You need to assume that all requirements are basically soft if you can persuade somebody that you can fill the role. Especially if you can explicitly match your

You need to assume that all requirements are basically soft if you can persuade somebody that you can fill the role. Especially if you can explicitly match your real world skills and experience to compensating for specific requirements. One requirement that I think is especially useless is "n years experience"... It means so little. I treat the requirements as conversation starters, not deal breakers. Disclaimer: I work in social services, not tech, and I've hired people mostly based on their performance in actual interviews and how they treat the folks they'll work with. If you think you are a great fit and can do the work, go sell it. Can't hurt.