Oct 13, 2026 ·
The job ad asking for two years of experience for a junior role
Imagine the scene. You've just finished your degree or training, and you open a job portal. The first vacancy that interests you says: "Junior Assistant. Requirements: Bachelor's degree and 2 years of experience in the field." The second: "Intern. Minimum 1 year of experience." The third: "Immediate start. Candidate with proven experience."
The question arises naturally, and it's legitimate: "How can I get experience if no one gives me the first opportunity?"
I've read it, heard it, and answered it hundreds of times over more than 30 years of recruitment. And I must start by saying two things that are rarely said clearly.
The first: your frustration is justified, but companies' behavior is not irrational. It has economic and psychological logic, and understanding that logic is the first step to circumventing it.
The second: the market is not closed to newcomers. It is closed to newcomers who present themselves as newcomers. Those who present themselves as early-career professionals, with evidence, projects, and a strategy, manage to get in. I see it every year.
In this article, I will guide you through four stages:
- Understand the paradox and the real reasons why companies prefer those who already have experience;
- Realize what recruiters value in a candidate without experience;
- Apply five practical strategies: redefine experience, build an effective newcomer's resume, generate quick proof, apply intelligently, and respond well in interviews;
- Execute a 90-day plan, with concrete steps.
There are no magic shortcuts. There is, however, a method, and those who apply it with discipline usually find the door. Let's start by understanding what keeps it closed.
The paradox: experience is requested from those who haven't had a chance to get it
The paradox is well-known: to get the first job, experience is required; to get experience, you need the first job. Those who have just entered the market feel it as a structural injustice, and in part, it is.
However, it is important to distinguish three realities that are often confused:
- Rigid requirement. The company only accepts those with experience (e.g., due to legal, client, or regulatory demands). Consequence for you: it's rarely worth insisting, and it's better to look for alternatives;
- Reference requirement. The company describes the ideal candidate but accepts similar profiles. Consequence for you: it's possible to compete, with evidence and strategy;
- Volume filter. With hundreds of applications, experience is used as a criterion to reduce the pile. Consequence for you: you can overcome it if you are seen by a person, and not just by a filter.
Most job ads fall into the last two categories. In many of them, "2 years of experience" is a preference, not an absolute condition. A piece of advice I often give: if you meet a substantial part of the requirements and can demonstrate it, apply, and let the recruiter decide.
A point of honesty
I won't promise that experience doesn't count. It counts, a lot. The goal of this article is not to pretend that the market doesn't value it, but to show how to reduce the gap between what you have and what the company fears you don't have. This gap is smaller than it seems, and it's possible to shorten it with targeted work.
Why companies prefer experienced candidates: the real reasons
The reasons are less about "prejudice against newcomers" than risk management. A recruiter is accountable to their manager for the quality of each hire. Hiring poorly costs time, money, and credibility. Experience functions, for them, as a safety signal.
These are the main reasons, and for each, what a newcomer can do:
- Less time to become productive. The recruiter thinks: "Someone with experience arrives and starts. A newcomer needs months of integration." How a newcomer can counter: show that you learn quickly and already have applicable skills from day one;
- Lower training cost. "Training someone costs the time of those who already have their own work." Show initiative to self-train and knowledge of the job's tools;
- Proof of capability. "Someone who has done it before can probably repeat it." Present concrete results in projects, internships, volunteering, or jobs;
- Knowledge of the professional environment. "Someone who has worked knows how to deal with deadlines, hierarchies, teams." Show real situations of responsibility, deadlines, and teamwork;
- Lower risk of quitting. "A newcomer might realize, after two months, that the field isn't for them." Demonstrate sustained interest and realistic knowledge of the role;
- Verifiable references. "It's easier to confirm what they did with former bosses." Gather recommendations from professors, mentors, volunteer coordinators, or clients;
- Less supervision needed. "The team doesn't have time for close monitoring." Show autonomy and the ability to ask for help objectively;
- Pressure for immediate results. "This vacancy is urgent. I can't wait for the learning curve." Apply for entry-level roles where a learning curve is expected.
