HR Strategies for SMEs and Startups

HR Strategies for SMEs and Startups Did you know that almost one-half of startups fail in the very first year of beginning operations due to many different reasons, and not having a proper HR strategy is one of them? Now we often think that HR is something big companies, and conglomerates focus on, but that is far from true. HR management is critical for all types of businesses â€" be it SMEs, startups or corporations. © Shutterstock.com | Rawpixel.comIn this article, we will shed light on 1) what HR management is, 2) what challenges HR managers face, 3) building HR strategies for SMEs, and 4) top 5 HR strategies for SMEs and startups that can take your small business or startup to great heights. Without much further ado, let us first understand what HR management really is and its two types.INTRODUCTION TO HR MANAGEMENTHRM, short for Human Resource Management, is an internal function within an organization with the purpose of maximizing employee performance for reaching the company’s strategic goals. The Human Resources department is primarily concerned with managing people within organizations while keeping in line with the policies and systems of the organization.Human Resources branches out into two types â€" reactive and proactive human resource management. We will talk about these types later in the article when discussing the right HR strategies for SMEs and startups. Now you may be wonde ring what huge difference HRM could make as far as small business enterprises and startups are concerned, so here is what you need to know.Human resource management helps ensure that small businesses have the right number of employees to meet customer demand and run business operations smoothly.It analyzes the impact of internal and external changes with respect to the environment as well as the need for new sets of skills and experiences for venturing into a new market, dealing with competition, or adjusting to changing economic pressure.CHALLENGES AND OBJECTIVES OF AN HR STRATEGY FOR SMEs AND STARTUPSKey Challenges of HR in SMEs and StartupsPaying attention to HR in small businesses and startups is not that common which is why HR managers face certain key challenges in trying to make entrepreneurs see how Human Resource Management can help take their business to new heights.According to a study conducted by The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), here are some of the cha llenges that HR managers are most likely to face within a span of 10 years.Almost 59% feel that retaining and rewarding top employees is a major issueWhile 52% think that developing the next generation of leaders is a tough challengeLastly, 36% feel that creating a work-friendly culture attracts the best and the most talented employeesNow the main question is what can be done to counteract the problems mentioned above? Here are some solutions that can help you motivate and encourage your staff to put in their 100% and strive to become leaders.In order to retain top talent and reward them generously, it is important to provide employees with work flexibility. Gone are the days when work from home days used to be the goof off days. You can now carefully monitor the performance of employees, or at least offer flexible office hours, to facilitate top talent and satisfy both the employees and the employer.SMEs have the opportunity to create a work-friendly, easygoing environment with an open culture so the employees can relax and focus on work. HR managers working in such small-scale companies can easily resolve work-place problems by having one-on-one interactions with the employees and share valuable information.Every employee wants to go far in their professional career and a company with few top positions cannot offer as many promotions and rewards as a big corporation would. In such a situation, HR managers can move employees laterally to enrich the work experience by offering them the chance to learn new skills, job share or cross train. You can also throw in some extra perks like providing top talent a chance to visit industry conferences or other events to add value.No doubt, SMEs and startups cannot compete with bigger corporations when it comes to offering glamorous salary packages and benefits. Make sure you offer a competitive salary and offer as many benefits to your team as possible, such as health insurance, life insurance, retirement plans, etc. In order to sweeten the deal even more, offer soft benefits like flexible hours and performance-based benefits like profit sharing.Key Objectives of HR in SMEs and StartupsHRM for small businesses and startups is different from that of big corporations because the challenges they face and the objectives they seek to gain vary from one another. HR professionals strive to establish effective performance management in order to identify development opportunities, reward excellence, and provide disciplinary or remedial actions when necessary.To achieve the maximum level of profitability and success, an HR professional will align each employee’s work with the strategic goals of the firm and also ensure that the staff is well aware of the required actions and behaviors by setting clear-cut performance expectations in job descriptions. Take a look at some of the key HR objectives that apply to SMEs and startups:1) Develop a Competency ModelThe main objective of an HR department is to hire th e right people for the right jobs keeping in mind their skills, expertise, and education. This objective is achieved by setting clear job descriptions, establishing job competency models for each department in the company and benchmarking roles against similar jobs in the industry.In order to ensure smooth running of the business, HR professionals will take into account studies and data related to staffing, transactions, and costs and then create a competency model accordingly.2) Define Organizational Dimensions HR strategies are developed according to the aspects of the organization. It is also interesting to note that the prevailing culture of the company not only has a critical impact on the HR strategies devised but also represents the management style and values of the organization. Defining the organizational dimensions will give you an idea on how the organization is going to be more or less â€" will it be an organization that expects employees to ‘do more with less’ or w ill it be overstaffed in order to give way to innovation and experimentation?Some other key