How To Apply For Jobs Without All The Required Skills: 19 Expert Tips

Forbes

a day ago

Scanning job ads can be discouraging when you can't check every box, especially when you're just starting out in your career. However, while job opportunities often include a long list of 'required' qualifications, it doesn't always mean candidates must meet every single one.
In fact, many employers are open to applicants who show strong potential, eagerness to learn and a clear understanding of the role. Here, 19 Forbes Coaches Council members share expert advice on how to apply for positions strategically—even if you're missing a few of the stated necessary qualifications.
1. Quickly Upskill On The Basics
Employers are focused on skills-first hiring. As an early-career expert for 20 years, I have counseled countless grads on job search upskilling. Job and skill alignment is essential. Assess your gaps and skill up fast on the basics related to the requirements. Add credentials to your résumé and LinkedIn. Craft a cover letter that demonstrates both soft and hard skills and your learning agility. Including past examples can also help. - Jill Tipograph, Tipograph Careers
2. View Wanted Skills As Ideal, Not Absolute Necessities
Candidates should view 'required' skills as ideal rather than absolute necessities. They should still apply if they meet most qualifications and can demonstrate transferable skills, a growth mindset and enthusiasm. Use the cover letter to highlight strengths, explain how they're quick learners and give examples of adaptability or related experience. Employers often value potential as much as a perfect fit. - Curtis Odom, Prescient Strategists
3. Reframe Listed 'Requirements' As 'Roadmaps'
Reframe 'requirements' as 'growth roadmaps.' Most job postings outline wishlist items, not dealbreakers. Focus your application on demonstrating learning velocity—how quickly you acquire new capabilities. One client landed a data role by showcasing rapid skill acquisition through personal projects rather than formal credentials. Employers buy potential energy, not just kinetic skills. - Nirmal Chhabria
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4. Avoid Drawing Attention To A Lack Of Experience
Contrary to popular advice, avoid drawing attention to any perceived lack of experience or skills. You don't need to proactively address this in your cover letter, résumé or interview. Instead, focus on your relevant skills and qualifications, and highlight what sets you apart from other candidates. If it does come up during the hiring process, steer the conversation back to your unique strengths. - Dr. Kyle Elliott, MPA, CHES, CaffeinatedKyle.com
5. Consider Skills You Have And Those You Can Learn
Entry-level candidates should not count themselves out. If you meet most of the qualifications and can learn the rest, apply. Use your cover letter or interview to show transferable skills, your drive to learn and grow and real-world experience that aligns with the role. Companies hire potential, not just what's on paper. - Tinna Jackson, Jackson Consulting Group, LLC
6. Find Examples Parallel To Less-Familiar Areas
Focus on what you do have, not what you don't. You also never know how hiring managers weigh the different criteria in a job description, so you may have the skills they value most. If there's an area you're less experienced in, find a parallel example to use that still showcases how you've done something similar in the past. This shows them that you have the inherent capabilities to do it again. - Tiffany Uman, Tiffany Uman Career Coaching Inc.
7. Focus On Transferable Skills
Candidates shouldn't automatically count themselves out. Instead, focus on transferable skills and show how you've demonstrated key competencies—even if in different contexts. Highlight adaptability, eagerness to learn and real-world examples of problem-solving. Most 'required' lists are ideal wish lists; if you match 60% to 70% and can close the gap quickly, apply—and back it up with a strong story. - Yasir Hashmi, The Hashmi Group
8. Become Mission Critical In Instinct And Behavior
Reposition the question entirely from 'Am I qualified?' to 'Am I mission critical?' At the early-career stage, technical gaps are expected. What matters more—especially to strategic hiring managers—is whether the candidate demonstrates the instincts and behaviors of a high-trust, high-impact team member. That's where soft skills become differentiators, not footnotes on a résumé. - Olivia Dufour, Olivia Dufour Consulting
9. Show Hunger And Adaptability
