- A candidate was rejected from an entry-level job for lacking 3-5 years of experience
- The job was advertised as a trainee role in low-voltage cabling for high school graduates
- The applicant had software engineering experience but wanted to switch to hardware
A job candidate has gone viral after revealing that they were rejected from an entry-level job for not having three to five years of experience. In a social media post, the applicant detailed that they had previously worked as a software engineer but wanted to pivot to hardware and decided to apply for an entry-level job to get their foot in the door.
The former techie stated that the company advertised the role as a trainee position in low-voltage cabling for high school graduates.
"I previously worked as a software engineer (SWE) and have seen my friends find success switching to hardware. To get my foot in the door, I applied to an entry-level network/cabling position to get experience for future positions," the applicant said.
Describing that they were going 'crazy,' the applicant said they managed to fare well during the interview, even earning praise from the recruiter who eventually rejected them for lack of 'labour experience'.
"During the interview, they closed off with saying I'm a perfect fit, but I needed more labour experience. I asked how much experience is needed for an entry-level job that advertises training? 3-5 years," they added.
Social Media Reactions
As the post gained traction, social media users highlighted that the job market was in bad shape and entry-level positions had lost their meaning.
"It's tough out here lol. I got rejected from a shelf packing job in a grocery store with two law degrees lol," said one user while another added: "Yeah, entry-level has lost all the meaning."
A third commented: "I just got rejected for not having enough years of experience. The job description listed three years minimum; I have eight years, and it's the exact same field of work. Applicant standards are so high they expect us to be inter-dimensional, Schrodinger beings that have too much and not enough experience at the same time lmao."
A fourth said: "This may not apply in your case but my company lists 3-5yrs experience on all our entry level positions so we have an easy out when a candidate really isn't a good fit. It's easier and more polite to say 'sorry, you don't have the experience we're looking for' than it is to get into other details."
