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I really need a job - no big surprise; I'm not the only one. My knowledge is imperfect, though, meaning that either because of the lack of practice or because I wasn't even dealing with certain topics, I often afraid I wouldn't be able to fulfill tasks perfectly.

On the other hand, I'm quite interested in almost anything within the software industry, and I'm ready to learn new things that are necessary to fulfill my tasks.

Eventually, the reason I'm asking is that I often find job advertisements that make me interested but I worry that I wouldn't be able to perform well, because of the aforementioned lack of practice.

If I send my CV, can I expect that recruiters (or whoever checks my CV) consider the fact that I'm a beginner and judge me based on it? Or me being a beginner definitely means "no" for them?

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  • Just a note that recruiters work for the company, not you. They won't work hard to ensure you get accepted, but rather they'll see if they have anything that fits your resume. If not, they'll just take a pass on you.
    – Dan
    Jul 13, 2016 at 14:02
  • Do the job advertisements say something like "5 years experience in X", where X is one of the new things you've learned but have not yet had professional practice?
    – Brandin
    Jul 14, 2016 at 7:14
  • One thing you seem to miss/forget.... we all had to start somewhere! We all had to get a job with no experience or seniority. There are lots if internships/junior level roles out there: just avoid anything with "mid level" or "senior" in the title, and look for the "Junior" or "Entrant" roles
    – Jon Story
    Jul 14, 2016 at 15:16
  • I consider it a bad sign when a company does not hire entry-level talent. It tells me that their only plan for meeting needs for specific skills is to recruit people who already have those skills. This indicates that they are trying to get by with as little investment in their people as they can.
    – EvilSnack
    Jun 2, 2018 at 18:20

3 Answers 3

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There is never a downside to sending a resume for a job that interests you. That is not to say you should apply for jobs requiring 10 years of X skill when you have none, but don't be afraid to reach for something that you know but may not be proficient in. The important thing is to be clear and truthful on your resume and cover letter about what you know, and what you have done, and how you meet the job posting.

If you dont have enough proficiency in a skill they will either ignore your resume or bring you in for a interview and see if you are the kind of person they want to bring in on the team and help develop.

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  • Yeah this is the right answer. Although equally, while you shouldn't apply for jobs that require 10 years of experience when you have 1 year... you may still want to apply for jobs requiring 1-2 years of experience more than you have. Just don't hide your experience level, and you'll sometimes find that companies are hoping for an "ideal" candidate but will accept slightly less experience where no candidate with the full experience materialises.
    – Jon Story
    Jul 14, 2016 at 15:14
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It depends, but Yes, some of us do consider entry-level candidates.

It depends on what the company is looking for. If we need someone experienced to quickly bring things up to speed, sorry we will not consider you. But if we are simply not having enough manpower to work on certain tasks, then yes, you will be considered.

One philosophy of recruiting is, there is no set role / responsibility for the hired person. Sure we all have an expectation in mind, but it doesn't mean we will not consider alternatives. Instead of thinking "the new employee will do this and that", we look out for candidates that might help the company, then we evaluate in what areas he/she can help us in the current situation, based on the candidate. So in a way, we "design" a job post specifically for each candidate. If we can design one, great, we will hire. If we can't, sorry, there is no work here we can find that you would be helpful. We are looking for someone else.

Since you mentioned you are a beginner, one thing I would be looking at, if I were a recruiter, is whether you are self-motivated to learn. Specifically to the software industry, there are many ways you can learn, and being a good learner is key.

For example, you can read some tutorials online and try some self projects. Present your project at the interview, even if it is imperfect. "I tried to make it do A, B and C, but I only accomplished A and B". Or, you can explain how you accomplish something. "I read that A can be done by A1, A2 or A3. In the end, I chose the A3 method because it has ..." If I were the interviewer, I might design a hypothetical scenario based on your skills, then ask you how you would do it. If you can apply what you've learned to a new scenario, then great, you are a good learner and we can hire you.

The important point about company hiring entry-level candidates, is that they need to devote resources to train and supervise you. If you can convince them that you will not be a liability (the person who devoted time to supervise you will have less time to do his/her own tasks), such that the productivity of the entire team will be improved, then yes, you'll be good.

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First grab the opportunity, there are no opportunities which match your skills, environment and package that you expect.

If you are a starter be ready for that. From my experience this is my first job and I do have one and half year experience, I've passed their probation period and even promoted to a 'Software Engineer' from 'Associate Engineer'. But the environment is not changing at all. It's the company/corporate culture, they expect from you to work your reset of the live as an intern. That is why many people left the company after one or two years in their first job. I'm not the only one who left like this in my company and from my experience I also want to leave.

If you are a starter , it's the company policy. Because you are just an employee there not a director. Even they know that you will be leaving , they won't raise your salaries and benefits up. But this is a democratic country so you are free to leave when time comes, but never show it to them. Showing it does not increase your salary, but it just only a minus point for you.

About considering beginners. Companies have many reasons to consider beginners.

  1. Because you could be hired 1/2 of the salary of a senior engineer.

  2. You are willing to learn and from experience companies know that learning curve for a beginner is less compared to a senior.

  3. You are willing to learn any technology stack that they provide. For me now, even after only one year I was sticked into C/C++. This is happening normally, which is however a bad thing.

  4. You don't know much about company politics and your rights, so there are very less issues from you.

  5. They know that you won't be able to find another job at least for another three years, unless you are a real super-star person.

These are the reasons why they don't consider hiring a newbie.

  1. He need to learn , sometimes if he/she is not good he/she may take longer to learn. That's why they care about a first class degree. If you able to show them your "I can do it" attitude even without a first class degree, there are many chances that you would be in.

  2. Confidence, normally freshers have low confidence. They are experienced and if you have low confidence they could easily identify you. So be genital and develop your confidence in you. Your dress (not the dress code), how you organize your things ( files and bags ), you made it in time, etc etc all counts the confidence.

  3. Last thing is the lack of technological knowledge. However if you have enough time and confidence, from experience HR guys know this is not a big issue.

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