How to apply for a job you arent quite qualified for

How to apply for a job you arent quite qualified forHow to apply for a job you arent quite qualified forYou dont have to painstakingly make sure you check every box, making sure you meet nearly all of a jobs requirements before applying for the job you want bedrngnis in this market. A new poll by Robert Half shows that78% of workers would apply for a job if they dont match all of the qualifications. Meanwhile,42% of the resumes companies receive are from candidates who dont meet skills requirements.Thats not a bad thing 62% of workers have been offered the job even when they didnt meet all the requirements.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreThe perfect candidate isnt always availableLadders spoke withRobert Half District President Richard Deosingh about the poll and how it highlighted the current skills gap in a workers market, the perfect candidate isnt always available. Compani es are willing to hire someone who doesnt match nearly all the requirements and theyre willing to train. 84% of employers are either somewhat open or very open to hiring and training someone who lacks the required skills, according to the poll.The polls responses are from over 300 HR managers at U.S. companies with 20 or more employees, and over 2,800 workers 18 years or older, employed in offices in 38 major U.S. cities.Deosinghsays the skill gap is more than likely the result of the tight job market and very, very low unemployment rates. Its not necessarily an ongoing thing its dependent on the job market.Heres how to use it to your advantage and vault your way into your next job.Look at the job listings language. When a candidate is applying, there are ways to tell which requirements are hard-and-fast and which are more of a wishlist for a perfect candidate, Deosingh says. It all depends on how the job description is written, he says. If the listing says a qualification is prefe rred versus a must, thats something to pay attention to.Mind the gap. Be realistic. When it comes to that 78% that would apply for a job that theyre not totally qualified for, he says, there are ways to do it strategically. They have to be mindful that the gap isnt so big that they cant overcome it, Deosingh says.Make up for shortcomings using transferrable skills. For areas they dont have exposure with, they need to identify that and use any bit of experiences they have in their background to help accommodate for that gap. Is it an instance where you work in a similar environment and those skills are transferrable?Make sure you meet at least 50-60% of the requirements before applying.It depends on the jobs seniority and the amount of experience theyre looking for, Deosingh says, but thats the tiefpunkt amount you should shoot for. You might need to be mindful of meeting more, however, as you climb the ladder. What you dont want is to misrepresent yourself.In short, its never been a better time to apply for a job thats a bit of a stretch, and the odds are in your favor.Im a firm believer that the ideal candidate that a company is looking to hire isnt always necessarily available, says Desosingh. Companies are aware that its a workers market, and that that ideal person isnt always available, so they have to be flexible with what theyre looking for and have a system in place not only to retain but to train.Its your moment. Go forth and apply.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people