Applying For a Job that I Don't Qualify For

A friend from the past gave me a job lead. It was a contracts administrator role in a company specialising in cladding fabrication and installation. While I do have an idea on such products and handled installation projects of similar nature in Singapore, I know almost next to nothing what a contracts administrator does. 


Contract administration was one of the subjects I fell asleep almost every lecture during my poly days. I passed that subject by memorising shit wholesale. In a nutshell, I learnt nothing. That is why I always advocate learning to learn. I am a good example why learning to pass exams is really a bad idea. Unfortunately dumb parents are still pushing for their kids to do exactly what I did. I sincerely hope for better outcomes for their children.


If I were to see this type of job posting on the internet 1000 times, I will avoid applying for it 1000 times. Simply because, there is no chance in hell I would be considered for an interview anyway. It is better to save everyone's time. However, I will do so for this job lead because a friend bothered to link me up with it. I have to return the respect by making the effort to do so, at the very least.


I didn't make much changes to my one-page resume. It listed my previous jobs and highlighted my terribly flawed career like a spotlight. In all honesty, I wouldn't hire myself if I were a boss. There isn't much I can do about that though, unless I decide to lie and fabricate things I didn't do. 


The cover letter was where I really struggled. I couldn't even write a single line, just like what I experienced when I tried blogging again after a long layoff. In the end, I decided to do it differently. I wrote my cover letter just like a blog post, albeit a little more formal - less the vulgarities of course.


In the cover letter, I told the reader what I did before I migrated to Perth 8 years ago. Those few years were the only part of my work life that I gained some experience remotely relevant to this job I was applying for. I outright state I have never work a day as a contract administrator in my life before and I spend the rest of the space telling him why I think I can do it - in a formal way but it essentially means I think I am an expert in picking up things I have never done before. I ended up telling him I felt excited (I honestly did) seeing his company's projects photographs on his website because it reminded me of my projects in Singapore.


I think that's the best I could have done.

No comments:

Post a Comment