What this reveals
None of these reasons say that a newcomer is incapable. All of them say that the perceived risk is greater. And perceived risk is reduced with evidence. This is the central idea of the entire article:
You don't need years of experience. You need to give the recruiter enough proof to make hiring you seem like a safe decision.
The view from the other side of the table
For a recruiter, experience is a shortcut to answering a difficult question: "Will this person succeed here?" When there's no experience, another shortcut is sought: projects, results, recommendations, demonstrated motivation, mastery of tools, ability to learn. Whoever provides these shortcuts reduces the advantage of those who already have experience.
What recruiters value in a newcomer
When there is no professional history, the evaluation shifts from past performance to potential. And potential, contrary to what is often thought, is not a vague impression: it is assessed with concrete signals.
The five signs of potential
- Ability to learn quickly. Completed courses, self-acquired skills, visible evolution over time;
- Initiative. Did you do something beyond what was asked? Created a project, organized an activity, sought an opportunity?
- Responsibility. Met deadlines, completed what you started, committed to others?
- Communication. Do your resume, message, and way of speaking reveal clarity and care?
- Authentic motivation. Do you know the field, the role, and the company? Does your choice seem well-thought-out?
Each of these signals can be demonstrated without formal employment. And this is where a newcomer can compete.
What recruiters seek to avoid
On the other side, there are very concrete fears that should be anticipated and dispelled:
- That the person quits early or changes their mind;
- That they need too much supervision;
- That they have unrealistic expectations (salary, position, progression pace);
- That they don't know how to communicate in a professional environment;
- That they have a poorly maintained image (disorganized resume, errors, inappropriate social media).
A newcomer who anticipates these fears and responds to them with facts immediately stands out from the majority.
An advantage many forget
Newcomers also have real advantages: energy, openness to learning, fresh thinking, mastery of recent digital tools, lower hiring cost, and flexibility to be shaped to the company's culture. Many organizations explicitly need and seek this profile in trainee programs, internships, and entry-level roles. The right strategy is to present these, without exaggeration, as part of your value proposition.
Strategy 1: Redefine "experience" and inventory your evidence
The first move is conceptual and decisive: stop thinking that experience is synonymous with employment. For an attentive recruiter, experience is any situation where a person applied skills, took responsibility, and produced a result.
What counts as evidence
- Academic training and projects (final paper, group project, case study, presentation): demonstrate applied knowledge, method, and communication;
- Internships (curricular or voluntary, even short ones): show contact with the professional environment;
- Volunteering (associations, NGOs, churches, community projects): demonstrates responsibility, teamwork, and initiative;
- Informal or family work (supporting a family business, selling products, services to acquaintances): demonstrates customer service, management, and real results;
- Freelance and personal projects (design, translation, programming, photography, writing, tutoring): demonstrate autonomy, real clients, and deliverables;
- Leadership and activities (class representative, team captain, event organization): demonstrate leadership and people coordination;
- Complementary training (recognized courses, certifications, workshops): shows commitment to learning;
- Public content (articles, professional publications, online portfolio): shows visible knowledge and your own voice.
The inventory I recommend
Instead of focusing on what you don't have, write down everything you've done in each of these categories in the last three to four years. For each item, answer four questions:
- What exactly did I do? (your action, not the team's);
- What skills did I use? (tools, methods, communication);
- What result did I achieve? (a number, feedback, a deliverable, recognition);
- What proof exists? (a document, a link, a person who can confirm).
This inventory is the raw material for everything that follows: resume, professional profile, messages, and interviews. Almost always, those who do it are surprised by the amount of evidence they already had.
Strategy 2: A convincing newcomer's resume
A resume for someone starting out should not look like an experienced professional's resume "reduced." It should be a document designed to showcase potential and evidence. Four principles guide this design.
1. Section order favors strengths
- Header and contact information. Clear identification, professional email, and LinkedIn;
- Professional summary. Positioning in 3 to 4 lines, with target role and one piece of evidence;