factors that directly impact the HR strategies devised are the nature of business done by the organization, the chain of command and the structure of the organization itself. In order to effectively hire and retain staff to achieve strategic goals of the organization, human resources systems, policies, and practices are also taken into account.3) Define Role of Mission, Vision, and ValuesThe mission, vision and values of the small business or startup play a crucial role in shaping the HR strategies and objectives for the future ahead. The mission of the organization will help you understand why the business exists and who it serves while the vision statement basically provides insights on what the organization hopes to achieve and where it sees itself in the future.The values of the organization are beliefs that serve as a driving force behind the operations and actions of the organization. A ll three â€" the mission, vision and values of the organization directly impact the type and number of employees needed to meet the organizational goals.4) Perform Workforce AnalysisA workforce analysis is considered a key part of the human resource strategy and focuses mainly on the organization, its culture, people, and the systems that have been implemented. Doing a workforce analysis is helpful in analyzing the current situation of the company in terms of the elements discussed above and where they ideally want to be in the years to come.Identifying the gaps in these areas will enable the HR professionals to come up with specific objectives designed especially to bridge these gaps.5) Evaluate Implemented StrategyAll HR strategies are guided by evaluation based on specific, measurable factors. A small business or startup will consider a wide variety of factors for developing, implementing and evaluating the effectiveness and performance of its HR strategy. Usually, doing an evalu ation will give you accurate facts and figures on employee turnover, number of vacant positions, customer complaints, and employee grievances along with the satisfaction and dissatisfaction levels of both customers and employees.BUILDING HUMAN RESOURCE STRATEGIES FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISESIn order to build a solid HR strategy for small and medium enterprises, you should follow these three steps.Step 1 â€" OrganizeThe employee handbook of the organization serves as a blueprint for building an enduring workforce and believe it or not; without it, the chances of HR success are very slim. The best way to make sure your employees are fully informed about what to do and what not to do is to come up with an employee handbook that is easy to understand, consistent in tone and viewpoint throughout.Some of the most important key points you must incorporate into the employee handbook are:Code of conduct for all employeesThe organization’s policies and protocol related to use of technol ogy and communications within the workplaceEmployee benefits such as worker’s compensation, paid vacation (if any), and health insuranceEmployee evaluations including pay raises and disciplinary proceduresTermination and retirement policies of the firmWhen preparing content for the handbook, remember to be judicious with your phrasing and never leave anything to the reader’s imagination. Clearly define everything to avoid problems and misunderstandings later. Just like any other official document, the handbook must also be written in detailed prose and organized scrupulously.Also, remember to maintain records of all employees of at least five years after termination either voluntary or otherwise for future reference.It is also important to understand that HRM is widely neglected in startups and emerging small businesses. However, it is best to invest your money where it counts â€" in the people who will take your business to the zenith of success. The reason behind ignoring HR i n small companies is not because the entrepreneurs are not proactive when it comes to staffing, but due to lack of awareness because 90% of company founders usually come from an engineering, sales or finance background with little or no knowledge about the field of HR.But the good news is, almost 88% of the leaders of Top 50 companies believe that building the HR system from day one proves to be fruitful in the long run because it helps in retaining top talent in the company; eventually leading to better growth. Having an HR system in place from conception is important because it enables HR professionals to find and keep top-notch people in the company, offer them enough benefits to make them stay and be able to meet the organization’s objectives.One of the easiest and most economical ways to expand your firm is to make acquisitions. Once again, growing the firm through acquisitions is not quite popular among entrepreneurs today but it is indeed one of the best strategies to grow exponentially without making a hefty investment. The main reason why entrepreneurs are not usually keen on making acquisitions is because they are hung up on the fact that their company’s assets and products should be brand new in order to own them truly.Another misconception that keeps entrepreneurs from acquiring other businesses is that the process is confusing, time consuming and overly complex. But have you ever wondered how successful your business venture could be if you play your cards right and acquire the right business? Four young business moguls of Hot 50 companies are extremely successful in their respective fields today just by buying other companies.Here are some reasons why making acquisitions is the right move for those who are looking for cheaper, easier and more convenient ways to expand:You get quick access to the market.The assets of the existing company are all yours at real value.No need to hire new employees â€" train the existing staff for a highly product ive work output.Outsourcing is also a great strategy that enables the firm to maintain its focus entirely on what it does best. From marketing experts to call centers for customer care, outsourcing is the new ‘in’ thing that cuts costs and helps SMEs and startups run more efficiently. Perhaps the greatest benefit of outsourcing work is that you don’t have to pay the employees full time or give any extra benefits as you would if you hired a professional employee full time.The only two misconceptions that keep entrepreneurs from going down the road of outsourcing is that they feel like they are giving up control and that