How to Get Hired When You’re Not an Exact Fit

Dee recently wrote to me asking:

“I am an elementary school librarian seeking a new job due to a relocation. Some of the jobs I’ve applied for are middle school, high school, and community college librarians. How can I get the experience they are looking for if they won’t hire me because I don’t have the experience they require?”

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Well, Dee, you are not alone. Although I frequently hear this question from new graduates and from career changers, in this economy, many people are in the same boat. They know they would be successful in a position, but aren’t sure how to convince the interviewer of that fact since they don’t have the specific experience required for the job.

Here are 5 tips to make this happen:

Tip #1: Paint a Detailed Picture Showing You Understand Their Needs

The trick is to describe what you have done in a way that very clearly shows you understand how you will apply your skills and experiences to this specific job. In Dee’s case, she needs to paint a detailed picture in the mind of the interviewer to demonstrate that she knows how to interact with students of all ages and grade levels.  

Tip #2: Express Enthusiasm for the New Role

It will also help if Dee expresses her excitement for working in the middle or high school environment. She should explain that this has been her goal all along. The key is to be authentic and enthusiastic about the new age group. Show that you have thought about this and that you understand the specific ways it will be more challenging. Also discuss the advantages you have from your current experience that will make you even more successful at the job and a stronger candidate than others who lack your particular experience.   

Tip #3: Apply Your Experience to the New Role

When you are asked to describe your skills, you can start with examples from your previous experience, but then add, “and when I’m working with middle schoolers, I’d do this, and this…” or “the difference would be X, X and X.”  The idea is to prove your understand of the specific issues and challenges of the new position by providing examples of how you will directly apply your previous experience to it. In essence, you need to speak their language.

So how do you find out what exactly it would be like to work at that job without working at that type of job first? Or even in that specific industry?  What you need to think about is what you do have and what you don’t have.  In Dee’s case, what she doesn’t have is experience with a particular age group, but what she does have is librarian experience. That’s what she needs to draw from in the interview. 

Tip #4: Volunteer to Gain Experience

For Dee, it would be a good idea to gain some experience with the appropriate age groups. Volunteer at local summer camps or at your local library, volunteer to do a library project with a local scouting troupe. Do whatever is necessary to gain some hands-on experience with the age group.

Do it as soon as you can so it is fresh for your next interview. Even if you only volunteer for a few days, this is still enough time for you to create 3 or 4 stories of how working with that age is very similar, if not identical, to you current position. (By the way, when you do land your next job, be sure to continue broadening your experience through additional projects or volunteer work.) 

Tip #5: Research Other People’s First Hand Experience

If you can’t get hands-on experience, then get the next best thing: read or listen to someone else’s hands-on experience. Listen to librarian podcasts, visit librarian forums, contact and interview well-known librarians for this age group. Get stories from them so you able to show that you really “get” the students.

Again, it is critical that you convince your interviewer that you really understand the issues and concerns of the particular job.  When you are asked a question, be sure that you make the transition in your stories. You might say: 

“One of the biggest difficulties students face is developing an effective search strategy. For example, my younger students often search by asking a single question. I had to work with them to explain that research involves asking the same question in a variety of ways. I know that college students have the same difficulty. Of course, the questions they are researching are more complex, but teaching them the search strategy is still the same. My experience explaining this concept to the lower level students makes it easier for me to simplify the strategies to reach all educational levels.”   

So here’s the Quick and Dirty bottom line: First, paint a detailed picture that shows you understand the new work environment. Next, express enthusiasm for the new position and apply your current experience to the new role. Finally, gain experience through volunteering or through other people’s first hand accounts. 

This is Lisa B Marshall, The Public Speaker. Passionate about communication. Your success is my business.

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