Ever find a job listing that sounds perfect for you … until you read the qualifications section and discover that they’re looking for someone with five years of experience in a technology that was invented yesterday?
Employers do occasionally put out job ads with these “Bigfoot requirements,” as author and entrepreneur Jim Stroud puts it. Your mission: figure out how to apply to these jobs anyway — and get the call from the hiring manager.
This week’s roundup highlights Stroud’s tips for dealing with these impossible job requirements. That, plus what to do when your beloved boss quits and meditation tips for people who failed at meditation, in this post.
Jim Stroud at his blog: How to Apply For a Job That Has Impossible Requirements
“Bigfoot requirements are not uncommon in HR, as they usually occur whenever new technologies become popular,” Stroud writes. “Case in point, when the JAVA programming language was released in 1995 (or was it 1996?), it was not uncommon to see job postings for Java developers with 5 years (or more) experience. This was laughable on one level and frustrating in every other sense for both recruiters and hiring managers alike.”
These tips can help you get the recruiter’s attention, even when you can’t meet those impossible expectations.
Sharlyn Lauby at HR Bartender: What You Can Do If the Boss You Like is Quitting
“Often, we talk about the bosses we don’t like and the things we hate about them,” writes Lauby. “When they resign (or get fired), our reaction is ‘Yippee!’ But what about the bosses we do like? The ones who are great. They recognize, coach, and support us and our career development. Now they’re quitting!”
What you do next could make a big difference for your career at the company after your awesome boss leaves … and even down the line, when you take a new job yourself.
Christine Carter at Brave Over Perfect: Confessions of a Bad Meditator
Meditation can improve your decision-making skills, cognitive function and creativity, among other career-boosting benefits. But it’s not easy for everyone. For example, Raising Happiness author Christine Carter describes herself as a “recovering perfectionist.”
“Just the thought of not working, not accomplishing, not striving feels uncomfortable,” she writes. “And when I really dig deep, I can see that there’s more: I’m a smidge terrified of that void that, for some, is the whole point of meditation. That Stillness. Nothingness.”
If you think fear is your roadblock to a regular meditation practice, Carter’s step-by-step approach to overcoming it might help.
(h/t: Jessica Stillman at Inc.)
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