Prepare For Success - Final Formatted Copy

Prepare For Success
Face Up To Accepting Your Shortcomings
The first lesson and piece of advice to arise out of all this is that job seekers must face up to
and accept their shortcomings from day one of their job hunt, or in fact from day one of their
career.
We realize that it can be very tough to admit your own failings to yourself, but, if you think
positively about it, the sooner you can accept your own failings the sooner you can start to
address them, and in many cases overcome them or at least reduce their significance. And
there are many ways to confront shortcomings, which is addressed in the next section.
How To Be Honest About Failings In Your Resume
Imagine that you want to apply for a job that requires a degree in computer science, you don’t
have a degree, but you do have good experience and skills in all other areas of the job. There
are many ways to address this which do not involve lying
Example 1:
Call companies or recruitment agencies, or write to them, and ask them if they will consider
experienced applicants but without the right experience and skills. You will be surprised, as
many employers will be prepared to look at a resume that fits these criteria, especially if the
candidate has personally contacted them to request it.
As a strategy, consider starting a part-time degree course in computer science and tell the
employer that you have already started (assuming you have of course), or that as a condition of
joining you will be prepared to do a part-time degree in computing. Some employers may be
able to give you some study time off or may contribute some of the cost of the course.
Apply for the job anyway, but ensure that you supply a detailed portfolio of work that clearly
demonstrates your proficiency, which may be a suitable substitute for a degree.
But it is not just in the areas of qualifications that you may find
that your resume falls short; you may find that you have a lack
of specific experience in relation to a job you may want to
apply for.
Example 2:
Let’s say that you want to apply for a job as a sales manager
(for which you have all the skills) in an international
company that wants applicants to have a good business
grasp of French, which you do not have. Once again, lying
would be futile, as you would soon be found out, possibly at
interview where they might ask you some questions in French.
Does this mean that you have to miss this opportunity and refrain
©TRCC 2015 www.ighpro.net www.igothired.net 85