Unqualified

[Kirsi Cultrera]

Yes, this has happened to me a few times. I also know many others who have had a similar experience. I think the key is to never give up on your dreams, and never give up if somebody says to you that ‘you don’t qualify’ or ‘you can’t do it’. When this happened to me the first time in a job interview, I quite boldly said “well, you can’t know what I am capable of if you don’t even give me a chance. Let me try it out a few days to prove that I can”. Quite surprisingly, they liked the attitude and gave me the chance. That time I got the job, even though technically I didn’t qualify.

[Aloe Crane]

In chapter five where Rusk talks about courage, he included some of his father’s experiences. Stan Rusk, after working with a company for some time, was ready for new challenges. He went to the corporate office to meet with some executives to inquire about running his own store. They turned him down flat based on his lack of a college degree. Instead of backing down, he pointed out his years of work experience and his track record of successfully training company workers (some who already had college degrees, no less). He was subsequently given the chance to prove himself. I imagine this is something that happens often enough, where you know you can do the job (or have been doing related tasks), but aren’t given the position because you didn’t spend whatever amount of years studying the subject at college. Has this ever happened to you or someone you know? How did you, or they, deal with the situation?

Yeah this definitely happens way too often . Whenever you look for a job, they usually ask for education and experience. I know my boyfriend has this problem when job hunting. He has years of experience now as a graphic designer, but he stopped going to school because of money. His work is REALLY good, and he hopes to start his own business. Anyways, he has the ability and drive to work for more qualified positions, but often, higher and better paying positions require a certain degree, as well as a certain number of years of working in the field. Because of that, he gets paid sorta bad for this field. Again, the way he's dealing with it is just to start his own brand and work with clients that won't judge him from a degree. I've also been led to believe that degrees don't necessarily mean that a person is good at their job.

[Aloe Crane]

This happened to my ex. He went for a position and the team really liked him and were willing to take him on. However, as he was unqualified they were going to pay him less than the uni graduates they were taking on. Seems fair. Until when actually working on the job, my ex understood and picked up the job faster than the grads and started to work ahead of them. Thankfully the management team recognised this and within a few months increased his salary in line.

I'm glad for that! That's not always the case, but it feels good to see smart people get what they work for!

[Aloe Crane]

I see this a lot on job sites when looking at management positions. Almost all jobs in management require time served as a manager. HOW is someone supposed to gain experience as a manager when they cannot obtain a management job without experience?? Seems like a stupid catch 22.

I KNOW. It's so frustrating to see jobs like that, right??? They just don't want to lose money training new managers or personnel! And that's because that's only half the equation most of the time.

[Aloe Crane]

It happened to someone I know. Their company told him he couldn't access so and so position despite his experience. But they still used him to do the job at a lower pay without giving him the position officially. That's just unfair.

Damn that's just scamming. But it's the way companies can pay you lower without looking like they're in the wrong! I can't wait when that becomes less of a standard (hopefully), and is based more on on-the-job exams or something

[Donna Walker]

This has happened to me many times over the years. I dropped out of university in the UK and moved to Mexico at age 20. I started working in vacation ownership sales, became a manager in a few months, and over the next 16 years worked for various companies in sales, where I beat out the college degree competition to get the big-wig position because of my extensive experience in the field. I have never regretted dropping out of university. 

[Hazel Arnaiz]

This is something I can relate to. I once applied for a job that required me to work with a new product. Because I had no prior experience in their industry, the interviewer was hesitant. However, I informed the interviewer that the required skill sets were the same as those I had previously acquired. They gave me a chance, and then hired me after the required evaluation period.

[Dianë Godwill]

I was inspired by this story. I am a people pleaser, so when someone tells me I don't have the qualifications, I most likely would walk away discouraged. This father stood up for himself and pointed out his qualities.