The Myth of the Entry Level Job

Oh, that ever elusive thing…the entry level job. Everyone talks about them, but no one seems to have one!

In all my years as a recruiter, it was in the top three questions new grads would ask me. Virtually everyone getting out of college today wants that entry level job.

The problem is, they don’t really exist. At least not in the way that you’re sold in school or the media.

Large companies don’t have entry level jobs in sexy careers.

And the jobs that are entry level, truly no experience needed, are mostly manual labor roles such as warehouse work, or government jobs where you have to take an exam for it.

In certain fields you can get a job right out of college: medical, social work, IT. But this blog is written for all of those Psych majors, all those Marketing and P.R. majors, all the Communications Studies students out there. Where are those entry level jobs!

Ok. Take a deep breath. This is going to be a pretty long article but by the end of it, I promise, you’re going to learn how exactly to get a job if you’ve got no experience and figure out how to land what is essentially “your entry level” job.

I consider this a companion piece to the article I wrote prior that covered how to get a job with no experience.

2 Years Experience Needed….But How!

Alright, who hasn’t seen that ridiculous requirement on an entry level job posting? Raise your hand if you shake your head because it makes no sense.

Well, you’re not alone. The people who graduate from college every year encounter the same thing.

You would think that since the people who write these ads and post them online at some point had to face the same daunting job search, they would be more compassionate. But they’re not.

Part of the problem is that once someone’s gotten their job, they seem to forget how hard it was in the first place to land that job.

Do you Need Experience For an Entry Level Job

You don’t need experience, but the person hiring for the role doesn’t care. In reality, anyone who has gone to college, a good college mind you, should be able to handle most entry level roles.

However, employers want proof. Part of that is because employers can no longer trust that a simple college degree means that you are capable of work.

And it’s been this way for a while. When I entered recruiting, that was the way it was. People who went to legit colleges even had trouble getting entry level jobs if they didn’t have experience.

It’s just getting worse for new graduates. Years ago, colleges were more strict with who they admitted. Now, anyone can go to college as long as they are able to qualify for a loan. Many colleges are little more than rubber stamp businesses and employers know this.

Beyond that, there is the issue where college students simply don’t have the patience or work ethic to be a good employee.

After years of talking to hiring managers I’ve heard the same thing over and over: college students are lazy, entitled, and not capable of handling professional work.

Obviously that’s a gross overstatement! But, there is some truth to it. There are a lot of college students who graduate from college and have simply no idea of how to work in a professional office.

Beyond that, there are other issues such as the general consensus that college students are all entitled. They not only expect to be given a great entry level job just because they have a degree, but they also want a huge salary!

So, the moral of the story is that while you don’t need experience for an entry level job in all practical matters…you do need it because no one will hire you on the “promise” that you are someone who can work.

It’s Who You Know!

The big secret that most people know is that it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.

Most people who get those “entry level jobs” are people who are friends or family members of someone who works at the company.

Call it nepotism. Call it cronyism. Whatever you want to call it, it’s the way business works. If you’re graduating from college and don’t have any connections, then realize that you’re struggling an uphill battle.

Many of your classmates, friends, and even some family members will have an “in” somewhere. And this is how they will get their job.

But don’t stress it. It sucks, and it’s unfair. But there’s nothing you can do so why stress it. Do yourself a favor and see if there are any connections that you can take advantage of. Do you have any alumni connections that you could use?

Does your family know anyone who works in the hiring department of a big company? A small company?

It’s not that rare. If you have people in your family who network, then they probably have already told you how it works. But if you’re family are the type who just go in and do their job and go home, then you might not have access to networkers.

That’s fine. There are ways around it. Plus, when you get a job through networking, it’s expected that you are a bit of a brown noser to the people who got you the job. They’ll always hold it over you and you really can’t say you got the job on your own merit.

I’m always a fan of getting a job on your own merits. People who have family who get them a job tend to be low performing people anyway!

Internships and Volunteer Work: Pad That Resume

One really excellent way to get experience, without having to get a “job” is to land an internship. These are vital for padding a resume and making you someone who is hirable upon graduation.

I can’t tell you how important it is to get a good internship on your resume. If you don’t have an internship on your resume upon graduating from college, then you’re going to be lagging seriously behind the rest of the class.

Internships are so important for getting an entry level job that I’m going to cover this in a separate article elsewhere. It’s on my to do list, I swear!

The other way you can get experience without having to have an actual job is to volunteer. This is often used in combination with an internship, but if you don’t have the access to an internship, then volunteering at various organizations can be helpful.

