The Job Description And Your Suitability For The Position

A job description should be a good indicator of the responsibilities of a particular job you're interested in while also giving you an indication as to whether or not you're actually qualified for the job.

When reading job descriptions, we tend to assume a few things and some people assume more than others.

We usually assume that it's an accurate document that truly describes what the company is looking for.

Some people assume that if they are missing a few skills that appear to be key to the job, they should still apply for the job "just in case."

Some people assume that even if they don't suit the job at all, they should still apply "just in case" the company might hire them or perhaps have another position they might be suited for.

The question often becomes "which skills and experience shown in the job description are Must Haves and which ones are Nice To Haves?

The problem with job descriptions is that some hiring managers use clear, detailed and accurate ones and some don't.

We're often forced to make assumptions regarding a particular job if we can't get the answer we need.

If you have a question regarding a job description it's best to try to get it confirmed rather than guessing or assuming you know the answer.

If you're using a recruiter, get them to answer the questions for you and get them to ask the hiring manager the question directly if they can't answer it themselves correctly.

As a recruiter, I've seen plenty of cases where a hiring manager tells me that they absolutely want to hire someone who has "X, Y and Z" and then I manage to find out that in fact "X and Y" are must have skills while "Z" is an optional, nice to have skill only.

Knowing the difference between "Must Haves" and "Nice To Haves" can help you tell the difference between jobs you should and shouldn't apply for and in some cases, can help you positively distinguish yourself from other candidates who might not have the "Nice To Have" skills that you have.