Job ads are wish lists, not rule books. Missing a few boxes? Good. Show hunger. Show how you learn, adapt and bring energy that no bullet point can measure. Make it personal, make it matter, out-work, out-care and out-listen. You're not selling perfection. You're offering momentum. That's what gets you hired. Know yourself and your worth. - Julien Fortuit, Julien Fortuit Agency
10. Lead With Who You Are Becoming
When candidates see a job post, many self-select out because they don't meet every line item. But great leaders don't just hire résumés; they hire potential. If you know your 'why' and are willing to learn, you already bring value. What you can do matters. But who you are becoming, that's what sets you apart. Lead with that. You don't need to be ready. You need to be resourceful. - Rahul Karan Sharma, RahulKaranSharma.com
11. Emphasize Related Experiences
Emphasize your transferable skills and related experiences. Qualities like communication, teamwork, organization or project coordination often apply across roles and industries. Use your cover letter to draw clear connections between what you've done and what the role needs—showing you're ready to learn and contribute quickly. - Stephan Lendi, Newbury Media & Communications GmbH
12. Think Of Requirements As A Recipe
Treat the job ad like a recipe, not a contract. Missing an ingredient? Substitute. No cumin? Use paprika. If you lack a 'required' skill, tell a short story about how you hacked a workaround, learned something fast or built your own tool. Chefs improvise. So do great hires. Demonstrate creativity in overcoming challenges and being able to learn fast and apply what you learn even faster. - Thomas Lim, Centre for Systems Leadership (SIM Academy)
13. Reverse-Engineer The Role
Ignore 'required' as gospel—treat it as a wish list written by someone who might not even do the hiring. Instead, reverse-engineer the role: Show how you've solved similar problems, fast-learned new tools or delivered outcomes that matter more than titles. Great hires often look 'nontraditional' on paper but are indispensable in practice. Be that person. - Alla Adam, Adam Impact Institute
14. Be Confident And Willing To Learn
Remember that many people don't know what they're looking for until they find it. What's more important is that you feel like you'd be a good fit for the role. If you think, 'Maybe I'm missing a few skills listed here, but I know I could do the job!' then apply anyway! Be confident and willing to learn and grow. Often, that's the most important strength you can bring to a role. - Megan Malone, Truity
15. Research The Skills You Lack; Showcase Strengths
Apply anyway. Job ads list ideal, not perfect, candidates. Research the skills you lack and be ready to show a willingness to learn. Highlight your transferable skills and focus on the areas where you excel. In interviews, showcase your strengths. The halo effect can work in your favor—if you're strong in one area, employers may believe you can grow in others with the right attitude and training. - Sandra Balogun, The CPA Leader
16. Frame Gaps As Opportunities
Turn missing qualifications into opportunities. Job requirements are starting points, not barriers. Highlight transferable skills that demonstrate your adaptability. Frame gaps as growth potential: 'I'm excited to expand my expertise in X, building on my strong foundation in Y.' Employers often choose candidates who show genuine enthusiasm and a learning mindset over those who merely check boxes. - Maryam Daryabegi, Innovation Bazar
17. Tell A Compelling Story
Many candidates assume that job ads are written in stone, but in reality, they're more like a company's ideal daydream. If you don't check every box, that doesn't mean you're out; it means you have an opportunity to tell a compelling story. Instead of trying to cover gaps with fluff, be honest. For each skill you lack, highlight an adjacent one you've mastered and explain how it bridges the gap. - Veronica Angela, CONQUER EDGE, LLC
18. Strive To Show Potential Over Perfection
Don't let a bullet point scare you off. Job ads are wish lists, not commandments. If you've got most of what they want and can show how you learn fast, solve problems or bring a fresh edge—go for it. Real-world hustle often beats textbook checkboxes. Show potential, not perfection. - Anastasia Paruntseva, Visionary Partners Ltd.
19. Show Your Passion For Learning
If you lack any 'required' skills, focus on transferable abilities and a passion for learning. Apply anyway—many requirements are flexible. In your cover letter, highlight relevant achievements, address skill gaps directly with concrete plans to develop them and emphasize your quick learning ability and enthusiasm. Many employers value potential and cultural fit over a perfect skills match. - Jonathan H. Westover, Ph.D., Human Capital Innovations