[Anonymous]

Hey everyone, I was hoping to get some feedback from those in my field. Should you apply for a job when you are under qualified for it? I applied for a Senior Accountant position for a local hospital. The job requirements list the following:

-Bachelors Degree in Accounting

-Minimum of 2 years related work experience

-Working knowledge of Account Reconciliations, Journal Entries, Bank Reconciliations, and be proficient in Excel

-Must have full working knowledge of budget preparation, financial statement preparation, and other analytical processes.

I have the first 3 requirements down(half way through a masters degree, and over 3 years as an Accountant in a Bank Reconciliations Department with some other accounting duties), but I don’t have any experience with budget preparation or financial statement preparation(other than what was taught in school).

I went ahead and applied for it, but do you think I would seriously be considered with my current qualifications?

[jelly]

Apply, b/c the worse that can happen is that it doesn't work out. The last one is mostly stuff that a “financial” or “budget” analyst would do, which your current position may or may not have you get into as you become more proficient at bank recs and journal entries, b/c you'll simply become more aware of income and expense trends that go on as you reconcile. Don't be intimidated, b/c some people start out as analysts, and haven't necessarily done or understand periodic reconciliations.

Budget preparation – depends on what their process is. For instance, is it “base” budgeting, where you take last year's, add or subtract a few things, and then go on? Or is it “zero-based” budgeting, where each division/department needs to justify all their costs starting from zero? (There's also other ones, that are about improvement and such). Keep in mind that the process itself is usually quite political, with different departments wrangling over new and open projects, and any federal/state/private donor/grant/research obligations that the hospital needs to fulfill.

F/S prep – not too far off from what you've learned in school, just more industry-specific.

Analytical processes – probably just want you to run historical data and report on trends.

Couldn't pass again!

[SusanStudies]

I think you should apply. Often employers advertise for their ideal candidate. However, in reality, they may not come across someone who has exactly every single skill they list on the advertisement. If you have at least some of the skills, there is no harm in applying. You cannot even be considered for the job unless you apply. I was interviewing candidates last week for a position we have open and there was not one “perfect” candidate who possessed ALL the skills we are looking for. However, maybe they had an eagerness or professional way of communicating that gave them points in the long run

If I were job hunting, I would apply for as many jobs as I could. You never know what might stick or what a hiring manager may see in your resume or application that sticks out. You may have a particular skill they did not advertise for but that they may actually want or need.

Also, if you get called for an interview, you can always tell them you have not actually done it but that you have a tremendous capability at picking up things fast and that it is always something you have be interested in learning.

Sell yourself and do not be afraid to TRY for a position! The worst that can happen is they don’t call you.

Good luck!!

AUD: 07/11/11 - Passed
BEC: 08/27/11 - Passed
FAR: 01/17/12 - Passed
REG: 04/30/12; Re-take 7/16/12 - Passed

FINISHED!!!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

Sure apply…you know how to do a budget and prepare financial statements for crying out loud…you are an accountant.

Simply google the two topics and read some online refreshers if you are rusty.

You should never apply for a job if you lack ANY of the qualifications but how would anyone advance if the only applied for jobs they have already done?

Go for it.

[Author]

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