Junior Jobs & Absurd Requirements

Steven Kneiser
2-minute read

“I keep running into junior roles that require 2-3 years of experience and most of the times a relevant degree, and so far I’ve been ignoring them. Should I try applying to these positions or should I keep looking?”

“All advice would be appreciated since I’m sure everyone has seen them and gotten discouraged.”

Why do companies do this …advertise untouchable junior roles? Simple, they’re scared. They don’t have a good process. The tech industry is littered with these lost causes.

Don’t look away yet
This is our unique opportunity

If it were easy, everyone would do it

They don’t really know what they want.
They couldn’t notice a good developer
if you hacked their database
and replaced every record
with your résumé

If they’re daydreaming of a hero,
invest in a shiny suit of armor

This isn’t about deception
This is about listening to them
& the story playing in their head

You might think they’re using all their leverage to be picky, but the dirty secret is that they cannot wait to stop the messy process of sourcing new candidates. Your job (pun intended) is to do everything you can to reduce their uncertainty, not pile more on top of it.

Here’s your chance:

Be a pain-killer for their symptoms

Remember, you don’t have to walk in the [digital] front door like everyone else. Stop sending 100+ applications. What you need to do is go deep and invest the majority of your time talking to the companies that you understand or care about enough to justify the time & energy it requires to become their top-notch pain-killer.

Stop applying for “good enough” jobs
Apply for “good enough” companies

…with people you already engage with

Before I go, don’t forget to be abnormally transparent about what is well beyond what you don’t know (even if you feel like you “should by now”). Nothing to worry or freak out about here. Just be casual & forthcoming about it. Most importantly, be specific about what you’d immediately do next to fill that gap in your knowledge.

“In most of the interviews I sit in, people oversell themselves. I ask basic questions about Linux, JavaScript, or MySQL and you can see them trying to wing it instead of giving direct answers. Lack of knowledge is not a problem, it’s when the person claims they know everything and their code looks like garbage is the problem.”

If you’re really lucky,
they’ll let you show off your Google-fu™