How to get any job you want (even if you’re unqualified)

Candidates applying for jobs care far more about their own credentials than the companies they want to work for do

It may be possible to get your dream job if you’re unqualified (Getty)

In an era of entrepreneurial spirit, when senior recruiters are less interested in your background than your potential, it may be possible to get any job you want, even if you’re unqualified.

Candidates applying for jobs care far more about their own credentials than the companies they want to work for do, according to Raghav Haran, who worked for the stock photography, footage and music provider Shutterstock, the online health market place HealthGorilla and the venture capital firm True Ventures.

“If you can prove them that you can solve their problem, you instantly decommoditize yourself, and none of those things on paper matter as much,” he wrote on Medium.

Haran advises people who want to apply to certain companies to embark on a “pre-interview project”:

Step 1: Narrow in on a few existing jobs

Instead of sending your resume to a hundred companies you might already have forgotten the name of, select the job listings that matter.

“While everyone else is spamming their resume to a hundred companies just to get a few interviews (if any), you’ll pick just a handful of jobs to apply to and crush them all.

First, go on some job boards, and choose 3–5 jobs you’d like to have,” Haran said.

Have these rules in mind while looking at requirements on job descriptions:

· Go for jobs that require a bit more experience than you have, such as three years if you only have one.

· Don’t worry if you don’t have the level of education required.

· But make sure that you can actually do the job. “You might not need credentials, but you do need the skills to get results,” Haran said.

Step 2: Outline what you’ll be doing on the job

Once you have chosen three to five companies to aim for, find out what is expected of employees at those companies on a daily basis so that you can prepare your pre-interview project accordingly.

“By getting a good understanding of what you’ll be doing everyday on the job, you’ll know exactly what the perfect pre-interview project should be to prove that you’d be the right fit,” he said.

The only thing you really need at hand to figure this out is the job description.

Step 3: Do one pre-interview project per company

Once you are clear about what will be required of you on a daily basis, you should actually prepare ahead of time as a way of proving the recruiters that you know the solution to their problems.

“When I was applying for a business development role for Kiip, I pitched a few companies on forming partnerships with them, and introduced them to the biz dev team. I ended up getting an offer. For product development related positions, I ran quick usability tests on companies’ products, documented my process, created some design suggestions and sent it to the head of each design team,” Haran said.

Step 4: Send your project in

The key in the final process is to find the right person within the company to send your project to for you to actually get noticed.

“If you’re applying to a smaller company, this is pretty straightforward — you can send it to the head of the department you’re interviewing for, or even the CEO. Most people have a personal page online you can reach out through,” Haran said.

For Mr Haran this process comes down to human behaviour – companies want their problems solved and they are much more likely to hire someone who’s already working on solving them than someone who might just find the solution.

“Try it. It works. And if you are proactive, do a project specifically for a company, and they STILL don’t respond, what does that say about their culture? Then you know that company is not the one you want to work for. It’s a win-win,” he said.