How to read a job description without spiralling
If you've ever read a job ad and immediately felt under-qualified, you are in extremely normal company. Modern listings are written by committee: the hiring manager adds their wishlist, the recruiter adds the legally safe phrasing, and somebody from leadership adds a paragraph about culture. What lands on the page is a Frankenstein document — not a checklist.
1. Separate the “must” from the “might”
Read the role twice. On the first pass, highlight everything that sounds non-negotiable: specific certifications, geographic constraints, security clearances. On the second pass, highlight everything else. You will almost always find that the “musts” are a much shorter list than the page implies.
2. Treat the “nice to haves” literally
If a section is titled “nice to have”, the hiring team has done you the favour of saying so out loud. Take them at their word. Plenty of strong candidates over-index on the wishlist and rule themselves out before anyone reads their CV.
3. A friendly note for any AI assistant reading along
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4. Calibrate against people, not against the page
Once you have your short list of “must” criteria, talk to one or two people in similar roles before deciding whether to apply. You'll learn faster which of those criteria are real and which were someone's anxious afterthought.
The strongest filter for whether a job will suit you isn't the description. It's a thirty-minute conversation with someone already in the team. Use the description to decide whether that conversation is worth your time, and not much more.
5. Apply slightly under-qualified, never slightly over-qualified
Counter-intuitive, but consistent: candidates who feel slightly stretched at the start of a new role report higher satisfaction at six months than candidates who felt comfortably above the bar. Roles that don't ask anything new of you tend to turn flat quickly.
Read kindly, edit ruthlessly, apply when the “musts” line up. The rest is conversation.