Courtney Remaley, CareerCircle&rsquo;s Director of Partnership Management, loved being at home with her mom and watching her dad go to his sales leadership role. She thought that she would follow in her mom&rsquo;s footsteps. She even went so far as to write in a letter to herself in her senior year of high school predicting that is where she would be in 10 years.
But it turns out that life had some slightly different plans. 
<h2 style="text-align: center;">From a Job to a Decades-Long Career</h2>

&ldquo;I never saw myself being at Allegis for longer than five years, but it&rsquo;ll be 20 years this month,&rdquo; Courtney shared when we started talking about her career journey.
Courtney expected that her role as a recruiter for Onsite Aviation (an Allegis Operating Company) would just keep her occupied until she moved into the role she really wanted: being a mom. But it ended up being the start of a decades-long career that was filled with new opportunities and learnings that have made her the person she is today.
After working as a recruiter, she moved over to the Contract Engineering Division at <a href="https://www.aerotek.com/">Aerotek</a> before beginning to find her footing in the Sales office for the engineering division where she later went on to&nbsp; help open a satellite office in Newnan, Georgia.
When a Director of Business Operations role opened up in the Miami/South Florida area, she took her experience of running the satellite office into that role. But she realized pretty quickly that Miami wasn&rsquo;t the right fit for her.
&ldquo;There was an opportunity to go to Jacksonville, and I raised my hand and said, hey, I&rsquo;d love to get out of Miami,&rdquo; she shared. &ldquo;It just wasn&rsquo;t the right fit for me culturally so I was looking forward to a change of scenery.&rdquo;
But after some time in the role, Courtney started to question whether it was her location that was the problem or the role.
&ldquo;Deep down, I think I knew Business Operations just wasn&rsquo;t the right fit for me. It was very heavy on the operations side of things and I really missed working with customers, building those relationships and solving customer challenges in the workplace.&rdquo;
So she raised her hand again and made the move over to the national sales team with Aerotek as a Strategic Initiative Executive.
A tip for you: If a role isn&rsquo;t right for you, but you love the company you work for, don&rsquo;t see quitting and moving on as your only option. Sit down with a leader on your team and explore options for positions that might be a better fit for you.
Before long, she became the Director of Strategic Sales - Healthcare, a role that she called &ldquo;one of my favorite jobs that I&rsquo;ve done.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I really enjoy teaching and coaching people in that role and working with clients at a high level, talking about big business propositions and presenting. I just really loved being able to work so closely with people,&rdquo; she shared when asked about why she loved the role so much. 
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Always Being Ready To Say Yes</h2>

While Courtney loved working as the Director of Strategic Sales, when MarketSource (an Allegis Operating Company) reached out about a role that would oversee collaboration across numerous Allegis OpCos, her interest was piqued.
&ldquo;It felt like a really unique opportunity to help MarketSource grow by leaning on relationships that I had built over the years while making new ones across operating companies. I didn&rsquo;t know much about it, but I was flattered that I was asked to come over and help with that piece of the business. I&rsquo;ve always been the person who says yes to opportunities, whether it&rsquo;s a new territory, a new role, or just a growth opportunity. I want to say yes. And so I did!&rdquo;
That drive to say yes stemmed from her relationships with her mentors, including her dad whose footsteps she was now fully walking in. &ldquo;All the mentors I&rsquo;ve had have always guided me to say yes to things more than you say no, because as soon as you start saying no, people stop asking.&rdquo;
It didn&rsquo;t take long in her time at MarketSource for a new opportunity to come knocking.
&ldquo;I made a point to stay in contact with Kim Sneeder [Managing Director of CareerCircle] over the years since she had mentored me in my role as a Director of Business Operations and I have always looked up to her.&nbsp; She explained that CareerCircle had started a partnership with Grow with Google and asked if I was interested in making the move. Naturally, I said yes.&nbsp; It was a great mix of leadership, client engagement, and operations!&rdquo;
After spending time with MarketSource, Courtney learned she really enjoyed working for a smaller OpCo so the opportunity to work for CareerCircle, which is the smallest in Allegis, was something she was excited about. She loved the idea of having a voice that could initiate change and the opportunity to get a lot of things done faster.&nbsp;
A tip for you: There is a major difference between large and small companies and both have their pros and cons. When you&rsquo;re on your career journey, and especially when on the job hunt, consider whether a larger company or a smaller company is better for you and your needs.
She was also looking forward to working for a company with a mission that was close to her heart.
While she wasn&rsquo;t a stay-at-home mom as she had imagined when she was younger, she was a working mom. As a working mom, she understands the needs of working parents when it comes to their professional development and moving into a role that better helps them provide for their families.
&ldquo;Working at CareerCircle meant being able to work from home and find a semblance of balance in my life as a parent and as an employee. In my previous jobs, I was on an airplane every other week. Now I can give quality work to my job, but still be here for dinner with my kids. It does mean being really disciplined with my time, but that discipline means that at the end of my workday I&rsquo;m a mom 100%.&rdquo;
Moving to CareerCircle also helped Courtney reconnect with skills and passions that she hadn&rsquo;t used in her last few positions. She was really excited to build something from scratch and she realized how much she enjoyed working with that ambiguity and taking a little bit of direction and guiding a team through a strategy to get them to the next level.
A tip for you: Taking the time to understand yourself can make a major difference in your career. Consider the deeper root of why certain requirements are important to you and focus on that &ldquo;why&rdquo; in your job search. 
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Learning From Every Step of the Way</h2>

