Aug 8, 2014
SITE: http://www.courtneyanderson.com/swca-episode-164-joyful-art-of-business-series-why-you-have-to-apply-for-jobs-you-dont-think-you-are-qualified-for.html
SHOW NOTES: Our episode today is, "Why You Have To Apply For Jobs You Don’t Think You Are Qualified For!”
I often make the assertion that “data is your friend.” That is because credible data will help us make better decisions as we will have more reliable information and facts. We will also have a more accurate perspective on society at large (instead of simply relying on our individual skewed experiences and beliefs).
One challenge is that you will never have perfect data. There will be some incomplete, outdated or corrupted information that impacts your decisions. Thus, how do you know that you are not the most qualified for a job? Perhaps you determine that you are unqualified because you ‘only’ have 55% of the stated job criteria, yet you do not know who else will apply and what their percentages will be. This is due to the fact that you only have complete data on yourself and incomplete data on the overall applicant pool, etc..
You have nothing to lose by determining your own value. Logically, if you apply for a job that requires a doctorate degree in physics and you have a high school education and no college degree, it is highly probable that you will not be hired. Yet, if you have a high school education and experience as a bookkeeper, why not apply for a job that requires bookkeeping experience and states a preference for a college graduate? If there are 10 criteria listed for a job and you have met 6 of them, why not apply?
Here is a statistic that asserts that some gender groups (males) do exactly that (emphasis added), “Confidence gap: He thinks he can. She thinks she can’t […] A few years ago, the computer giant Hewlett-Packard found that their female employees applied for a promotion only when they believed they met 100pc of the job requirements. The men were happy to apply when they thought they could meet 60pc. “Underqualified and underprepared men don’t think twice about leaning in,” write Kay and Shipman. “Overqualified and overprepared, too many women still hold back. Women feel confident only when they are perfect. Or practically perfect.” (http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/book-news/confidence-gap-he-thinks-he-can-she-thinks-she-cant-30428323.html#sthash.uJVRw2oM.dpuf)
Why do some people feel happy to apply to apply when they meet 6 out of 10 requirements and other people deny themselves opportunities at 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, and wait all the way until they feel they meet 100% of the requirements? Simple. They are qualified (to some degree) and competent but they believe they aren’t. It is their imagination but these imaginary issues deny them real life jobs, income and opportunities. Consider the following (emphasis added), “Compared with men, women don’t consider themselves as ready for promotions, they predict they’ll do worse on tests, and they generally underestimate their abilities. This disparity stems from factors ranging from upbringing to biology. […] In studies, men overestimate their abilities and performance, and women underestimate both. Their performances do not differ in quality.” (http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/04/the-confidence-gap/359815/)
The individuals (of any gender identify) who refuse to participate in professional opportunities guarantee that other less qualified people will be hired. They are waiting around on the sidelines of life not even competing. So, the person who is 60% qualified applies for the job. The next closest qualified candidate that applied met only 40% of the requirements and the 60% candidate was hired. The illogical decision of the person who was 95% qualified to not even apply for the position left them with no job. They also failed to take advantage of the other benefits that even an unsuccessful applicant may glean from applying and being considered (making a positive impression, networking contacts that may result in future professional opportunities, etc.).
The strange thing is that the person who voluntarily refused to be in charge of their lives and refused to apply for the position will later complain about how people less qualified than them earn more income, have a more powerful job title, etc.. Well of course they do! They showed up to their own life and took charge of what they would do (and applied).
If you don’t compete, you lose. The catch is [...]
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