Job Training Versus Hands On Experience

Job training might not be the perfect answer in the case where you are interested in a position but are missing a key skill or experience.

As a recruiter, I can recall many instances when a company had a job that required particular skills – let's call those skills "X, Y and Z" – and I started speaking with a person who was interested in the position but they only had hands-on experience with "X and Y."

In this case, they had no experience with "Z" so they would not be considered the "ideal candidate" since all three of these skills were considered mandatory.

The person often tells me something like "Don't worry, I can learn how to do 'Z'" or they might say "I can take training to learn 'Z'!" or something like that.

While in some cases, the hiring manager might be willing to consider this person for the job even with them lacking a key skill, I've seen more cases where the hiring manager deems some skills mandatory and non-negotiable.

While you don't want to not apply for a job you are qualified for based on incorrect assumptions regarding the job's requirements you also don't want to waste time and get your hopes up applying for jobs that you really have no chance getting.

Job training can certainly help your skills, your knowledge base and your career in general but it can't always make up for a lack of actual experience. Sometimes, hands-on experience is a must and training may not make up for a lack of this experience.

Use common sense and your best instincts when reading job descriptions and considering jobs.

Your best bet is to find out as best you can what skills on the job description are "Must Haves" and which ones are "Nice To Haves."

In other words, don't assume. Check out the following page to learn more about what I'm referring to:

Job Description
The job description should be a good tool to help you decide whether or not you are suitably qualified for a particular job, assuming it's well-written. Let's talk about the difference between Must Have skills and Nice To Haves.

Job Fair
The job fair can be a great tool to do some networking and maybe even get a new job. Here are some suggestions before going to a job or career fair.