When asked about her career journey, Courtney highlighted how much she has focused on learning from every opportunity she has had. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;d be where I am today without all of my jobs. You learn from each of your experiences the things that you like and the things that you don&rsquo;t like. If you have a good leader or a good job, you learn what you want in the future and how to go for it. If you have a bad leader or a bad job, you learn what you don&rsquo;t want to emulate.&rdquo;
She suggests that everyone embraces learning from every step of their journey as well as saying yes to more opportunities that feel right. It also never hurts to have mentors and advocates fighting in your corner.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had several bosses along the way who have been so supportive in not just helping me learn, but advocating for me to take on new roles and responsibilities. They were even there to tell me when they thought I was making a mistake and having that trust and honesty has been so valuable in my career and my life.&rdquo;
While Courtney staked her claim at Allegis, her dedication to continual growth meant that she always had a new challenge on her plate.
We hope that her story inspires you to grab the opportunities that are presented to you and thrive in your career, no matter what your original career goals were. Don&rsquo;t underestimate how much satisfaction can come from knowing who you are and what you want out of your role&hellip;even if it means moving around. 
If you&rsquo;re ready to take the next step on your career journey, <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/candidates">join the CareerCircle community here</a>.
For more career journey stories from the CareerCircle team, check out our posts with <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/blog/post/careercircle-career-journey-cecily-guggisberg">Cecily Guggisberg</a> and <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/blog/post/the-power-of-a-leap-of-faith-a-careercircle-career-journey">Daniel Pugh</a>.

Don’t underestimate how much joy can come from knowing who you are and what you want out of your role…even if it means moving around.

Saying Yes to a Different Path: A CareerCircle Career Story

Don’t underestimate how much satisfaction can come from knowing who you are and what you want out of your role…even if it means moving around.

