I was intrigued by an article by Eric Westcott in LinkedIn (Source) and would like you to share your opinion on this issue.
To keep it short: Companies advertise entry-level positions in web development, but still require 3 years of experience. What is the option for recent college graduates in this case?
The author is concerned that if you are applying to an entry-level position, you are not supposed to have any experience. On the other hand, if you have 3 years under your belt, you would not apply to an entry-level, but to a junior position. So, there seems to be an endless loop for those, who just graduated from, say, a college and are looking for an entry-level job (obviously, they can't secure a 3-years experience requirement). I'm concerned, because in a close future, I'll be facing this problem in the 'real world'.
My first reaction and reply to this article was like this:
When I see such a requirement (3 years of experience), I tend to think that employer is focusing not on coding experience itself, but in any relevant experience (communication, meeting deadlines, handling emails, working under pressure or being able to be part of a team). I mean, by this 3-years experience, company is trying to convey, that they do not hire a recent graduate, but they need a person with a working conditions experience.
Am I wrong? What do you think?
Top comments (2)
I never thought about it like this! But it seems to make sense. However I feel like a laughing stock when I submit a resume without any real world coding experience. In my area there isn't really any opportunities for entry level and I feel stuck in a rut.
I for one agree, job requirements are usually less "requirements" and more like guidelines. Reading this I'm reminded of a /r/programmerhumor post which showed a job posting for a senior iOS dev position which wanted 7+ years experience in Swift. Swift was 5 years old at that time. Lots of those requirements are things the employer wants, a good number of them they'll comprimise on.