Hellobee Boards

Thanks for the awesome encouragement advice everyone!

@SleepyMonkey: It was an HR employee within the company, not a headhunter so that makes me more interested. Though I've never worked anywhere large enough to have a single HR person, let alone a whole department! And you don't sound forceful, mainly supportive and positive. Thanks for that. Sometimes we all need a little push to fly.

@Bookish: From someone who sends these emails frequently (I assume) - would it be considered rude to, in my initial contact with her, ask if I am truly qualified for the position (in a more professonal way obviously)? I know my specific degree is listed on my profile, and I know that I do not qualify legally for a certain title level in this industry. I guess I want to ask if she's sure I can even be in this position without suggesting that she didn't look closely enough at my profile before contacting me.

@dc yoga bee: Thank you for sharing your story. It's awesome to read about someone taking a big risk and it paying off. This might not seem like a big risk, but I feel like any change would be risky! I have a near guarantee to be promoted so long as I work toward my additional degree, which I think very few people have these days, and I don't want to jeopardize that.

@Bookish: Yes, that makes perfect sense. It's true that the degree I have may not rule me out of this position, so maybe they do want someone with my experience and are happy to accomodate the degree limitations. I just don't want to get too far before they realize this fact.

A good friend of ours got through to a second-round interview for a job before the company realized that although he attended university, he did not graduate with a Bachelor's degree. He in no way stated that he had earned this degree, but had stated he attended the school. They basically accused him of intentionally deceiving them and it was really uncomfortable for him. I want to avoid that.

@SleepyMonkey: Yes, I specifically list my degree and area of concentration for this reason. There aren't limitations for a company title, but the title assumed by the employee under the accrediting body is strict about degree requirements. Like, must be earned in one of three hard science concentrations to oversee a laboratory doing our kind of analytical work. And even though I'm in environmental science, and the open position is in food science - the same agency oversees both.

I think I'll just send a short response conveying my interest and asking what the next steps in the process are.

@Bookish: Any sort of promotion from my current position or possible promotion from the open position would definitely require the new degree. I didn't even think I was qualified for my current job based on the requirements but my bosses liked me and had enough confidence in me that they re-wrote the job descriptions so that I would qualify. I honestly didn't think I would have my current job for another 10 years - but two years ago, it just kind of landed in my lap! And to have a potential promotion available now vs. the 5-10 years I expected is another big surprise.

Is this an appropriate response to the inquiry?

Hello Ms. X,

Thank you for reaching out and considering me as a potential candidate for this positon. I am interested in learning more about the responsabilities of your QA Director and the work done at XYZ Laboratories.

Please let me know what the next steps are in moving forward with the application process.

Sincerely,
My Name
my.email@personalemail.com
phone-number

@MsLipGloss: I did send the response but had edited that out after thinking the same thing Everyone has a website, so I was able to check it out and learn a bit about what they do and use that informaion in my phone call today.

Just wanted to post a little update for those of you who gave me such good advice - today I am going for a third round of interviews with the company. I am so happy I went ahead and replied to the inquiry, and every round of the interview process has gone so smoothly and I've felt more confident after each one.
So yes, thank you again everyone!
I hope I can come back to this thread very soon and let you all know I've been made an offer!