Success outside your field
JOBSEEKERS should look beyond the scope of their qualifications to take advantage of employer flexibility when it comes to hiring workers.
Big Four accountancy firm EY says not having the “right’’ qualification is becoming less of an impediment to applying for roles.
“While particular qualifications are still important, [employers are] looking for someone responsible, someone with good client communication skills,’’ EY Oceania talent leader McGregor Dixon says.
“Innovation is at the top of the agenda [for many companies] and, to do that, you have to have a different mix of perspectives and people that think differently.’’
Dixon believes it is the wide array of skills of EY’s workforce that has led to it winning a swag of awards and accomplishments. “If we just had all the traditional people with tax management [skills], I don’t think we would be as creative,’’ he says.
“Things are changing so fast these days that if we have all our skills for just one specific discipline, by the time [workers] have settled in the skillset you need will probably have changed already.’’
University of Adelaide careers services manager Sue Hervey says first and foremost, employers value workers with the right cultural fit for their business and are willing to train that person if they do not have the skills for the role.
“It’s not unusual now for people to find work in areas outside their specialisation,’’ Hervey says.
“In the past, employers might have said, ‘We just need accountants’, or ‘We just need lawyers’. But I think employers are becoming more flexible.’’
Hervey believes the evolution of jobs is forcing employers to become more accommodating as they seek to fill new roles that do not yet have links to a particular qualification.
“Those [new roles] are much more open to interpretation and, if you can show an interest in the field and you fit the culture, then you’ve got a good chance of getting the job,’’ she says.
Gabriella Andrews, 23, holds degrees in international security and Pacific studies but confesses she had no IT experience when she successfully applied for a cyber security role at EY earlier this year.
“I was definitely unsure if I was the candidate they were looking for but … cyber security stood out to me as a great path to go down,’’ she says.
“Cyber security is more than IT. What I’m bringing to the role is a very unique skillset when it comes to the people side and the governance side of things.’’