If you come into the interview and say "I am a kernal developer but I want to work on mobile" and you show us a working mobile app you developed on your own, we would consider it. If you come in and say "I am a kernal developer and I want you to take a chance and pay for me to get up to speed on mobile development" that is a harder sell. If you ran a business, would you choose that person or the person who comes in with actual mobile experience and hits the ground running. I sense a lot of hostility in this thread from people who have never been on the other side of the desk. Put yourself in the shoes of someone who interviews a ton of people, and where hiring the wrong person is much worse then not hiring the right person.