How to Impress an Interviewer (Even When You Don’t Have All the Qualifications)

If a job hunt uncovers an appealing position, but you’re unable to meet all the requirements, don’t think that you’ve necessarily hit a dead end. Oftentimes, the requirements in a job description are more of a wish list than a litany of must-haves.

If the requirements are just out of reach and you can make a compelling case that you have transferable experience, go ahead and apply. Know, however, that you’ll need to be especially strategic to land an interview, and then to impress your interviewer. 

Make a Case for Landing the Interview

If you’re on the job hunt but finding that all the appealing positions list specific requirements you can’t meet, don’t think that you’ve necessarily hit a dead end. Oftentimes, the requirements in a job description are more of a wish list than a litany of must-haves. Hiring managers understand that they will rarely find candidates that meet every qualification. 

Of course, in some cases the reach may be too great. You can’t attract notice if the skill gap is too wide — for instance if you lack necessary technical training. But if the requirements are just out of reach and you can make a compelling case that you have transferable experience, go ahead and apply. 

How to Impress an Interviewer 

Know, however, that you will need to be especially strategic to land an interview, and then to impress your interviewer. Here’s how to prepare: 

1. Do the extra legwork

For starters, you will need to research what, exactly, the position calls for on a day-to-day basis. Engage your network to find someone in similar role — or even someone on the inside who could recommend you — and arrange an informational interview. If you’re unable to find someone to talk to, look online at industry blogs and ask for advice via chat features.

2. Align your online presence

Curate your LinkedIn profile to reflect your new direction, tailoring it to the role that you’re after. Include key words that are relevant to the position and industry you’re pursuing. Add insightful content to your social media sites that goes deeper than the information on your resume — such as commentary on something taking place in your newly chosen field. 

3. Retool your cover letter and resume

In your cover letter and resume, make a strong case for how your experience and skills are relevant to the position. For example, if the job description lists five years of experience, but you have just two years, indicate the wealth of knowledge you’ve gained in those two years with a few specific examples.

If your experience comes from another industry, explain how the skills you’ve developed cross over — and even lend themselves to bringing in fresh ideas — and list one or more in your cover letter.

4. Prepare to interview via an online meeting platform

If you end up landing an interview, congratulations! These days, it’s more than likely your interview will take place online. Be sure to master the meeting platform before your interview. To make a good impression, present yourself as well-groomed and well put together (at least from the waist up). Your clothes should be pressed and spot-free. Stay away from busy, distracting patterns.

Set Up Your Interview Space

• Be sure to stage your background — and this doesn’t mean a faux background enabled by the video conferencing platform.
• Make it authentic, while ensuring your workspace looks clean and uncluttered. Be sure that you don’t sit in front of a bright window that will shroud you in darkness.
• Place a light in front of your computer if possible. Then practice with a friend to perfect the platform’s features and your lighting.

5. Refine your answers

To make a winning impression, you’ll need to answer each question with poise and passion. Practicing first will really help. Anticipate all possible questions, from the generic “tell me a little about yourself,” to the softball lob “what can you bring to this position.” Prepare several examples that describe your transferable skills.

Refrain from pointing out where your qualifications fall short, but if the interviewer mentions the shortfall, be honest while veering into the professional skills you will bring. For example, if you’re interviewing for an event-planner position, highlight your organizational skills and attention to detail with a short but telling anecdote:

“My senior year in college, I organized a camping trip with five friends who were novice campers. I arranged everything from gear lists to menus to directions to the campsite. I’m known as the ‘uber planner’ in my friend group.” 

  6. Strive to have a genuine conversation

If you go into an interview with equal measures confidence, curiosity and composure, you’ll get the most out of the back-and-forth exchange. Think of the interview as a chance to get to know more about the organization and how you might fit in.

Your interviewer will steer the conversation by asking most of the questions, but be ready to take the conversational lead when the occasion calls for it. The most successful interviews are those where you feel that you conveyed everything you wanted the employer to know about you, but where you also had a surprisingly interesting (and hopefully, memorable) conversation.

Let the conversation determine how much, how little or in what direction you take your response. Smile often to show an upbeat attitude; and at the end, express appreciation for the interviewer’s time and interest. 

7. Stay on the job-hunting campaign until you land the job

Trust your gut. The flavor of the interview will give an indication of whether your interviewer was impressed or underwhelmed with your qualifications and fit for the position. Yet don’t back down until you know definitively if the offer comes to you or that you’ve been turned down.

Be sure to email a heartfelt thank you to the person who granted you the interview. Instead of a generic note, use the opportunity to make a further point or remark on something the interviewer said that you found helpful or insightful. If the days tick by without any word, casually make contact by forwarding an interesting industry news item or even a follow up on a topic you discussed in the interview.  

It’s hard, but not impossible, to gain notice if your job history casts you as underqualified. Take the opportunity through the application process to learn more and then, if the first attempt doesn’t work out, build on the experience with the next one.  

Guest Author Vicky Oliver is a leading career development expert and the multi-bestselling author of five books, including 301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview Questions (Sourcebooks 2005), named in the top 10 list of “Best Books for HR Interview Prep,” and 301 Smart Answers to Tough Business Etiquette Questions (Skyhorse Publishing, 2010). She is a sought-after speaker and seminar presenter and a popular media source, having made over 901 appearances in broadcast, print and online outlets. For more information, visit vickyoliver.com. 

