How to Read a Job Posting the REAL Way

How to Read a Job Posting the REAL Way ShareShareRead between the lines when you read job postings. In this post Ill tell you how to do that, as well as how to Evaluate the fit, Apply with an advantage and Learn from the experience so youll have a better chance, not only with that job but with other opportunities that may follow. Read between the lines. Reading a job posting very carefully can save you a lot of time if you realize the job isnt really for you. It can also help you land the job if it turns out to be a great fit. For example: A catch-all job description or vague language like other duties as required: If this is a new role, maybe they still arent sure what it will entail. That could be a disaster or an opportunity. At the interview, ask questions like Is this a new position? If so, what need was it created to fulfill? Present yourself as the answer to that need. A casual, lively tone and/or an emphasis on having fun:This might tell you that most of the people there are young. If youre older, make sure you know how to ace an interview when the boss is younger than you. Verbiage like self-starter and work independently: This could be a tipoff that you wont get much guidance or training. Solution-oriented could mean lots of fires to put out and little help doing so, and works well under pressure could mean long hours. But dont just assume! Do some research on sites like Glassdoor.com and through word of mouth. At the interview, tell stories that illustrate your dedication, but also ask questions such as Whats the typical work week like here? and In my past roles there have always been some crunch times when we all worked late or on weekends to get the job done. What does that look like here? And remember, the human resources employee who wrote the job announcement may not deeply understand the role theyre describing. If youre really interested in a certain opening, research the companyand also plan some tactful and probing questions to ask at the interview. Reading the posting carefully will already put you ahead of many of your competitors. One company was so tired of receiving resumes from candidates who hadnt read the description that they added this to the posting: To make sure you read the job description, please add the word moussaka to your cover letter. Im sure there were many moussaka-free applications, but they never stood a chance! Evaluate the Fit Assuming youre still interested in the job, will the employer be interested in you? Is it worth applying if you dont have 100% of the experience, skills and credentials mentioned? First, ask yourself these questions: Am I confident I could do this job, and if so, why? Is there a talent shortage for jobs like this? Would a person with 100% of the requested qualifications be extremely hard to find (what some recruiters call a purple squirrel)? Do I have at least 80% or 90% of what theyre looking for? Do I have REV Pointskey selling points that are highly Relevant, Exceptional and Verifiablestrong enough to outweigh what Im lacking? Do I have the qualifications listed at the beginning of the posting, and the ones labeled as required as opposed to pluses? Do I have a personal connection? Am I willing to do some additional networking or phone calling to get the attention of the hiring manager? If you can answer yes to some of these questions, you may have a good shot at getting an interview. If not, you may want to skip straight to the L in REAL (see below). Apply with an advantage Its not uncommon for a job announcement to draw a couple of hundred applicants. Beyond sending a great resume and following the application instructions, there are some extra steps you can take to stand out from the crowd, for example: Find allies within the company and get a personal referral. This is best done far in advance. Developing these connections is the main thing I mean when I talk about effective networking. Make sure your online presence, especially your LinkedIn profile, will sway the recruiter towards putting you on their short list. This, too, is best done in advance. Call the hiring managerand handle the conversation effectively. Be well prepared for the phone screening. Learn from the posting, whether you apply or not. Last but definitely not least: capitalize on job announcements as a fantastic source of information, not only about this job but about the job market and your position in it. Keep a list of keywords and skills youre seeing often in postings. To the extent you can honestly do so, include those terms in your resume, cover letter and LinkedIn profile. If youre repeatedly seeing interesting postings that call for skills you dont have, consider building those skills. If the postings keep emphasizing certain soft skills that you abundantly have but dont know how to prove, gather social proof for them. If a job isnt right for you but the company sounds great, consider adding it to your target companies list for ongoing networking. The fact that theyre hiringeven if not for your target rolemay indicate growth and future opportunities. Look up anything you dont know. If you see a technology or skill you arent familiar with, you can probably at least get conversant with what its used for and what other tools/skills are similar to it. If it looks like a trend, make sure youre well informed about it. Job postings are a window into your target job market and your industrya great way to poke your head out of your professional cubbyhole and discover whats new. So remember to be REAL when you read a job posting. Read, Evaluate, possibly