His background is likely more than enough. In my personal experience, I've seen people land jobs they weren't at all competitive for by applying anyways, while

His background is likely more than enough. In my personal experience, I've seen people land jobs they weren't at all competitive for by applying anyways, while other people (such as myself in the past) decide not to apply for openings with the idea of preparing to become fully qualified first. In the longer-run, I've observed a few of the people who did apply did struggle greatly, and either had to find a new position, or lost interest in the new line of work they were trying. But others did a good enough job (after a rough start) to do well at their new position, which would then give them the work experience to easily be competitive for similar positions or even better opportunities for their career. So, in general, I've seen that it's a good idea for the applicant to apply, even if they aren't fully qualified. -- For Edelman specifically, he both competed in the olympics in his sport, and was a seven-time national champion in his country. He even has a detailed Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Edelman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Edelman That level of competitiveness in the sport takes a lot of persistence, discipline, and skill, so it's a fair basis for a resume—especially with an MBA from a recognizable university. His background as an Olympian and national athlete is a fair basis for his resume. But he also has a rigorous background in engineering. According to Wikipedia, he has a degree in mechanical engineering from MIT, and is potentially well-connected through his father (who also has a Wikipedia page), who is an engineering professor at MIT and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. In his case, I wonder if he would find success by talking with people he has worked with before (such as fellow athletes or sponsors), or people he's known from his experience at university. He likely also has a potentially strong professional network through his family. Perhaps he's only applying for a narrow range of opportunities in a specialized area. But then again, it does sound like he's applying cold for hundreds of positions. Another possibility is that some miscommunication occurred when he spoke to the journalist for his relatively minor part in the article.