there is no way outsourcing work could actually be cost effective.Step 2 â€" MotivateSometimes finding smart employees and highly talented workers is not an issue, but making them stay and work at your company for long is a daunting task that baffles many entrepreneurs. It is important to remember that just one paid vacation policy could go a long way when it co mes to retaining top-notch talent in your company.But having a paid vacation policy is not going to cut it; you need to focus on what is going on at the workplace too. It is always the small things that make a difference and will make your employees stay. Here is what you need to do to attract and retain talent in your firm effectively.Recognize employee contributions â€" in public and private forumsAcknowledge your team members as unique and notable humans with a unique set of skills and talentSend ‘Get Well Soon’ cards if your staff member is sickAsk your employees to give you feedback related to professional development from time to timeSeek input from employees related to business and industry challenges and acknowledge their suggestions out loudMake the work environment aesthetically appealing, pleasing and warmStep 3 â€" RetainOffering a paid vacation to your staff members will cost you much less than the hefty amounts you will lose if the employee turnover rate is high. C onsider personalizing the work environment using innovative and creative methods in order to make your staff members want to work for you and you only. For instance, ‘Pet-Friendly Fridays’ or ‘Work from Home Wednesdays’ seem like a great plan to instill a friendly and warm environment for your employees to work in.If you are not entirely sure what your employees would like, ask them to give you valuable feedback and then come up with new ideas that will please you as well as your employees. When it comes to retaining employees, remember that an HR strategy implemented unilaterally from above will not make a difference as much as one created by a team and implemented over time through appreciation and mutual respect.TOP 5 HR STRATEGIES FOR SMEs AND STARTUPSBelieve it or not, having an understanding of the latest human resource trends can really make a world of a difference as far as SMEs and startups are concerned. Take a look at the 5 best HR strategies specifically tailored to the needs and requirements of startups and small businesses.1) Improve Employee SatisfactionBusiness owners must understand that employees are their company’s greatest assets, and it is absolutely critical to make sure that they are fully satisfied with their position and role in the company. Some potential benefits of taking care of your work staff’s needs and wants are improved morale, high productivity, sense of commitment, loyalty, and lower employee turnover rates.Employee satisfaction can be increased through a number of tried and tested monetary and non-monetary benefits aligned with the current financial situation of the company and its mission, vision, and goals.2) Construct Fair and Equitable Compensation StrategiesOne of the perks of working for a successful company are its fair and equitable compensation strategies because it is the one thing that dictates the fixed cost that the company incurs yearly as well as the satisfaction level of the work staff. When dete rmining compensation levels for your company, make sure you look around and do some research on the latest compensation plans.It is also just as important to keep in mind that consistent compensation requirements must be established according to the pay grade to ensure all employees are compensated fairly and equally.3) Design Effective Training and Development ProgramsAs an entrepreneur, your primary goals should be to increase employee retention and promote growth within the company by designing useful and effective training and development programs. The new employee orientation program is one of the standardized and common initiatives that must be implemented. This will not only inculcate a sense of commitment in the minds of the new employees early on, but will also increase satisfaction.A mentorship program is also a great idea in which low-level employees are paired with senior mid-level employees for a one on one training and development session. By doing so, you will make yo ur employees more informed about the goals and vision of the company and offer them an opportunity to learn new skills.4) Implementation of Legal Employment PracticesIt is critical for small business owners to ensure that their hiring practices are in line with the legal employment rules and regulations. All entrepreneurs must understand common employment laws in order to reduce the chances of violating them and bearing the consequences later.The best way to implement legal employment practices is to hire a legal specialist or a seasoned HR professional to draft an employee handbook.5) Picking what is Right for Your Business â€" Reactive or Proactive Human Resource ManagementThe main difference between proactive and reactive human resource management is planning and forethought. While proactive HRM will help you identify and solve the problems with employee training and staffing right from the start, reactive HRM will be a much more cost-effective option for small businesses and sta rtups.Here is how both these strategies work and how they are different from one another in a variety of aspects.A proactive recruitment strategy is more focused on catering to the staffing needs of your business while a reactive strategy will only work if there is a job opening for a position in the company.When it comes to HR risk management, a proactive strategy will enable you to anticipate issues in staffing levels and employee training effectively while reactive HRM will propose a solution when a crisis occurs.A proactive HRM strategy will offer top talent a whole bunch of benefits to attract them and make them stay. On the other hand, a reactive strategy will only secure the best workers who happen to apply for a job at the company rather than seeking the best of the best from the entire industry.With tight overhead costs, proactive HRM strategies are expensive while reactive HRM is cheap and better suited for companies in their initial stages.We hope that this article gave y ou deep insights on human resource management, how it works, its functions and the best HRM strategies that small business owners and startups can use to take their business operations to the next level.

