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I applied for a job, and I meet every basic qualifications except in the job posting it says "Office Administration certificate and experience with Avanti software are assets".

I don't have those "asset" qualifications but I did indicate that I have 2 years of experience in office clerical support, and that I can learn new computer software easily (also included the example from my past job where I learned new software very quickly).

Do I need to meet all the asset qualifications to be invited for an interview?

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  • Assets are good, but optional. In any case, most job descriptions are just vague wish lists. Don't stress it if your experience doesn't tick all the boxes. Apply and see what happens. There is no point worrying about the part that you can't control. – Stephan Branczyk Jun 15 '17 at 1:23
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There are two important principles here:

  1. All job postings are approximations
  2. There are no guarantees about who gets invited for interviews

Let's consider the 'standard' interpretation of job requirements. If it says "must have" or something similar, it means you need these to be considered. If it says "asset" or "nice to have" or something similar, it means you don't have to have them - your chances of getting interviewed (and getting the job) are higher if you have them than if you don't., and higher still the more you have them. Companies usually try to write descriptions so they think they will get plenty of applications with the minimum requirements, and some people applying with some of the extras.

But all job postings are approximations. That means that if they get no applications from people with the "must haves" then they may invite for interview people who don't have those qualifications, but maybe come close. LIkewise if twenty people apply, all of whom have all the 'extra' qualifications, then even having all the extras won't necessarily get you an interview. They will invite the people they like best.

So, in short, you never can tell. There are no guarantees about who gets invited for interviews.

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  • Thank you for your reply. I have one more question. If they say in a job posting "Office Assisting certificate is an asset", does this mean they will only consider those with that academic credential to have the asset qualification, or do some employers flexible enough to also consider those candidate with years of experience in office assisting as candidates who meet the asset qualification ( in lieu of academic credential)? – Jin-Dominique Jun 15 '17 at 0:03
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    so @Jin-Dominique in business English, the phrase "is an asset" means "would be good", it does not mean "must have". – Fattie Jun 15 '17 at 8:12
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This really isn't a question that can be answered. In some cases, some of those listed are absolute requirements, in some they are a wishlist and good to have.

More importantly, it really depends on who else applies. If no-one who applies has an absolute requirement, then they will probably interview people without. If several people meet and exceed the requested list, then someone who has everything may not even be invited for an interview, simply because they have several good choices already.

So: 1) it depends on their needs, and 2) it depends on who applies.

You'll get invited to an interview if you're in the happy area of more qualified than most of the other applicants, no matter what their requirement list is. Unless you are not, and they keep looking.

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