have you finished working at the job you resigned from?

[AnnaGrowsAMustache]

Oh, that’s a burn! Maybe she’ll change her mind again, soon?

Fingers crossed for you that something good comes up in short order. Have you finished working at the job you resigned from?

I don't know why any company would go with someone who'd quit and changed her mind. That seems like a recipe for disaster, or at least a short term fix. It's clearly not going to be high on her priority list.

Anyhoo, have two and a half weeks left at work. Things have become very unpleasant there with one staff member, and quite tense with a boss I'm trying to train who doesn't get it. Life is awesome right now!

[Carnivore_Plant_Mom]

AGM even though you didn't get the job, thanks for posting this topic. I to have been kicking around the idea of applying for a position that I feel WAY under qualified for. This thread has really encouraged me to go for it.

[AnnaGrowsAMustache]

AGM even though you didn't get the job, thanks for posting this topic. I to have been kicking around the idea of applying for a position that I feel WAY under qualified for. This thread has really encouraged me to go for it.

May as well. I can tell you for sure that being rejected for a high level job is pretty much the same as being rejected for a low level one.

[FIRE 20/20]

I had something similar happen about a year ago.  I applied for a job and was the preferred candidate, but the position fell through.  About 5 months later they contacted me for another position, and I was offered the job.  In some ways it benefited me because I knew they really wanted me so I was able to negotiate a significant raise.  Hopefully something similar will happen for you.