Entry-level jobs should require fewer years of experience

As college seniors prepare to enter the “real world” post-graduation, they face immense levels of stress and anxiety. The unprecedented economic crisis we are confronting has pushed many organizations to cut jobs or boost qualifications for open positions. This new reality has increased the pressure and competitive nature of getting a good job right out of college. Given this situation, many recent college grads are either unemployed or accepting jobs that are not closely related to their major.

TalentWorks, a job-matching software firm, analyzed over 95,000 job postings and found that 61% of entry-level jobs require three or more years of experience. These jobs are often advertised for new graduates. This is ridiculous because most college graduates did not have the time to add that experience to their resume in their four years at college.

College graduates have worked extremely hard to prepare to enter their desired field of work. Just because they don’t have the right amount of experience by the time they graduate does not mean they won’t excel in a particular job. Many students have had multiple internships and jobs by the time they graduate. Unfortunately, those internships are usually no longer than a year, and those jobs have nothing to do with their major. With that said, even if graduates are confident they have gained the skills required for their desired position, they will likely be turned away for not having enough years of experience.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the number of graduates ages 22 to 27 who are either unemployed or working a job that does not require their education is over 40%. Evidently, years of experience should not be the primary indicator of whether a new graduate gets the job they applied for.

The barrier of experience is too high and should be lowered. It should not be so difficult for college graduates to enter their desired labor market right out of college. In fact, it has not always been as difficult as it is today. TalentWorks says that the experience required to get a job is increasing annually by 2.8%.

Students should try to get as much experience as possible throughout their college career to gain the skills their desired job requires, but entry-level jobs should only require between one and two years of experience. That would allow new graduates to feel prepared and excited to enter their desired labor market rather than stressed and anxious.

By Jensen Bell

Jensen studies Journalism with an emphasis in Public Relations at San Diego State University. She is currently a Content Editor intern at Amobee, a leading advertising platform. After graduating in May 2021, she aspires to work for one of her favorite lifestyle or beauty brands and work her way up to the brand manager position.