(IDG) -- Information Technology Director
Qualifications: (1) Requires a BS or MS in Computer Science (2) 3+ years management experience (3) Solid understanding and experience with database technologies, and client/server environments. Experience with C++, Wan/Lan, and Unix environments necessary. (4) Excellent interpersonal, leadership, project and management skills. Positive attitude, a desire to learn new technologies. Must be able to travel.

Want ads can be like ancient hieroglyphics -- very cryptic. Reading these physically small, yet largely intimidating ads is an art, and mastering it can keep you from wasting potential employers' time and your own. Although they offer different methods for decoding these ads, everyone from human resources managers to career counselors agrees: Don't be coy when it comes to responding.

"You don't need to have everything they say, because they are looking for the ideal person," says Leslie Armistead, information services manager at the Career Action Center, in Cupertino, Calif. "If you have two-thirds of what they are asking for, you've got a pretty good chance of making it past the first cut."

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(1) Education: The intimidation factor

Ultimately, employers want the best person for the job. Employers soliciting for a B.S. or M.S. in computer science would be very pleased if such a person applied. More important than a degree, however, is the capability to perform. If you don't have the exact education, don't immediately cross the ad off your list.

"You may have another degree where there could be some overlap," says Susan Keck-Truman, director of human resources at Nortel Networks, in San Jose, Calif. "Know where the overlap lies between disciplines and education systems."

Applying for a job when you don't meet the education requirements takes a little maneuvering. For example, if you see an ad like this one and don't have a bachelor's degree but have years of experience in the field, use a cover letter to explain.

Marty Nemko, a career counselor in Oakland, Calif., and the author of Cool Careers for Dummies, suggests sending a version of the following letter: "I suspect that it's going to be tempting to throw out this resume because I don't have a bachelor's degree. I made a conscious choice to do my learning in the real world. I've done things that I never could have done if I had been sitting in a class. I'm a go-getter, but now we've reached the moment of truth. Will you interview me?"

The government offices of Clark County, in Las Vegas, use an even exchange between related experience and required education. For example, if a job requires a bachelor's degree, four years' experience is an acceptable alternative. Kathleen Kirwin, a human resource analyst for Clark County who writes the ads, says if an exception to this exchange exists, it will be clearly stated in the ad.

(2) Experience: The numbers game

"There's years and then there's years," Nemko says.

The years of experience stated in want ads are somewhat arbitrary, and experts say that quality definitely comes before quantity. When she asks for three years of management experience, Keck-Truman says, she really is looking for three years of management expertise. Two years of intensive supervisory duties can give you more experience than 10 years of not-so-intensive work. With technical jobs, more years of experience aren't always better.

"We find that when we put too many years [in the ad], we don't get the kind of up-to-date managers that we want," Keck-Truman says.

Again, Nemko suggests clearing up the numbers conundrum with a deftly written cover letter. If you are responding to the above ad but do not have precisely five years of experience in management, explain that you possess five years' worth of experience. Bring your experience to life with an anecdote or two explaining a management problem you faced and how you resolved it.

(3) Hard skills

If you don't know what C++ or WAN/LAN means, don't apply for this job.

"If it's a technical position and they've got skill and competency requirements, you can't fake that," Armistead says. Placing a want ad is expensive; if a company spends valuable space describing specific skills, you had better have at least some of them. Weakness in one area is acceptable, but basic knowledge is expected. Most experts say that strength in two out of three is reasonable. "If there is one qualification you are lacking, it's worth applying; if it's more than one, don't waste your time," Nemko says. "The key is to apply to jobs where you don't have to fake it."

(4) Soft skills

Soft skills are trickier to quantify and can be more easily negotiable.

Extracting the kind of values and work ethic a company espouses by the soft skills that it stresses in its ad, such as travel and a desire to learn, can help you decide if you want to apply.

"Too often jobs are sitting in front of a terminal 8 hours a day," Nemko says. "This one has a human component as well."

Keck-Truman says the soft skills listed in this ad -- particularly leadership, project, and management skills -- are a sign that the company doesn't want a person to come in and learn things one by one, but wants a sophisticated manager who will inherit the duties of a predecessor.

"You must have some level of sophistication for this job," Keck-Truman says. "You've got to have a keen expertise -- not only on the technical side -- and must understand what people are doing."

Nora Isaacs is a free-lance writer in San Francisco.