Managing Big Data Systems - 2359 Words

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Can You Truly Ever Escape - 2156 Words

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Learning Team Skills and Assessment Paper Free Essays

In the University of Phoenix curricula GEN480 Capstone course, Learning Team C represents a somewhat diverse group of skills. Based on a matrix of categories including field of expertise, strengths, business skills, computer skills, and language, the four members of Learning Team C shared their self-assessment in each of these. It is interesting that there is a good complement of customer service, leadership, business acumen, computer skills, and even some additional foreign language skills. We will write a custom essay sample on Learning Team Skills and Assessment Paper or any similar topic only for you Order Now Patrice Davis – A strong customer service background with good listening and communication skills. Patrice is also team-oriented and has good basic computer skills. Cindy Jost – A member of management, Cindy has experience in the travel industry and in addition to leadership, lists communication, negotiation skills and software knowledge as strengths. Silvia Miller – Silvia represents the quality assurance management side of commercial banking. Her strengths are leadership, people skills, flexibility, software knowledge, and speaks three languages including fluent Portuguese. Mike Wray – Seasoned leader and manager with a focus on health care supply chain management. Mike brings experience in common-sense approach process improvement and good communication skills. He also has a good understanding of software and databases and their best application. The skill of these positions is a combination of personal strengths, business skills and computer skills. The personal strengths range from professionalism to social skills, from dependability to honesty, from ambition to understanding, and trustworthiness to leadership skills. From the examination of the skills listed it appears that the skill required in most functions listed is public speaking and presentation skills. Although public speaking always has been recognized in the business community, the online learning program does not incorporate this class into their curricula. Public speaking and presentation skills are essential in the management and leadership field. The student can overcome the fear of facing people, and can improve their communication skills. For instance, in a job interview, the interviewer judge the person based on their qualifications but also the ability to deliver a good public speaking session. For a college student the ability of deliver good public speaking session are also tested. Unfortunately, the clarity of the speaking skills cannot be heard because of the online learning environment. There are many things you can do to improve your public speaking skills: Preparation of the presentation: Good public speakers prepare the material to be presented. He or she will outline the presentation to have a clear view of what the speech is about. Also, they know their audience. Tell a Story: This is one of the best tools available to use to persuade other people. Use your voice effectively: To keep people interest about the story, a voice variation is important for instance the use of pause and voice excitement. Use your body: this is extremely important when communicating because you need to engaged your listeners. Another way through which a person can become more effective at public speaking is to become a member of Toastmasters International. â€Å"Toastmaster International is a nonprofit organization that offers a proven and enjoyable way to practice and hone communication and leadership skills† (Toastmasters, 2010). In fact, based on the description of experience and skills presented on the Team C Matrix, the team presented two consulting firms as potential employers. Consulting firms are a popular career choice for college graduates. As the need for specialized professionals in areas of business is growing so is the specialization of consulting firms. Three consulting firms that make a good match based on Team C’s skill set include Navigant Consulting a management firm, Pricewaterhouse Cooper LLP an accounting firm and Mercer LLC a firm specializing in human resources (List of Top Consulting Firms, 2010). The benefit for companies to hire a specialized consulting firms is to ensure a better delivery, quality and over all monitoring of their current project. Team C’s members bring a variety of skills to the hiring table. When searching for companies to apply to the goal is to finding the best fit base on experience and education. Navigant is a management consulting firm out of the greater Chicago area (Navigant Consulting, 2011). The team member that would best be employed with Navigant is Michael Wray. Based on his leadership skills and management expertise is a good fit here. Silvia Miller is the team member with a financial background so the best fit for this team member is a position within the firm of Pricewaterhouse Cooper LLP. Pricewaterhouse specialty is accounting (PWC 2011). Mercer is a company focused in Human Resources which is also part customer service (Mercer, 2011). This company has career paths that will meet the need of all Team C’s members but Patrice Davis and Cindy Jost would be the best fit here because of their customer service expertise. Some needed skills are a continual thirst for learning. Once a person stops, learning one also stops growing. Also can be a hindrance in the ability to be innovative and creative. This skill is sometimes obtained through company-sponsored classes, seminars, and incentives to attend and complete such company sponsored learning opportunities. Another needed skill is statistics and research design. This is researching in-house to define the research problem, find an answer by designing a study and the appropriate instruments. Coding, analyzing, reporting, and making recommendations on the discoveries of the defined problem is a part of research design. This skill is obtained only if the company sees this as an asset and important to the company. If the case, someone can be brought in who has experience in statistics and research design. Cross-cultural understanding is also a skill needed because in this economy more minorities are entering the workforce all the time. This skill is obtained through company sponsored cultural days or seminars. Possessing a business skill is a needed skill. Employees need to have â€Å"business savvy† a combination of technical training and interpersonal skills. This skill is obtainable by one receiving technical training and the teaching of good interpersonal skills, preferably during achieving education prior to entering the workforce. How to cite Learning Team Skills and Assessment Paper, Essay examples

