Have you ever interviewed for a job knowing that you have the potential to do a great job, but for some reason you didn’t get an offer? Put yourself in the hiring manager’s shoes. Would you be more likely to hire an employee to fill an important position who has the potential to do the job, or someone who has successfully done a similar job somewhere else? Who is most at risk?
Part of the answer is driven by the needs of the hiring manager. If the position is critical to the success of the organization, then a candidate who has demonstrated similar results would have a higher potential for success. If, however, the hiring manager wants to train someone in a certain way and immediate results aren’t imperative, then a candidate with potential could work.
A candidate who has had success in the same role within a smaller organization or a similar role in a comparable function has greater transferable skills and experiences than others. Since a hiring manager wants to optimize the success level with the new hire, the closer a candidate comes to meeting the requirements and expectations of the position description, the greater their chances of becoming a top candidate for interviewing. There are exceptions, of course.
The fact is, the further away a candidate’s skills and experiences are from the job that needs to be done, the greater the risk the hiring manager is taking. If the decision to hire is the wrong one and the new employee falls short of the performance needed, it’s the hiring manager who pays the price. He falls further behind, the job remains open and his boss is not happy.
On the other hand, the employee who falls short pays a steeper price: He has a short term exposure, a lack of success, time and effort lost, and a career mistake that can take a long time to recover, if at all.
The point is, if you’re hired for a job you can’t do, everyone loses. Other thoughts:
- Check out the top 5 items on the position description. They are the most important skills or experiences that are needed to fill the job. Other items are less so.
- When you review the position description, if your experiences are less than 75% of the requirements, tread carefully as you don’t want to fall short when you find out the job is much more extensive and complex than you first thought.
- When interviewing, find out what the key issues are to be solved, the expected time-line for solutions, the resources, budget and other critical factors for success.
- If your experiences are less than 50%, beware. With an offer, you’re taking a very big risk.
Lastly, for the very ambitious, be careful you don’t outpace your competencies or experiences and market yourself beyond your capabilities. Change isn’t kind to the unprepared.
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