Now is a good time to apply for IT jobs (even without the experience)
Have you ever been looking for an IT job, found one that looks perfect… only to see that you don’t have the required level of experience?
As a specialist IT recruitment company, we often find people in this position. But if this sounds like you, there’s some very good news:
There’s no need to be put off from applying if you don’t meet every “must have” criteria on a job description.
In fact, there are some very good reasons to think that an employer might still consider you. Especially at the moment.
Why you should still apply to IT jobs with less experience
1) Demand is currently outstripping supply
“There’s a skills shortage.” “It’s a candidate-driven market.” You’ll see these words written all over the job boards and websites of IT recruitment agencies all the time at the moment.
There’s a reason for that – it’s true. This means many companies are considering the benefits of hiring someone – possibly someone like you – who might not quite have the level of experience they’re looking for.
They might also be willing to be flexible about your hard skills if you can show you have other qualities that make you a strong candidate.
2) Growing recognition that soft skills should come first
Increasing numbers of organisations are realising that finding someone who is the right cultural fit for them is often better than finding someone with a precise set of qualifications, years of experience, or hard skills.
These organisations have noticed that the best results come from hiring people who fit in well with the rest of their team and the way they like to work.
That is, so long as the new hire wants to learn and receive training to gain those hard skills. That’s why this is something it’s always important for you to emphasise during the recruitment process.
3) On-the-job training is bigger than ever
This powerful trend of matching culture-suitable candidates with positions while allowing some flexibility in the hard skills and experience means more organisations than ever before are prioritising learning as you work.
Of course, most organisations have long offered career development programs and initiatives. It’s in their interests to have a highly skilled team, after all.
Today though, many businesses find that they can actually “create” a better team member in the long run by starting their training at an earlier stage in their career.
As someone thinking about applying for open machine learning, software engineer, or web developer jobs with less experience than asked for, that’s great news for you.
4) Many employers will be looking for other qualities
The net result of all of this is that many employers are looking for other qualities in their potential IT recruits instead of straight-up years of experience and mastery of certain programs or coding languages.
As someone trying to show that you have other strings to your bow that an employer might value, you might like to underline your:
- Teamwork and communication skills, including verbal, written, virtual, and physical
- Resilience and ability to stay strong in the face of setbacks
- Diversity of background or experience and what that brings to the table
- Creativity, new ideas, and approaches – often incredibly valuable to a business
- Commercial awareness or industry knowledge that outstrips your experience
Apply for IT jobs with less than the required skills
Of course, there could be some skills which are hard “musts” for this potential employer.
But it can often be worth enquiring with your recruiter about the possibility of applying for IT jobs even if you don’t quite meet every single one of the job description criteria.
Have you spotted an IT job you’d love to apply for but aren’t sure you match?
Let’s talk. Ernest Gordon is a specialist IT recruitment agency. We have access to exclusive job opportunities you won’t find elsewhere.
Set up a chat with one of our helpful advisors with zero commitment today.