Microsoft Case Essays (1904 words) - Netscape, Netscape Navigator

Microsoft Case There have been many arguments and issues that have been raised with the controversy over Microsoft and the U.S. Department of Justices claim against Microsoft and its founder Bill Gates of monopolistic practices in bundling its internet browser Internet Explorer into its popular Windows computer operating system. By doing this, Microsoft would effectively crush its competitors (its main rival being Netscape Navigator), and acquire a monopoly over the software that people use to access the Internet. I recently heard a listener on NPR (National Public Radio) comment about the monopoly issue between Microsoft and the U.S. D.O.J. that Intellectual endeavors are vastly infinite and thus cannot be monopolized. I wonder if the person who said this has ever tried telling that to Bill Gates. More importantly, is such a statement true? Does computer software constitute an intellectual endeavor that cannot be monopolized? To answer this issue, an inductive argument can be applied to determine if Microsoft truly has a monopoly over the computer industry. To say that something is infinite implies that there is an endless supply of it. Is this the case in terms of the Internet and the software that is used to navigate or explore the Internet as the two leading Internet Browsers have been dubbed by their makers? The resources of the Internet may seem infinitely vast, but it is wholly finite. There is an abundance of information out there on the Internet that it seems unlikely that any one com pany or even a country like the U.S. could ever monopolize this vast data network. By the nature of how the Internet works and how information is stored and shared on the network, it is true that a monopoly cannot be held over the intellectual information stored within the Internet. On this point I will accede to the original authors claim that intellectual endeavors cannot be monopolized, but this is vastly different from the issue that stands before Microsoft and the U.S. Department of Justice. The question that must be distinguished is not if Microsoft will gain a monopoly over the Internet, but if it will acquire a monopoly on how people access the Internet. These two are wholly separate issues. This is not a question of control of intellectual information, but the means by which people gain *access* to that information. Even if the information provided by the Internet was infinite, the tools by which to get to that information is not. And thus a monopoly of the software to gain access to the Internet is very much possible. There are many corridors and keys that allow someone to gain access to the Internet. The real question here is whether Microsoft is seeking to widen its doors at the expense of others and at the same time seeking gatekeeper access to the Internet by seeking to obtain the only key that allows access to the Internet. A metaphor of this problem can be explained through a library building that has many entrances in which to reach the knowledge of books contained within. Is Microsoft seeking to close off the other entrances of other providers so that the only access is through its entrance? It would be very tempting to say yes, but that would be wholly unfair. Now that the problem and issue which is presented to us is clear, an examination of whether or not Microsoft is violating any anti-trust (anti-monopolistic) laws can now proceed. Before he installed Windows 95, John Dodge connected to the Internet using software from a Microsoft competitor, CompuServe's Internet in a Box. Not anymore. Windows 95 silently disabled a key piece of his setup and made it too difficult for him to reinstall it. Dodge was not a novice. He is senior executive editor of the trade journal PC Week and so had access to the highest level support engineers. Even software professionals learn to take the path of least resistance, in this case, the path leading to Microsoft. He has become a regular user of the new Microsoft Network, though he has trouble with its Internet features. Still, he believes Microsoft executives when they deny trying to gain market share by sabotaging competitors' software. He just wonders whether Microsoft has

