Sometimes it seems that they want it all. However, consider their top 3-5 priorities, address these, and you're in.
Have you ever met the perfect boss? the perfect employee? It doesn't exist. Everyone has drama in some areas (overly competivite at work, overly sensitive to criticism, endless problems at home). The boss wants someone middle-of-the-road that is reliable, won't bring their problems to work, and won't cause problems at work.
ONE MINUTE EXERCISE : Write down three major concerns for a hiring manager and prioritize them.
Highlight these following answers to compare with yours.
1. someone to make him/her feel good
2. someone capable of learning the job and eventually performing it independently or without a lot of supervision (but not an independent loner that doesn't provide status and include the boss before trouble starts)
3. someone to make the employees feel good
4. someone to make the customers feel good
Bosses are only human. They wouldn't be a boss if they didn't want to succeed and be appreciated. Receiving compliments from satisfied employees and customers is the most gratifying part of the job (better than recognition from their boss). An employee who will appreciate the manager's style and environment will be selected beyond any skillset.
Although some candidates are not capable of ever 'getting it,' managers are willing to train new hires for up to three months. Since any considerate and educated person should be able to learn manufacturing assembly to open-heart surgery on-the-job in 3 months, previous skills and experience are less important than demonstrated willingness and ability to learn.
One of the most difficult challenges for a manager is employee satisfaction. It is a rare moment when the team is united and humming along without conflict. Therefore a manager is always looking for employees that add to the team's satisfaction, that in turn, makes the manager's job easier.
It is just fine that if you can offer nothing else, at least you can make the customer's happy and satisfied. This is worth a spot on the team as long as you are significantly detracting from the above concerns (boss' ego, team ego).
So where do skill, experience, and education rank? These 'formalities' are woven in the above concerns subtly. Since 20% of the US population over 25 has an Undergraduate degree and 10% have a Graduate degree, there is little shortage of skill. Employer's must select a requirement that weeds out the highly inept (to minimize lawsuits of discrimination) and won't create unfairness with the existing team (protect the skill, salary, and ego of existing teammembers).
Job Seeker advice
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