What does "previous experience necessary" REALLY mean?

stingeylass

I recently graduated and am looking for a job, but i've found that a lot of job adverts say things like "MUST have previous experience" or "previous experience essential", and as i'm fresh out of education my work experience is pretty limited.
When I see job adverts asking for previous experience, It puts me off applying because if think I don't stand a chance, but on the other hand if I didn't apply for these jobs then there wouldn't be much left that I could apply for. Am I wasting my time applying for a job that asks for experience I don't have?
It's such a catch 22 situation, to get a job you need experience, but to get experience you need to get a job!

I've been reading this forum a lot and have found different opinions about this, i've seen posts from people saying that if you don't have the experience or qualifications an employer asks for then it is a waste of your time and theirs to apply.
But, i've also read posts from people who say that if you think you could do a job then you should apply anyway, even if you don't have experience, and that when employers ask for specific experience its sometimes just a way to weed out applicants who really want the job and apply anyway from those who would apply for anything.

So i'm a bit confused, when a job advert states that applicants must have previous experience do they REALLY mean that? Or does it depend on the employer/job?
And even if an employer would potentially employ people who don't have previous experience, surely a candidate who DOES have experience would be chosen over someone who doesn't?

jamespir

if they say expereience essential it means its essential if it says experience prefered it means you cna apply but they would like someone with experience

i have blagged my way into a job where they asked for experience and i didnt have it (i quickly revivsed what i needed to know) but be careful some employers arent stupid

ztan

Job ads pretty much say what they mean these days. I was unemployed for 6 months last year, and employers will make it clear what they want and will ignore other applications.

There are too many people out there looking for jobs right now, so they will narrow it down in one fell swoop. I for example was cut out of applying for mountains of jobs because a "degree level education" was required. I do not have that, but plenty of people looking for a job will.

In rare occassions, you may be able to talk yourself up... but that is easier when you have experience and limited qualifications, as opposed to limited experience.

If it says experience necessary, and you have some kind of experience... then talk up your skills and experience. If it says ESSENTIAL or asks for a certain number of years experience... then don't even bother. Your C.V will get binned before they've even looked at what qualifications you've got.

Duncombe

stingeylass wrote: »

as i'm fresh out of education my work experience is pretty limited.

Thats not a reason to have zero work experience. I'd worked in numerous part time jobs (some quite important ones) for 6 years by the time I finished my degree...and i'd gone straight from GCSE-ALevel-Degree.

Anyway, nothing you can do about that now. But my point is, dont use that as a reason for not having any experience, especially with a potential employer.

What sort of jobs are you looking at? Graduate or anything you can get? Coffee shops, for example, often say "experience essential" because they don't want to have to train some to be a barista. Similarly, alot of grad jobs want someone with a specific degree (engineering for example) because they expect you to have a working knowledge of that topic in general.

As others have said, it is possible to use other 'life experiences' you have and encorporate them into what the employer is asking for. However, if it is something specific (like the coffee shop example), unless you know how to do everything they would ask you to, im not sure i'd waste my time applying.

Good luck in your job hunt.

fiscalfreckles

I think it is what employers say when they don't want to spend a lot of time training somebody up - they want somebody who can just come in & get started without tying up other staff too much showing them what to do or having to go on training courses etc.
I don't know what sort of jobs you are applying for, and obviously everyone needs a bit of basic instruction, but in some cases confidence & the ability to take initiative would compensate for lack of actual experience. I'd assume that is the subtext of asking for experience, and only you know if you could walk in & do the job on day one.
You could try explaining your lack of actual experience by saying that you have the relevant skills needed, as demonstrated in your studies, leisure interests or voluntary work, work experience etc?
Good Luck.

Oldernotwiser

If you're finding that jobs are asking for experience, I hope that you're doing your best to get some (on a voluntary basis ) whilst you are job hunting.

wuckfit

I'd echo what Oldernotwiser has said. a bit of voluntary work will add something interesting to your CV, show that you're not workshy, give you some experience and hopefully a decent reference into the bargain

heretolearn_2

When we say this we specify exactly what experience is needed, so in a whole job ad, maybe we'll say 'experience of X essential', and in that case, we really mean it because it'll be one of the more technical/complicated elements of the role and we don't want to train a beginner. It doesn't apply to the whole role though. If this is what you are seeing, I think you are wasting your time applying if you don't have that experience.

If it just says 'must have experience' without being specific, I think it's just a sneaky way of keeping younger people out.

But it's worth looking at yourself to see if there is a related experience/transferrable skills that would be appropriate for what they are asking for. i.e. customer service experience - have you worked in a bar, shop, office reception, in a voluntary role at uni that uses those skills (greeting/answering queries/making phone calls) and so on.

santacruz_2

Experience. Reminds me of some idiot employers who wrote an ad asking for 'at least 5 years experience with Windows 7'......

Duncombe

santacruz wrote: »

Experience. Reminds me of some idiot employers who wrote an ad asking for 'at least 5 years experience with Windows 7'......

Perhaps they were trying to weed out the idiot applicants...

stingeylass

Thanks for all the replies. I am doing voluntary work and have had part time jobs, but i' wondering if say I apply for a job in a shop that asks for previous retail experience, and then the employer looks at my cv and sees that my previous retail experience was when I was 15, will they even take that seriously?
My more recent jobs have been in call centres, but there isn't much call centre work in my area right now (and I don't really want to go back to that anyway). Could I apply for admin jobs that ask for experience, on the basis that working in a call centre is technically working in an office environment, and that doing my degree taught me computer skills etc?