Should I apply? HR and hiring managers please look

[Deleted]

I have been teaching for the past several years and I am looking to move into corporate training. I have seen several positions on career sites such as Monster that are interesting but I don't have all of the qualifications.

Should I apply anyway?
What advice can you offer to someone who is trying to switch careers?

I should also add that I have enrolled in an Instructional Design course that begins next month. Should I mention this in the cover letter?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[thyme4change]

Absolutely apply - that doesn't cost you anything, except a little bit of time. That said, it is a tough market, so don't get discouraged. People perfectly qualified aren't getting called back, so you will have to have some tenacity and patience to wait for the creative hiring manager that will be able to see how your skills apply. I would most definitaly mention anything that will apply to the job in the cover letter. Anything you can do to bridge the gap between school teacher and professional trainer will help them see the potential.

[hoops902]

You don't need an HR or hiring manager to answer this. YES, you should apply. Why would you not apply if you're interested? Mention anything you think will help you get the job, I'd mention that you're signed up for the course.

On a broader basis "Should I apply?" should not even be a question to ask. The question is "Would I want this job?", if the answer is yes, then apply. This is a pretty common question on the board, and pretty much without exception the answer back is always "don't worry about being qualified, apply if you want it".

[Deleted]

Hoops you're right-I should apply. I guess my greater question which I did not articulate is what can I do to improve my chances of getting my resume seen since I do not necessary have experience that is directly what the company specifies in their ad.

[thyme4change]

Can you look around for opportunties to do any adult training? Like, volunteer to teach a pre-planned financial management course at church (like Dave Ramsey's course.) Or something like that. The more relevant you can make your skills thebetter.

[milee]

You probably already know this, but to the extent you can tailor your resume to include the buzzwords used on the job posting, the better. Don't assume the HR (or sometimes even a program used to scan the resumes) will recognize synonyms. If the Monster posting says "training" is required, make sure you change some of your "teaching" phrases into "training" for example.

[Deleted]

Thanks everyone for the advice so far.

Thyme your suggestion was excellent and I didn't think of it. Shame on me. I will look into teaching/training adults in a volunteer situation.

I appreciate all of the input so far. Keep it coming!

[Deleted]

I'd also go straight to company Web sites and look in their Careers section. Monster.com seems to attract people looking to hire commissioned sales people (financial planners, life insurance sales)- see tloonya's recent experience with this. IMO, the closer you can get to the hiring manager, the better. You should also get on LinkedIn and connect with people you know. If you find a position at their company, now you have a contact. You may not find people you know from teaching on LinkedIn, but you'll find spouses of teachers, friends, their spouses, and people from any social or religious groups you belong to.

And don't hold yourself back because you don't have 100% of the qualifications. That's something women tend to do, where guys will jump in if they think they can do 50%. (And when I related this to my intrepid, driven niece, she replied, "If I think I can do 10% of the job I'll apply if it's something I want to learn!" Which is why she's 28 years old and makes $80K.)

[Phoenix84]

This is one of the reasons men get ahead in their careers and women don't. Women don't apply for jobs unless they meet ALL of the qualifications. Men will apply if they meet some of them.

Start being a go getter and apply. The worst they'll say is no.

[Deleted]

A job posting is a wish list, not a min requirements list.

Align your experience with what the posting is asking for. Maybe skills bullet points at the top of the resume to catch their attention.

Include a cover letter (sometimes this can make the difference on whether you are looked at or circular filed). Specifically address why you think you would rock their job & why you want to work for them (and no other company). That way if the HR screener or hiring manager isn't seeing what they think they want in the resume, you have the cover letter to get them to think on it a bit.

Good Luck!

[alabamagal]

Agree with all that has been said. The other thing to remember is that it costs $0 to apply and the only person who knows you applied is the person going through the resumes. So it's not like your current boss (or the person sorting through resumes) can say "I see you've applied for 200 other jobs this week".

Also keep in mind that a lot of jobs are obtained through networking versus blindly applying on Monster (or other sites). I applied lots of places on Monster (most that I was overqualified for) and only had a few interviews. The last 2 jobs I got through networking (people that knew I was in the job market). So keep open all possibilities.

[zibazinski]

If I received a resume that I liked, I held onto it even if the job they applied for, they didn't fit. Because I knew eventually I'd have something and there the resume was!