Posted by Being a recent graduate or someone who is just starting a career you come across a fresher’s role that asks for an experience in their job description.
For a career starter, this can be *the* jumpstart they need to push their career forward, but which also stops them from applying.
Here’s what you can do to turn this supposed nightmare into a moment of opportunity:
1. Assess the job description properly, and make notes on what you can bring to the table with your current skills and experience. This can be alignment with the soft skills, culture-fit requirement, interest, or background experience they need. Anything that you find common—write it down.
2. Tailor your resume and CV to highlight such skills and experiences so it immediately catches their eye, even if you don’t meet the “X years of experience required” criteria.
3. Use the cover letter section to clearly explain what you’ll bring to the table, and why exactly the company should hire you, even if you don’t meet the experience criteria.
•Narrate a story of how you tackled a problem that relates with a skill they’re looking for in their new hire—in a crisp and engaging manner.
•Create a LOOM video, if you have an attachment option to give a 60-second personal overview on exactly why you’d be a great fit—experience aside—for this company and role. A video forms a way personal impression on the employer than a written cover letter ever can.
•Don’t make the cover letter or video about you but how can the company benefit from hiring you.
Believe it or not, there are companies who list down experience as a criteria but would jump on the opportunity to hire someone who’s willing to learn, is committed to the cause or solution they’re offering, is overtly creative and innovative or who would benefit their culture—for the good.
So, even if you match their job description by 60%—go ahead and apply.
Take a leap of faith, write the best cover letter you can, make efforts to tailor the CV and resume—and you stand a chance to get hired as much as the person with experience because you never know the mindset of the person on the other side of the screen or what they’ll think of, when they look at your application
Komal Ahuja
Freelance writer | Blog Writer |Content Creator