Saying Yes to a Different Path: A CareerCircle Career Journey

No matter how skilled you are, one day you will find a job that you want to apply for and you think you&rsquo;ll be good at it, but for a split second your brain will say, &ldquo;Well, you&rsquo;re not really qualified for that one. Why bother?&rdquo;
If you&rsquo;ve ever thought that, this blog post is for you. 
<h2 style="text-align: center;">The Role of Qualifications in Job Postings</h2>
Most job postings follow a familiar format that includes:
<ul>
<li>An introductory paragraph that shares the job title and summarizes the role</li>
<li>A small section that shares more about the company</li>
<li>Details about the role itself, like what the successful hire will need to do on a day-to-day basis and what the role&rsquo;s responsibilities are</li>
<li>Qualifications which are often broken down into &ldquo;required&rdquo; or &ldquo;minimum qualifications&rdquo; and &ldquo;preferred&rdquo;</li>
<li>Contact details and any application steps to follow</li>
</ul>
While the sections may move around, most job postings include all of these sections, but qualifications are often the section that stick out.
Qualifications are skills, traits, experience, and training that the company is requiring of the person who gets the role. They often include things like software proficiency, college degrees or relevant experience, particular soft skills, like &ldquo;attention to detail&rdquo; and &ldquo;communication,&rdquo; and more.
Qualifications are used to sort through the people who apply for a role in order to hire the one most qualified in the context of the needs of the team. 
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Required, Preferred, and How Qualifications Scare Applicants Off</h2>
Qualifications are a critical part of any job posting. After all, if a company is looking to hire someone who will manage a team of 15 while also managing a budget and providing mentorship, that&rsquo;s not the role for a person fresh out of college with no experience in an office environment.
But qualifications are also what result in applicants being less-than-willing to apply&hellip;even if they would be a good fit for the role.
And this often comes at the expense of more diverse applicants. According to <a href="https://business.linkedin.com/content/dam/me/business/en-us/talent-solutions-lodestone/body/pdf/Gender-Insights-Report.pdf" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">a 2014 study</a>, women only apply for roles if they meet 100% of the listed requirements, whereas men apply if they meet 60% of the requirements. While that is changing slightly in current times, <a href="https://hbr.org/2014/08/why-women-dont-apply-for-jobs-unless-theyre-100-qualified" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">women still often feel more likely that they will be rejected for a job than men</a>.
When job postings say that <a href="https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/compensation/pages/college-degree-requirements-hinder-black-workers-earnings-advancement.aspx" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">the role requires a college degree that can end up dissuading Black applicants from applying</a>, even if they have the skills needed for the role.&nbsp;
But in reality, these qualifications are often a wish list of their perfect applicant. They aren&rsquo;t always expecting people to check off every box. In fact, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/18/how-to-land-a-job-if-you-feel-underqualified.html" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">in a 2019 study, 84% of employers said that they are open to hiring someone who doesn&rsquo;t have all of the requirements for a role</a>.&nbsp; 
<h2 style="text-align: center;">When To Apply Anyways</h2>
It&rsquo;s worthwhile to still apply if:
<ul>
<li>You have most of the requirements - If you&rsquo;re at 60 - 75% of the requirements, apply!</li>
<li>You have transferable skills that would make learning the qualifications simple, apply!</li>
<li>You are in the process of attaining the qualifications (i.e. nearly done with your Google Career Certificate), apply!</li>
</ul>
It&rsquo;s important to not waste your own or the hiring team&rsquo;s time so make sure you&rsquo;re only applying for roles that you truly can do (for example, if you are a marketer, you shouldn&rsquo;t be applying for a senior accountant position).
But if you are simply concerned about hitting all of the qualifications, it can be worth giving it a try. The worst that can happen is you get told, &ldquo;No, thanks!&rdquo; 
<h2 style="text-align: center;">How to Apply for a Job You Feel Unqualified For</h2>
There are a few things you can do to <a href="https://www.themuse.com/advice/should-you-apply-for-a-job-youre-not-qualified-for" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">put your best foot forward</a> when it comes to applying for a job you may not be 100% qualified for.
<h3> Tailor Your Resume</h3>
While you are more than your resume, it&rsquo;s the simplest way for hiring teams to get to know you. Make sure your resume <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/blog/post/the-5-resume-tips-recruiters-want-you-to-know" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">highlights your transferable skills and the qualifications that you do meet</a> on the job posting.
<h3> Use Your Cover Letter To Tell Your Story</h3>
While not all companies require cover letters anymore, they can be a great tool when you&rsquo;re applying for a role that you may not 100% qualify for. You can expand the story around the skills you do have, while highlighting what you&rsquo;re doing to achieve the rest of the job&rsquo;s needs.
<h3> Be Ready To Face the Questions</h3>
If you move through to the interview stage, you&rsquo;ll likely be asked about the skills that you don&rsquo;t have. There&rsquo;s no need to lie, but it&rsquo;s important to reframe the question into how you are gaining those skills now or how you hope to gain them, just like you did in the cover letter.
You&rsquo;ll also be up against people who do meet more of the qualifications for the role, so remember to be enthusiastic and prepared for the interview so you can stand out!
Remember: You can use our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.careercircle.com/quizzes/interview-prep" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Interview Prep tool</a> to get ready!
 While qualifications are important to make sure that companies are getting the skills they need into roles they need to fill, don&rsquo;t underestimate the power of passion for the position and dedication to learning.
For daily job search tips including how to use AI tools to personalize your resume and how to build a job search schedule, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/careercircle/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">follow us on LinkedIn</a>!

Here's what you can do if you feel unqualified for a role, but still think you have what it takes to be successful in the position!

So You Feel Unqualified for the Role...

While qualifications are important to make sure that companies are getting the skills they need into roles they need to fill, don’t underestimate the power of passion for the position and dedication to learning.

