What percentage of the qualifications on a job description do you need to meet in order to apply for a job? In an article by Yvonne Chen, she shared a study from a Hewlett Packard internal report by Tara Sophia Mohr published in HBR.org that shows women will only apply for a role when they meet 100% of the requirements and men will apply when they have at least 60%. This is not an isolated circumstance that has happened at only one company. It was something that I saw at my former company and with clients who are looking for new roles. A better understanding of what is driving this behavior is an important step.
Looking at the responses by gender to the 5 questions that were asked in the report shows the thought processes of both men and women when they decide whether to apply to a job or not. They appear to be trying to follow what they perceive to be the “rules” according to a job description. Whether the qualifications are “desired vs required” can have an impact on whether someone will apply or not. They look at not only whether they feel they have the qualifications, but also if they should apply based on what is listed in the job description itself. Men were not as concerned if they met all the qualifications, whereas women were. This is sometimes called potential vs performance. Men will apply because they have the confidence in their potential to figure out what they don’t already have experience in, but women lack the confidence to apply if they haven’t already done it. What if you stopped worrying about the rules and applied anyway?
My advice to people is that you should apply if you feel like you are a good fit and have a lot of the qualifications. You don’t know that they are going to find a candidate with all of the “required” qualifications anyway. What if your experience brings something that the organization doesn’t have and they would find valuable? When a company interviews candidates, they are doing their best to determine if they are a good fit from an experience, culture and potential standpoint. They know that there will be training and support required to get the person set up for success which costs time and money. They know that no job candidate is a sure thing, but they want to be confident that they are getting a candidate that checks as many of the qualification boxes as possible and has the potential to succeed at their company when they make the hiring decisions. This really comes down to selling your potential and having the confidence to demonstrate that you can do the job regardless of having all the boxes checked.
Are you struggling with this type of situation in your career? Helping people eliminate self-doubt, build their confidence and see their potential are some of the big reasons why I became a coach. Let me help you see what you can become by coaching with me. Here is the link to my scheduler to set up time.