![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/startingcareer-applylevel.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThere\u2019s a common problem I hear in the IT employment sector from entry-level applicants and raw graduates alike \u2013 employers want a certain level of knowledge or experience that can only be gained by actually doing the role in question. How do you get the experience in the first place if no one is willing to drop their entry requirements?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an issue I can see from both sides. As Head of Recruitment at Heart Internet, it\u2019s my job to find the best matched applicant for whichever role I need to recruit. And as an SME, we, and thousands of other companies like Heart Internet, are in a battle for talent, fighting it out every day to make our position attractive to our ideal demographic.<\/p>\n
We sell you the technology, culture, environment, and products that you\u2019ll be a key part of producing, and, in return, we ask for applicants who have the expertise to take our business to the next level.<\/p>\n
So how does an entry-level person get up to this standard without a company willing to take a chance? There\u2019s no simple answer, unfortunately, but there are a few tried and tested methods which you can use to separate yourself from the crowd. Here are my top tips:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This sounds like common sense, but you\u2019d be surprised how often recruiters get CVs from junior developers or fresh graduates for roles like Group Head of Software Development \u2013 something that requires at least five years of team management experience.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s nothing wrong with aiming high, but remember \u2013 once you\u2019ve applied for a position at that company, you will be known to them. Frequently applying for roles way above your knowledge and experience level will tell the recruiter or hiring manager that you might not have a strong grasp of the IT marketplace, and lack the fundamentals key for any business.<\/p>\n
![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/startingcareer-portfolio.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
I frequently bang the drum about how anyone wishing to advance their IT career needs a professional and well-maintained portfolio. If your CV is low on detail due to not having professional experience, you need to make this up with your \u201cextra-curricular\u201d activities.<\/p>\n
These come in many forms, and I\u2019ve seen some fantastic examples of work from developers, designers, system administrators, and copywriters that show off what every manager is looking for \u2013 passion and talent.<\/p>\n
The talent is the easy part, but the passion is what we all look for. If you\u2019ve designed anything, built anything, written anything, or created anything \u2013 shout about it! Make it clear that this piece of work is different to everything else out there, or, if it isn\u2019t, show how it advances current technologies.<\/p>\n
Taking something good and making it great is what we do in IT. And if you\u2019ve done it, you need to show it.<\/p>\n
![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/startingcareer-skills.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Building up a Skills ISA \u2013 the skills that you keep in your back pocket and pull out when needed \u2013 are extremely important at the beginning of your career.<\/p>\n
Take the First Line Support roles here at Heart Internet. The vast majority of people in this team all have aspirations to grow their careers. They\u2019re all really bright and they know that to get where they want to be in 1-3 years they need to bulk up their skill set and add to their Skills ISA.<\/p>\n
When we ask them at interviews \u201cWhat do you want to get out of this role?\u201d 90% of them say \u201cExperience.\u201d And this is the right answer.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t be afraid to ask \u201cWhat will I learn in this role?\u201d or \u201cHow can I improve my experience here?\u201d If a company can\u2019t invest in you and provide you with an opportunity to increase you skills, do you want to invest your time with them?<\/p>\n
It might not be the most exciting role, and it probably won\u2019t pay for the latest and greatest gadgets, but speak to most CTOs or Directors about their career path, and they\u2019ll tell you they all started in an entry-level role that they took to add useful, credible, and powerful experience and knowledge.<\/p>\n
![\"Man](\"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/startingcareer-interesting.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve interviewed hundreds \u2013 if not thousands \u2013 of people during my career, and I can honestly say that I only genuinely remember a handful of these people with vivid clarity. And the reason is that they were very interested in what we had to say, and they were interesting to talk to.<\/p>\n
Imagine recruitment as a very long process of speed dating. The recruiter knows the team they\u2019re hiring for, they know the manager, and they know the company. But they don\u2019t know you \u2013 you are the one unknown quality in this process.<\/p>\n
Should you be humble? Confident? Bubbly? Reserved? Some combination thereof? All at once?<\/p>\n
Knowledge is power. Research is king. Preparation is the golden ticket. But don\u2019t just recite the text from the first page of the company website \u2013 if you\u2019re talking to HR or Marketing, then they wrote it, and they\u2019ll know. Do your homework \u2013 find things that aren\u2019t on their website, such as customer reviews, interviews that aren\u2019t in the corporate PR section, competitor analysis, and similar. No one likes a sycophant, so dishing out compliments that have no foundation only serves to distance you.<\/p>\n
And try to understand their culture. Follow them on Twitter for a week ahead of your interview. Check their Facebook page. If it\u2019s a local business, ask around and see if anyone you know might have worked there or have heard about it. This gives you an understanding of not only what the company wants from you, but tells you what you want from the company.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
With these tips, you can get that entry-level job that\u2019s your first rung on the ladder. Good luck!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
How does an entry-level person get up to the standard needed without a company willing to take a chance? Here are a few tried and tested methods to separate yourself from the crowd.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11744,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11737","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-heart-internet"},"yoast_head":"\n