Career coaches help guide your job search by sharing industry knowledge and making sure you feel confident every step of the way.
But in order to make the most of those sessions, you need to know these key things. 
<h2 style="text-align: center;">What Is Career Coaching?</h2>
First up...what even is career coaching?
Career coaching is when a professional career coach and jobseeker/employee work together to help the jobseeker reach their goals. Career coaches can help you uncover what you&rsquo;re interested in doing when it comes to your career and can provide resources to help you map out how to upskill or reskill depending on your goals, feel more confident in your career, and more.
Most often career coaches have formal work experience guiding people through their career journeys, like a recruiter or HR professional.
When it comes to selecting a career coach, it&rsquo;s important to find someone who has experience and success in your chosen career path. Some coaches specialize in helping people set goals, which is helpful if you're unsure about your journey. 
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Is Career Coaching Worth It?</h2>
While it will be different for every person, career coaching can be perfect if you&rsquo;re looking for:
<ul>
<li>Personalized career advice based on your past experience and future goals</li>
<li>Guidance on how your values and goals align with a new career path</li>
<li>Advice about upskilling in your current role</li>
<li>Resume editing and portfolio auditing</li>
<li>And more!</li>
</ul>
One of the most important things to remember is that<a href="https://www.betterup.com/blog/benefits-of-coaching" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank"> career coaching is not about being interviewed for a role</a>. Many people think that by working with a career coach you&rsquo;re guaranteed a role, but career coaching sessions are an advice session for your career.
Some career coaches may have a networking aspect of their work that allows you to connect with people who may be hiring. But ultimately, they are there to help coach you on your journey, not provide a job.
If you&rsquo;re on the fence about working with a career coach but still want to seek out an expert, consider reaching out to a mentor. A mentor is someone who has had a similar career path that you&rsquo;d like and is open to sharing more about their story and providing advice based on their experience with you.
If you&rsquo;re working with a mentor, you can prepare for your meetings the same way that you&rsquo;d prepare for a career coaching session! 
<h2 style="text-align: center;">4 Things to Do Before a Career Coaching Session</h2>
<h3> Reflect on Your Experience and Consider Your Goals</h3>
When you&rsquo;re going into a career coaching session, it&rsquo;s valuable to<a href="https://www.themuse.com/advice/how-to-ensure-you-get-the-most-out-of-your-first-session-with-a-career-coach-aka-your-moneys-worth" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank"> reflect on your past work experience and what sort of goals you have for your future</a>.
Ask yourself questions like:
<ul>
<li>What are your values when it comes to your work?&nbsp;</li>
<li>How do your goals align with your values?</li>
<li>What do you want to do for a living and why?</li>
<li>How do you want your career to fit into your life?</li>
<li>What skills and experience do you have that can map to those goals?</li>
</ul>
If you have particular goals in mind, the career coaching session can be better geared towards what you&rsquo;re trying to achieve, but if you are unsure what sort of role you want, never fear! Career coaches can help you discover a good career path by using your skills and understanding your preferences from past jobs.
<h3> Prepare Questions To Ask</h3>
So long as it has to do with your career, there really isn&rsquo;t a limit to what questions you can ask.&nbsp;
Since career coaches often have experience working as a recruiter or HR professional, they&rsquo;ve often worked on hiring teams before which means they can share that expertise with you. You can check in on how a particular career may align with your values or the correct way to format a resume.
Remember to keep your questions limited to the time you have allotted for your session. If you&rsquo;ve only got 15 minutes, it may not be the best time to try to uncover what your lifelong career goals are, but that&rsquo;s a great amount of time to learn how to format a bullet point on your resume so that it highlights your accomplishments.
<h3> Have Your Resume at the Ready</h3>
You should always have your most current resume and contact information available to the career coach when you schedule the session. That will allow them to do their research so they can provide a more catered experience.
Your <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/resume-builder" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">resume</a> should include your contact information, work experience, any certificates or training that&rsquo;s pertinent to your goals, and your technical/hard skills like software programs or coding languages you know. If you need help building your resume, <a href="https://www.careercircle.com/blog/post/the-5-resume-tips-recruiters-want-you-to-know" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">check out this blog post</a>.
You should also ensure that your LinkedIn and CareerCircle profiles are up to date with<a href="https://www.careercircle.com/blog/post/how-to-verify-your-google-career-certificate-in-careercircle" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank"> all certificates listed and verified</a>.
<h3> Mentally Prepare for Feedback</h3>
In your career coaching session, you will likely get feedback about what you&rsquo;re doing well as well as suggestions for what you can do differently. Hearing criticism, no matter how constructive and helpful it is, can be hard so mentally prepare yourself.
Remind yourself that career coaches are there to help you reach all of your goals and that often means doing things differently. If you didn&rsquo;t need to change things up, you probably wouldn&rsquo;t have reached out to a professional so be willing to hear and take on their advice.
 Taking a bit of extra time to prepare for a career coaching session will make sure that you get the most out of it and can take the next step in your career confidently.
For more resources about job searching, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/careercircle/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">check out our LinkedIn</a> where we share daily job search tips!

Taking a bit of extra time to prepare for a career coaching session will make sure that you get the most out of it and can take the next step in your career confidently.

4 Things to Do Before a Career Coaching Session

4 Things To Do Before a Career Coaching Session

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142 Articles

Saying Yes to a Different Path: A CareerCircle Career Journey

So You Feel Unqualified for the Role...

4 Things To Do Before a Career Coaching Session