fake it til you make it

OK - I wasn't sure where to post this as its work related but not specifically to post maternity leave..

Anyway, yesterday I got head hunted to apply for a job that pays significantly more (read double) that what I earn at the moment, working with the same products that I do currently, but for a different company.

I only spoke breify with the recruitment person, but she asked me some questions and encouraged me to apply. The thing is, I really don't think I'm qualified enough, just based on the salary alone, and when I read the job description it sounds a lot more senior that what I've done.

So, how/do you 'fake it till you make it' in job interviews? I'm a very bad liar, and always seem to undersell myself, because I don't want to say I can do something, then get to the job and be clueless. However, it seems other people do this all the time.

I think I'll apply just for the practice, but any advice on seeming more confidednt and knowledgale in an interview that you really are would be appreciated :)

Rachael,

I say go for it!! I know a friend applied for a PA position in a large Co. her cousin worked there & did almost all of the typing & stuff for her & she simply sorted out the bosses calendar, meetings & made coffee til she eventually (about 4-5mths) got the hang of it & she has since moved up higher & higher!!!! She had no typing skills, but kind of got as much info as she could about the company & then applied & got the job... They loved her & she had never worked before in her life other than part time in a hair dressers!

Can you study the business or anything else to have as much info about the company you possibly can???

You have to learn to sell yourself! Maybe practise with friends & when I had to write my resume I saw a heap less skill in me than others & so I got coworkers etc to tell me a few things they each saw in me & surprisingly I look pretty good in my resume & there are things there I didnt realise I did, it's just something I do automatically!

Good Luck, sounds like they want you so go for it!!!!!!

Best of luck!

I say go for it! Try to find out exactly what the job would involve (day-to-day stuff) as well as where that position fits into the rest of the organisation. Then think of examples of where you can demonstrate experience in those sorts of areas. They will basically be looking at whether you have the ability to acquire those skills if you don't have them already. I hope this helps :) All the very best!

I say go for it too - sometimes different firms/insdustries pay a lot more for similar types of roles.

When I've had some 'big' interviews in the past, I've done a lot of research into the company and the role and then really worked on being able to demonstrate with concrete examples of what I have done in previous jobs to meet each of the selection criteria. If you can't find a direct link, then look for a parallel one and explain why it's relevant. Write all this down so you can refer to it in the leadup to the interview and there's nothing wrong with taking a sheet of notes with you. This can include key points you want to make as well the questions you have for them. Just the process of doing all this (yes, it takes time and effort!) makes you feel more confident about your skills and experience. Good luck!

Rachael, I "oversell" myself all the time. Shop work was the best one: one job, I had keys for as they didn't employ more than 1 staff member at a time and I had to cash up my own till and sometimes a new person would be working with me to "see how it was done."

This morphed into a supervisory role wherein I had responsiblilty for the security of the store in the mornings and evenings when I worked, I cashed up (for many jobs, that's manager-only) and I supervised and trained new people (as well as working the till, doing the sell-by dates, cleaning up...). Don't add that everyone did that too, just tell them that's what you did, above and beyond what, for example, a supermarket would ask a cashier to do (and I did this job as a teenager, well OK age 19, showing how trustworthy I am!).

Let me know what job you're going for and where you think you don't have enough experience, telling me what you do have, and I'll hype it up a bit for you! It's not lying at all, nor is it faking, it's just realising you can do the job and you've done it unofficially for years.

I'd definately go for it anyway. You never know till you give it a go. I've done jobs before where I was doing something, then got another job doing the exact same thing and it ended up being over 50% more pay. You can just tell them that you have experience in this and that, and youre a fast learner and would surely be able to (and are very keen to) learn your new role very quickly since you have most of the knowledge required.