Remember, don’t count on your college or university job counselors to handle this for you. Most of them are only concerned with one thing: protecting their own job.

Some colleges will have helpful career guidance centers where you can get contacts that will help you with landing an internship, but in many cases you will have to check out the normal sources: handshake, LinkedIn, and even job posting sites like Indeed.

That’s why volunteering is a nice work around for the internship. They are not as cut throat and competitive and you are likely to be able to find them without as much difficulty.

Schools Don’t Prepare You

The big secret that many college students don’t know is that schools don’t prepare you for getting an entry level job.

Unless you’re working in a trade or social service sector, then you’re going to have to handle the process yourself.

People who work in social services are not getting classic college degrees. Degrees in social work, or social welfare studies will guarantee a job at a government funded non-profit. And anyone who goes to nursing school or any other school for medica personal such as nurses will have an easy time getting work.

But if you’re studying Communications, Psychology, Public Relations, Marketing, English, or even dry and common degrees such as Business Administration, then you’re going to run into trouble.

You will need an internship in order to get an entry level job upon graduation. If you don’t have that on your resume, then good luck.

Guidance Counselors Don’t Know Sh$!T

Unless your guidance counselor has worked as a recruiter or working in corporate as talent acquisition, they have no clue what they’re talking about.

Here’s the thing, administrative workers who are in academic settings have no experience or understanding of the complexity of the real job market.

Most of the people who work in colleges in an administrative function are little more than government type employees. They do not understand how to get work in the private sector.

There is a huge difference between the college system and the for profit white collar world.

Now, if your goal is to get a government job, or a job at a non-profit, then this is not a big point to learn.

Social workers, career counselors, nurses, and government employees have a much different career track than professionals. Your performance and productivity is less important in government and non-profit sectors. It’s more about passing exams, having certifications, and being a good hire.

However, if you are looking for a job in corporate America, in a professional setting, then you should not rely solely on what your college career center tells you.

At best, they will be mildly helpful with listing of jobs to apply for. At worst, they will be non-existent and not offer any assistance to you.

Therefore I would caution that you be very careful when listening to guidance counselors or career counselors or whatever they happen to be called at your school.

Why Do Entry Level Jobs Require So Much Experience

The simple reason is that companies can’t trust that you know what you’re doing. They also don’t trust that you have work ethic. There is a well earned bias against college students in that they simply don’t have the work ethic that is required in a professional office.

What I’ve been told more than a few times is that new grads simply don’t have work ethic. They are not used to getting up early in the morning, they do not want to follow rules, and most telling is that they expect to have a senior title, huge salary, and basically do busywork.

Most employers do not want to hire people right out of college because colleges don’t prepare people for work. Work in most corporate companies involves filing, doing data entry, using excel to track prices, using salesforce and lots of other things that you’re not necessarily going to have exposure to in college.

With all of the reports of grade inflation, teachers passing kids for social reasons, and all around lax standards in the colleges currently, it’s generally understood that the average college graduate is not going to be prepared in the same way that they used to.

Can Recruiters Help You Get Your Foot In The Door?

So, obvious question: can I help you get an entry level job? Can any recruiter help?

Well, sometimes. It all depends upon the clients that the recruiting agency has and the type of jobs that are available.

Also, it really does depend upon your resume.

If you went to a good school, and have a decent list of internships and volunteering on your CV then yeah, you might be able to land an entry level role.

But here’s the thing to remember. Big companies don’t have to use recruiting agencies and recruiters to hire for entry level roles. Why? Because they are so easy to fill as long as you spend the time reviewing resumes and interviewing people.

If you’re looking at large companies who has thier own internal recruiting firm, then you might want to apply directly.

Larger companies that have in-house recruiters who work full time staffing the companies needs can fill these roles unless they are terrible at their job.

It’s the smaller companies that tend to use recruiting firms and temp agencies to fill entry level roles. Why? Because they don’t have full time and large internal talent acquisition firms that are dedicated to solving these issues.

What I would suggest is that you be open to a variety of jobs. Now, you don’t have to take short term temp assignments as these normally don’t turn into anything. But you should be open to interviewing for anything that has the possibility of being a full time role. Even if the salary isn’t to your liking, it’s worth interviewing to see if the company might be somewhere you could see yourself rising up the ranks in.

And don’t be upset if a recruiter doesn’t respond to you. There are lots of reasons that you don’t hear back from a recruiter. Your objective sould be to find a job, not worry about why a recruiter won’t talk to you.