It seems no matter the industry, most jobs advertised as “entry-level” require anywhere from one to three years of experience. What can someone interested in a real entry level position (meaning no professional experience in a particular field) do? Should they send a resume, even if they don’t meet all of the qualifications called for in a job listing?
Larry Chiagouris, Ph.D., a professor of marketing in Pace University’s Lubin School of Business, hired hundreds of professionals during the years he worked in industry. Today, he teaches college students how to position themselves to get a job — many of them minority students. This is what he tells his current students and recent graduates alike:
“Employers today consider a variety of experiences beyond full-time employment as relevant given the changes in the economy and in the educational system. They ask for experience because they want to know that an applicant has at least done something professional with his or her life before applying for a job,” he says.
“The answer to these ads is to leverage your internships, part-time jobs, volunteer work and, very importantly, class projects, which often have a professional focus. My advice is to place this in a section of the resume that is titled ‘Relevant Experience.’ Taken together, these experiences usually exceed the one-year requirement and often meet or exceed the three years requirement.”
(SOURCE: TCA)
(Article written by Kathleen Furore)
