Have you ever gotten a job you weren't qualified for?

[cbdo2007]

Just out of college with a degree in broadcasting *laughs*, I went through a temp agency and got a job at a very large corporation in Kansas City as a business analyst where they said the minimum qualification for the position was an MBA.

After my opportunity there ended due to a major company restructuring, a friend helped me get a job on a temp basis at a health insurance company where I worked for 3 months before applying for a job in the Finance division of that company where the qualifications required a CPA and a minimum 5 years experience in a Finance or Accounting related field.

This isn't about me being some genius Doogie Howser type, rather just because qualifications are listed as being "required" they will many times overlook those requirements for people they think are a good match for the job.

[glowing]

1. Yes

And it caused mutiny due my young age.

[Stuart G]

2. Odd...I had "qualifications"... but

wrong ones...I was trained to be a high school history teacher...In a middle class motivated situation..(where the students could read on level)

What I got was an innercity situation with a group that was anywhere between three to 6 years behind in reading. So, I was kinda "qualified" but not really...After 6 years, I finally got enough on job training to deal with the real issues of a different culture and problems in reading. Everything that I learned a top notch university was thrown out, and new stratagies were used.

[customerserviceguy]

3. I've worked for dozens of supervisors

who fit that description. I don't think it happens too often for jobs where people have to do real work, however...

[slackmaster]

4. Yes, very much so. My very first job after finishing my Bachelor's degree

I lasted three weeks. It was a great learning experience.

[TheKentuckian]

5. Nope, never had a position I wasn't totally or even over qualifies for.

I've had to start at the bottom and work my way up every single time.

[Berry Cool]

6. It's not happening today at all.

Today employers want an employee who fits 100% of what their qualifications are...or forget it. With so many people looking, they can afford to be choosy.

[Jokerman]

7. Well, with a degree in "broadcasting" you aren't qualified for much.

I should know. My double major in Broadcasting and Political Science means I'm not really qualified for ANYTHING.

:sarcasm:

[lumberjack_jeff]

8. I've been *promoted* into jobs I wasn't qualified for.

But then again, no one else in the organization was qualified to do it either.

Back in the good old days when the company I worked for was growing like crazy.

Sigh. I miss Clinton.

[JuniperLea]

9. Virtually everyone I know in my position...

Working for similar companies, has a business degree of some sort. I don't. It's really amusing when chatting in groups and the ol' alma mater comes up... June, where did you go to school? I went to theatre, broadcasting, and music school, no business degree, but I've worked consistently in this kind of job for over a decade now and I earn the same wage. I started as a temp... the boss loved me, referred me to a man in a corner office... I became his executive assistant within a year in a multi-billion dollar financial services company (left shortly after their merger with AIG... the writing was very much on the wall)... the rest as they say is history.

I was not "qualified" for the temp job, nor the permanent one to which I was referred. I catch on quickly, that's my claim to fame:) I can find patterns easily, and I set up systems well, and my theatre experience puts me far above most others when it comes to the bullshit factor required in corporate America. :D

[Statistical]

10. "rather just because qualifications are listed as being "required" they will many times overlook"

Exactly. The high requirements at some companies is simply so applicants are more selective.

It increases the "average quality" of the applicant and makes the process more effective (for employer) and less costly (10 interviews vs 80).

[Rex]

11. Sure, it happens.

You get into a job and find out it is not what you thought you signed up for...but you do it anyway because it is fresh and new to your experience.

[slampoet]

12. I am not physically attractive enough to get hired for jobs that I am not qualified for.

I am also too smart to parade my privileges like they are dumb luck or skill.


Enjoy your overlordship.

[Hello_Kitty]

13. LOL! True dat.

Back in my babe-alicious days I got all kinds of jobs I wasn't qualified for. The same holds for men. When I worked for a major semiconductor firm it was not lost on me that the upper management team was comprised of very fit and attractive men and women, while most of the employees were pudgy nerds.

[pitohui]

14. that only happens if you're sleeping w or related to someone influential...so no

i find i'm strangely not interested in "bootstrap" stories, long lists of qualifications that no one has are used SPECIFICALLY to make sure no one is hired except for the girl giving head to the guy doing the hiring or the guy who is related to some influential politico that the guy doing the hiring wants to please


"a friend helped me get a job" ... exactly, it wasn't abt your qualifications, it was abt the friend

or as they say in show business, it isn't who you know, it's who you blow

i'm tired of the lies, sure, they overlooked your qualifications...because you had a "friend," life is apparently STILL all about ass and influence peddling instead of working hard & getting the right qualifications/experience/certification

hell w. that noise, if society is this corrupt, and i'll agree that it is...don't expect me to admire you for getting a job thru "friends"

[crazyjoe]

15. yes, a small company i was working for got bought out by a large

corporation, I was totally unqualified, but i did "grow" into the position. Still there after 10 years and doing very well.

[dembotoz]

16. depends on whom you ask....

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

17. Yes, and I realized that before my bosses did.

And quit before my professional reputation could suffer. That was a long, long time ago.