Apply and always Learn! How to Read a Job Posting the REAL Way ShareShareRead between the lines when you read job postings. In this post Ill tell you how to do that, as well as how to Evaluate the fit, Apply with an advantage and Learn from the experience so youll have a better chance, not only with that job but with other opportunities that may follow. Read between the lines. Reading a job posting very carefully can save you a lot of time if you realize the job isnt really for you. It can also help you land the job if it turns out to be a great fit. For example: A catch-all job description or vague language like other duties as required: If this is a new role, maybe they still arent sure what it will entail. That could be a disaster or an opportunity. At the interview, ask questions like Is this a new position? If so, what need was it created to fulfill? Present yourself as the answer to that need. A casual, lively tone and/or an emphasis on having fun:This might tell you that most of the people there are young. If youre older, make sure you know how to ace an interview when the boss is younger than you. Verbiage like self-starter and work independently: This could be a tipoff that you wont get much guidance or training. Solution-oriented could mean lots of fires to put out and little help doing so, and works well under pressure could mean long hours. But dont just assume! Do some research on sites like Glassdoor.com and through word of mouth. At the interview, tell stories that illustrate your dedication, but also ask questions such as Whats the typical work week like here? and In my past roles there have always been some crunch times when we all worked late or on weekends to get the job done. What does that look like here? And remember, the human resources employee who wrote the job announcement may not deeply understand the role theyre describing. If youre really interested in a certain opening, research the companyand also plan some tactful and probing questions to ask at the interview. Reading the posting carefully will already put you ahead of many of your competitors. One company was so tired of receiving resumes from candidates who hadnt read the description that they added this to the posting: To make sure you read the job description, please add the word moussaka to your cover letter. Im sure there were many moussaka-free applications, but they never stood a chance! Evaluate the Fit Assuming youre still interested in the job, will the employer be interested in you? Is it worth applying if you dont have 100% of the experience, skills and credentials mentioned? First, ask yourself these questions: Am I confident I could do this job, and if so, why? Is there a talent shortage for jobs like this? Would a person with 100% of the requested qualifications be extremely hard to find (what some recruiters call a purple squirrel)? Do I have at least 80% or 90% of what theyre looking for? Do I have REV Pointskey selling points that are highly Relevant, Exceptional and Verifiablestrong enough to outweigh what Im lacking? Do I have the qualifications listed at the beginning of the posting, and the ones labeled as required as opposed to pluses? Do I have a personal connection? Am I willing to do some additional networking or phone calling to get the attention of the hiring manager? If you can answer yes to some of these questions, you may have a good shot at getting an interview. If not, you may want to skip straight to the L in REAL (see below). Apply with an advantage Its not uncommon for a job announcement to draw a couple of hundred applicants. Beyond sending a great resume and following the application instructions, there are some extra steps you can take to stand out from the crowd, for example: Find allies within the company and get a personal referral. This is best done far in advance. Developing these connections is the main thing I mean when I talk about effective networking. Make sure your online presence, especially your LinkedIn profile, will sway the recruiter towards putting you on their short list. This, too, is best done in advance. Call the hiring managerand handle the conversation effectively. Be well prepared for the phone screening. Learn from the posting, whether you apply or not. Last but definitely not least: capitalize on job announcements as a fantastic source of information, not only about this job but about the job market and your position in it. Keep a list of keywords and skills youre seeing often in postings. To the extent you can honestly do so, include those terms in your resume, cover letter and LinkedIn profile. If youre repeatedly seeing interesting postings that call for skills you dont have, consider building those skills. If the postings keep emphasizing certain soft skills that you abundantly have but dont know how to prove, gather social proof for them. If a job isnt right for you but the company sounds great, consider adding it to your target companies list for ongoing networking. The fact that theyre hiringeven if not for your target rolemay indicate growth and future opportunities. Look up anything you dont know. If you see a technology or skill you arent familiar with, you can probably at least get conversant with what its used for and what other tools/skills are similar to it. If it looks like a trend, make sure youre well informed about it. Job postings are a window into your target job market and your industrya great way to poke your head out of your professional cubbyhole and discover whats new. So remember to be REAL when you read a job posting. Read, Evaluate, possibly Apply and