Frogs Amphibian and Essays Research Papers

Frogs Amphibian and Essays Research Papers Frogs: Amphibian and Essays Research Papers Frogs are usually small animals that have smooth, moist skin, bulging eyes, and external eardrums behind the eyes; the adults lack a tail. Frogs have long hind legs, and most species can take long leaps. Many species also have webbed feet, making them excellent swimmers. Most frogs, especially males, are quite vocal. As the frog forces air through the voice box, or larynx, the vocal cords vibrate to make calls distinctive of its species. A much louder sound is produced by the males of species that possess vocal sacs, which swell enormously when the frog calls to attract a mate.... [tags: essays research papers] 413 words (1.2 pages) FREE Essays [view] Frogs - Frogs are needed for everyday life. They are part of pond life. Each animal is important because even in the pond, there is a food chain. Frogs are amphibians, animals that spend half of their lives under water, and remainder on land. The first frog appeared in the early Jurassic period about 200 million years ago. Frogs live on every continent except Antarctica, but tropical regions have the largest amount. Like all amphibians, frogs spend half their lives near water because they must return to the water to lay their eggs.... [tags: essays research papers fc] :: 1 443 words (1.3 pages) FREE Essays [view] Frogs - Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura. The order Anura is broken down into 22 different families of frogs and toads. Although they belong to the same order, frogs and toads are different in a lot of ways. Some of the more distinct differences are their skin and where they live. Frogs usually have smooth moist skin and toads usually have dry watery looking skin. Frogs spend most of their lives in or near water and toads spend more time on land. Amphibian means "double

Heres how to get that job, even if youre underqualified.

Heres how to get that job, even if youre underqualified. Typical job search wisdom says you shouldn’t send off resumes to jobs you know you just don’t have the qualifications to land. But there are some circumstances, especially in tech, where a job might be just beyond your reach, but still attainable if you know how to work what you have to its full potential. Here are a few strategies to help you craft a job-seeking persona that will help you shoot beyond your experience level. After all, if you’re trying to break into a new field, how is it possible for you to have 3-5 years experience anyway? Try these tips instead of writing off your ideal job as a lost cause.Showcase the skills you do have.You might not tick every box they seek, but it’s possible that you tick some boxes with more gusto than anybody else applying. Play up what you do have, and then take the focus away from their list and make your own list- you might have skills they didn’t realize they needed for their open position. Make a case t hat your unique combination of skills is actually even better suited for the job, and then go on to explain how and why.Focus on your potential.Even if you don’t have a specific knowledge base or set of skills, show you have the desire and potential to learn whatever you’ll need to know. Play up your motivation and drive. Emphasize the speed of your learning curve, and explain how quickly you acquired expertise in something previously. Don’t just tell them you’ll hit the ground running and pick up what you don’t have on the fly. Show them how you’ve done this throughout your career.Fill in your gaps.Use your cover letter to provide context for whatever skills and experience you lack, and as a way of smoothing over the holes they might see in your resume. Make an upbeat, short-but-sweet case for why they ought to give your resume, despite its holes, a second look. Be honest. You’re not a perfect candidate, but you might just be the per fect person for the job.Hold the recruiter’s hand.Don’t just slap down the bare facts of your skills and experience and hope whoever reads your resume is trained to read between the lines and construct your ideal candidacy for you. Connect the dots for them. Synthesize everything into one big picture for them. Make it clear- in your cover letter, on your resume, and in the interview.Stay positive.In your honesty, stay away from negative language like â€Å"I don’t know†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I’m not qualified to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  or â€Å"I’ve never done†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Frame things with a bit more optimism, like: â€Å"I’m eager to explore†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I’d love to work on†¦Ã¢â‚¬  etc. Be aware of what you don’t know and don’t have going for you right now, but also make it clear that you are conscious of what you lack and are eager to do what needs to be done to get up to speed.When in doubt, ask.If you’r e on the fence and not sure whether to throw your application into the pile, send a quick email off to the recruiter asking them to clarify what they mean by â€Å"proficiency in _____.† It will save both parties time and energy in the end.Give them what they don’t even realize they want.If you want it badly enough and have the drive and guts to go for it, you’re halfway there. Concentrate on showing your passion and tenacity. The rest, unless you’re way off the requirements mark, can usually be learned on the job with enough work behind the scenes. Show the proper level of excitement, demonstrate how close you are to being their ideal, and let them see just how hard you’ll work to get up to speed.