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How to Set Boundaries When You Work From Home

By some measures, working remotely can improve work/life balance. As an employee, you’re closer to home, free from a commute, and able to accomplish at-home tasks that would have been impossible from a company desk. 

But now that remote work has become the norm, there are new concerns. Video chatting with a boss from your living room can feel invasive. Virtual communication channels between home and work are constantly open, creating murkier boundaries. If you have children at home, it often feels like you’re juggling several jobs at once. 

“For remote workers, creating boundaries between work and life has always been top of mind,” said Brie Weiler Reynolds, career development manager and coach at Flexjobs and Remote.co. “But during the pandemic, this has become especially important because there have been fewer activities we can do outside of our homes.”

Career Tool Belt spoke to Reynolds about how to work from home – instead of living at work. 

Beware of burnout. 

A funny thing happens when we work from home: we tend to overwork.

According to a survey by FlexJobs and Mental Health America, 37 percent of employed respondents said that they were working longer hours than usual since the pandemic started. Faced with fewer boundaries, people never stop working. 

While employees lament a commute, for example, it often creates a natural start and end time that doesn’t exist in remote work – so we work all day long. In an office, we join other people when we see them taking lunch breaks, but when we’re on our own, we forego lunch entirely. It’s harder to appear busy and present when we work from home, so we overcompensate by making ourselves constantly available. 

Being aware of this tendency is an important step to creating healthy remote work boundaries and avoiding burnout, Reynolds said. 

“Remote workers have to be very deliberate in creating boundaries around work time so that they don’t find themselves working all hours of the day, or even thinking about work at all hours of the day,” Reynolds said. 

Set clear boundaries with your boss and colleagues.

If you feel like work is creeping too much into your home life, it’s time to set boundaries. 

Let your teammates and manager know when they can expect you to be online, so they’re not left wondering, Reynolds said. If you need flexible hours, ask for them. Turning off email and work notifications is a simple, but critical move. Your boss is not going to tell you to do these things: you have to do them yourself.

“Turning off email when you’re not ‘at work’ is important. You shouldn’t be available all the time,” said Reynolds.

Chances are, your boss and colleagues didn’t invade your home life on purpose. They’re probably all working on different schedules, and they have no rulebook to consult. Instead of getting angry or flustered with them for violating your boundaries, be firmer and clearer about them. Most people will be grateful for the guidance. 

Have a literal office space that you can enter and leave every day.

There’s a reason why offices exist: they help you get into work mode. If you let work spill into the rest of your home, it may not only affect your work productivity; it may make you feel less at home at the end of the day. 

“Having a specific office space, whether in a guest bedroom, a true home office, or just the corner of a shared space, can help you get into work mode each day,” Reynolds said. “Put your laptop in a drawer or closet when you’re done with work, so you don’t see it and feel tempted to jump back in. Start and end your workday with some kind of ritual that signals to your brain that it’s time to change from work to personal or vice versa.” 

Schedule personal activities during your free time. 

Even when you’re off the clock, it’s sometimes easier to keep working than to do things for yourself. In order to maintain a healthy work/life boundary, you have to deliberately plan things that make you happy. 

“Most people struggle with the ‘life’ part of work-life balance,” Reynolds said. “Schedule personal activities and have several go-to hobbies that you enjoy so you’ll have something specific to do with your personal time. If you don’t have anything planned, like a hike after work or a puzzle project, you may find it easier to slip back to work unnecessarily.”

Maintain boundaries with your family. 

If you have family at home, maintaining a boundary between work and life can be extra challenging. Small children, in particular, love to shatter work/life boundaries by making noise, saying hi to your colleagues on video chat, or by making demands at the worst possible times. 

You can’t stop children from being children, but you can make strides by creating certain boundaries and being firm, said Reynolds. 

Create visual boundaries by shutting doors, writing signs, using green or red cards to signify how busy you are, setting timers, putting on headphones, or even taping a floor to outline a boundary around your desk, Reynolds suggested. Verbal boundaries include having an initial deeper discussion, followed by smaller, consistent chats.

“Prepare yourself to have these conversations regularly. Kids will naturally not always respect or remember the rules in this strange new world. Try to have patience and know you’ll need to regularly remind them,” Reynolds said.

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7 Tips For Relocating Without A Job Lined Up

Whether you are fresh out of college or looking to pursue a career abroad, moving without a job lined up can be quite stressful and intimidating. But that doesn’t mean you have to put your plan of moving to a new city on the back burner. Here are some strategic steps you can take to make the job-hunting process in this new chapter of your life much easier. 

Getting Your Finances Together

The last thing you want to worry about when moving to a new city is an empty bank account. When dedicating most of your time to looking for a job, making sure that you have enough savings to support this job-search process will significantly reduce your stress level. The first step to properly managing your finances is to calculate your monthly expenses with a budget app like Mint. Although this might entail living below your means for a few months until you finally land that dream job. 

If living on a tight budget seems a bit challenging, consider starting a side-hustle to bring in a steady source of income. With less financial pressure, you can fully focus on job hunting and not rush the process. 

Job Hunt Like A Pro

Before packing up and moving to that new city, take the time to master your networking skills and learn how to job hunt like a pro. Job-searching requires you to step out of your comfort zone and take proactive steps to increase your chances of getting hired.

Whether it’s through sending personalized emails to previous professional contacts, attending virtual networking events, or posting your resume on LinkedIn to get yourself noticed. Opportunities are everywhere. Put yourself out there, and you’ll receive that job offer before you know it!

Image courtesy Intuit Mint

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