Deciphering a job spec

So, how do you go about breaking down a spec? They usually read like ‘wish lists’, containing all the skills and experience the perfect candidate will have – meaning some things will be more important than others to the hiring manager.

Step 1 – What does the Company do?

Get a good idea of what the company actually do before tackling the spec – there will usually be ‘flavour text’ describing the company within a spec, but your best bet is to go on the company website and check out the company’s content.

Getting an understanding of what the company do will help you determine what skills will be most important to the hiring manager

Check out our article on researching the company here to help you do this.

Step 2 – Where do your skills fit in?

Understanding where your skills match what the company are looking for is essential – this will likely come up in any and all of the interviews you will have with the company.

Once you have an understanding of what the company do and what they will need, you should use the spec to generate examples of how you have done this kind of work in the past – for example, if the spec says ‘small molecule experience’, think about the times you’ve worked with small molecules and make some notes about those experiences.

You should try to do this for all of the skills/experience listed within the spec, focussing on what you’ve previously determined to be the most important (step 1).

Step 3 – Don’t panic!

I can think of many examples of candidates who felt they weren’t quite the right fit for the role, solely based off the job spec, that ended up getting the job regardless!

Don’t be put off if you think you aren’t the perfect match based off the company spec – remember, the specs are always ‘wish lists’ describing the perfect candidate – and nobody is perfect!

If the company has requested to interview you it’s clear indication that they think you could be the right person for the job – work with your recruiter to determine what the company needs, if you are worried about where you could fit in!