Have you watched this?

A twitter post came to my attention last night:

Although I am not actively seeking employment, I read the posting because it’s very much in my field of work. My original thought was that I qualify for 95% of this job but I can’t/won’t apply because I don’t know Sketch. Should this stop me? Would it stop you?

Reading through the tread brought on some thoughts and feels. Mostly, why are men so fucking confident? Why do women care so much about comparing their abilities to others and stepping down when others try and step up? But, what resonated with me the most was the following comment from Cathleen:

“…it reframed the expectations and resulted in many more women applying”

We can’t expect people to be efficient in everything and companies can’t expect to find people who fit the mould of five different jobs.

It’s not only the interviewee but the interviewer that needs to change!

A while back I applied for a dream job (a not-for-profit organization that sends sick kids to camp) and failed miserably in the interview. As we were talking, I quickly realized I was not in fact 80% qualified—I was more like 60% qualified. Their job description wasn’t clear and I panicked. Rather than fighting for myself, I talked myself down and out of a chance at the job. I am really good at this and wonder if I went in knowing how my abilities matched up, I could have sounded more confident and willing/able to learn the 40% I was missing.

*News alert: Not all designers are also writers who dabble in HTML and can do some grant writing on the side*  

I often think about how I’ve dealt with this and other blows to my career and have realized I need to stop underestimating my abilities. I have thought about reaching out to the organization again and asking if we can grab a coffee and talk. They may not be hiring and I may not be looking but my heart is in it and I often wish I could have a re-do.

What about you?

Have you been mentored? Do you have a network of support?

My fellow self-employed friend and I are talking about joining forces for occasional meetups. Working from home can be tough (and lonely) and since we don’t have company benefits that pay for therapy and mentorship, the cost of a cup of coffee may be worth more than gold.

All this, or I’ll just leave it all behind and work at the coffee shop.

xo-meg

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