Episode: 472

Episode Title: No Experience, No Problem

Why do companies require years of experience for entry-level jobs? Short answer: they’re lazy. Longer answer: coming up next on The Perna Syndicate.

Ep 472 show:

You’re now in The Perna Syndicate—welcome! Have you ever seen the memes on social media making fun of employers requiring 3 to 5 years of experience for entry-level roles? I’m sorry, but companies that do that deserve the jokes. Doesn’t work experience contradict the very definition of “entry level”?

Many young jobseekers get discouraged when every job they’re interested in requires years of experience that they haven’t yet had the chance to acquire. It’s a catch-22—and nobody wins. 

What’s more, this kind of requirement is just plain lazy. It’s like the company is saying: “We don’t want to invest in you or your growth. Just put everything you’ve learned elsewhere at our disposal so we can give you the bare minimum of attention.” It’s just not a good look!

What would happen if companies instead took a more proactive approach with the first-time jobseekers knocking on their door and said, ‘No experience, no problem: we’ll train you’? And then, actually invested in those young workers so that they could become the superstar employees the organization needs?

Companies have got to rethink why they require experience, especially for entry-level jobs—or their hiring will just fall further behind. No experience should be no problem in today’s hot labor market. 

Tomorrow: one of my biggest pet peeves is when companies require college degrees for roles that don’t really need it. Why, oh why do they do this? Let’s figure it out on the next episode of The Perna Syndicate. See you then!