Defining "Entry Level" (A Rant)

I'm posting this in the hopes that it will get to the hiring managers and recruiters who claim that they will "accept" entry-level candidates, but reject them, out of hand, when they dare to apply to those so-called "entry-level" positions.

First a definition: perhaps I'm "old school" in my thinking, but where I come from, "Entry-Level" means that a candidate possesses the necessary skills, however, he/she doesn't yet have enough practical work experience. In other words, a person who likely has academic experience in the job their applying for, but 0 to perhaps 1 year of "real work" experience. Hence the term ENTRY LEVEL - the candidate seeks to ENTER into the job and GAIN the experience.

That said, I have found myself on the receiving end of the "Your resume looks good, but you don't have enough experience as a <insert career here>" speech for EVERY "entry level" position I've applied for. Did I miss something??? Isn't that the point??? That IS what it means to be "ENTRY level"!

Personally, I would advise those who are seeking to hire new candidates to change the wording of their open positions to read as "intermediate" or "mid-level" if they are indeed seeking anyone with 3 or more years of experience. If hiring mangers are going to advertise for "ENTRY level" candidates, then they shouldn't be surprised when they're inundated with "recent grads" or people, seeking to change careers.


One final note: don't be so quick to reject those recent grads and people seeking to change careers, when we DO apply for those "entry level" positions; because we're eager to apply ourselves, the shot you give us, might be JUST the opportunity to make your company grow....