A Recruiter Shares Why You Should Still Apply For Jobs Even If You Think You're Underqualified

You might think that you shouldn't apply for jobs if the positions require a university education and a lot of experience if you have no degree or any relevant work experience.

But a job recruiter shared why you should still apply for those positions and how you can get a job that you're underqualified for.

Narcity had a conversation with Emily Durham — a recruiter and career coach who posts TikTok on everything you need to know about applying for jobs, acing interviews and shining at work once you get hired — to figure out ways you can get around qualifications on job postings.

"The most important thing to do is redefine what is underqualified," she said.

"The biggest thing I hear from folks I coach and my clients is that they're underqualified," Durham mentioned. "The job is looking for five years of experience but they forget they have three years of schooling [and] a couple of volunteer projects."

She also suggested that you think critically about this and redesign what experience means to you.

That's because the unconventional experience you have might actually align with what employers are looking for even if it's not specifically mentioned in a job posting.

"If you genuinely consider unpaid work and learning experiences as part of your experience, you'll realize you're further ahead than you think you are," Durham said.

"I would also say, ultimately, a job description is a Christmas list. It is the list you give Santa," Durham shared. "You ask him for like a car, a pony and Botox, he maybe only gave you one."

According to the recruiter, there is nothing wrong with applying for a job that you think you're underqualified for.

But that doesn't mean you should just submit a bunch of applications mindlessly and then do nothing after not getting interviews or not getting hired.

"If you do see a consistent pattern that you're not getting the gigs, you don't need to do formal education to close that gap," Durham said.

There are many ways that you can overcome the degree requirements that are on job postings that don't need you to go back to school.

Durham recommended LinkedIn Learning and YouTube's learning platform as tools you can use to enhance your skills and further your education.

You should also "invest in networking" with associations that can help you find the right people and then build relationships and connections in industries you're interested in working in.

"That will also help you identify courses or conferences that can help you close any skills gaps you might have," Durham said.

Narcity talked to the recruiter about how people can get scared away from applying to jobs that require a degree or more than five years of experience because while they might've just graduated from university, they don't have any relevant work experience in that field.

Durham agreed that situations like this can make applying for jobs a pretty daunting experience for a lot of job seekers.

She also shared that it's ridiculous for employers to ask people to have so many years of work experience for entry-level jobs that are usually meant for people who have only recently graduated from school.

So, online learning, networking, courses and conferences can help put you in a better position to get hired when you're technically underqualified, according to the recruiter.

Before you submit an application for a job, even if it's one you think you're underqualified for, you should know about what recruiters, hiring managers and employers see as resume red flags.

Durham shared with Narcity that you should never have a lack of data on your resume because you need to showcase your accomplishments to make employers want to hire you.

Also, do not include your photo or your address so you can try to eliminate bias against you in the hiring process.

Another resume red flag is sharing non-relevant experience which could lower your chances of being selected for an interview and getting hired for the job.

"Recruiters review resumes for less than a minute before they decide if you're going to get an interview," Durham said.

Durham also broke down everything you need to know using AI on your resume and job applications, including best practices for using it and whether or not recruiters can tell that ChatGPT wrote your resume!

Then, once you've levelled up your resume, submitted your application and been chosen for an interview, you still need to keep hustling if you really want to get hired.

Narcity also spoke to recruiter Bonnie Dilber who said that there are a couple of common mistakes you make during job interviews that could be the reasons why you're not landing the job.

That includes having a lack of knowledge, speaking in generalities about your previous positions instead of specifics, and not asking questions to the interviewer.

Even if you don't get hired for positions you think you're not qualified enough to get, there are still so many jobs available without any degree or experience requirements.

Some of Canada's highest-paying jobs that don't require a degree are warehouse workers, receptionists, accounting clerks, translators, drivers, web developers, and realtors.

The salaries for those positions can be anywhere from just over $30,000 to more than $130,000!

You can even work for the government of Canada — with agencies like the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Canada Revenue Agency, and Health Canada — and still get paid high wages even if you don't have a university degree.

Then, on the other end of the spectrum, some of the highest-paying jobs in Canada have salaries that go all the way up to more than $300,000 a year.

But you need to have one — and sometimes even more than one degree — from a university to be able to get hired and make that much money.

Many of those top-paying positions are in the medical field but there are also jobs with high salaries in other industries like tech, human resources, finance, engineering, and more.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.