always Learn! How to Read a Job Posting the REAL Way ShareShareRead between the lines when you read job postings. In this post Ill tell you how to do that, as well as how to Evaluate the fit, Apply with an advantage and Learn from the experience so youll have a better chance, not only with that job but with other opportunities that may follow. Read between the lines. Reading a job posting very carefully can save you a lot of time if you realize the job isnt really for you. It can also help you land the job if it turns out to be a great fit. For example: A catch-all job description or vague language like other duties as required: If this is a new role, maybe they still arent sure what it will entail. That could be a disaster or an opportunity. At the interview, ask questions like Is this a new position? If so, what need was it created to fulfill? Present yourself as the answer to that need. A casual, lively tone and/or an emphasis on having fun:This might tell you that most of the people there are young. If youre older, make sure you know how to ace an interview when the boss is younger than you. Verbiage like self-starter and work independently: This could be a tipoff that you wont get much guidance or training. Solution-oriented could mean lots of fires to put out and little help doing so, and works well under pressure could mean long hours. But dont just assume! Do some research on sites like Glassdoor.com and through word of mouth. At the interview, tell stories that illustrate your dedication, but also ask questions such as Whats the typical work week like here? and In my past roles there have always been some crunch times when we all worked late or on weekends to get the job done. What does that look like here? And remember, the human resources employee who wrote the job announcement may not deeply understand the role theyre describing. If youre really interested in a certain opening, research the companyand also plan some tactful and probing questions to ask at the interview. Reading the posting carefully will already put you ahead of many of your competitors. One company was so tired of receiving resumes from candidates who hadnt read the description that they added this to the posting: To make sure you read the job description, please add the word moussaka to your cover letter. Im sure there were many moussaka-free applications, but they never stood a chance! Evaluate the Fit Assuming youre still interested in the job, will the employer be interested in you? Is it worth applying if you dont have 100% of the experience, skills and credentials mentioned? First, ask yourself these questions: Am I confident I could do this job, and if so, why? Is there a talent shortage for jobs like this? Would a person with 100% of the requested qualifications be extremely hard to find (what some recruiters call a purple squirrel)? Do I have at least 80% or 90% of what theyre looking for? Do I have REV Pointskey selling points that are highly Relevant, Exceptional and Verifiablestrong enough to outweigh what Im lacking? Do I have the qualifications listed at the beginning of the posting, and the ones labeled as required as opposed to pluses? Do I have a personal connection? Am I willing to do some additional networking or phone calling to get the attention of the hiring manager? If you can answer yes to some of these questions, you may have a good shot at getting an interview. If not, you may want to skip straight to the L in REAL (see below). Apply with an advantage Its not uncommon for a job announcement to draw a couple of hundred applicants. Beyond sending a great resume and following the application instructions, there are some extra steps you can take to stand out from the crowd, for example: Find allies within the company and get a personal referral. This is best done far in advance. Developing these connections is the main thing I mean when I talk about effective networking. Make sure your online presence, especially your LinkedIn profile, will sway the recruiter towards putting you on their short list. This, too, is best done in advance. Call the hiring managerand handle the conversation effectively. Be well prepared for the phone screening. Learn from the posting, whether you apply or not. Last but definitely not least: capitalize on job announcements as a fantastic source of information, not only about this job but about the job market and your position in it. Keep a list of keywords and skills youre seeing often in postings. To the extent you can honestly do so, include those terms in your resume, cover letter and LinkedIn profile. If youre repeatedly seeing interesting postings that call for skills you dont have, consider building those skills. If the postings keep emphasizing certain soft skills that you abundantly have but dont know how to prove, gather social proof for them. If a job isnt right for you but the company sounds great, consider adding it to your target companies list for ongoing networking. The fact that theyre hiringeven if not for your target rolemay indicate growth and future opportunities. Look up anything you dont know. If you see a technology or skill you arent familiar with, you can probably at least get conversant with what its used for and what other tools/skills are similar to it. If it looks like a trend, make sure youre well informed about it. Job postings are a window into your target job market and your industrya great way to poke your head out of your professional cubbyhole and discover whats new. So remember to be REAL when you read a job posting. Read, Evaluate, possibly Apply and always Learn!