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It means "entry level" at THEIR company. You can't just show up with no job skills or formal training that can be adapted to their processes. The job is for the first rung of their ladder.
But that is assuming it can be adapted that's the problem.
When tech companies made agreements to to poach each others employees years ago it meant experience was invalidated.
Shouldn't an employee have the right to know if such a deal has been made?
The other issue is it over simplifies the argument on qualifications if they do not cross references resumes with current employees.
If you hire people that have experience and all of a sudden you have people that had a past with their now current coworkers that can be an issue. But of course you might not be able to get specifics because in the private sector employers tend to not provide that much in the way of backup to other organizations. There's just little openness.
I think the person meant if your only experience is working as a Cashier at a retail store but you're applying for a Administrative Assistant position, most employers wouldn't consider Cashier experience relevant to performing the job of an Administrative Assistant.
True, but holding that job as a cashier for more tha 3 months shows you are not a nutcase or did not get fired for cause.
Try looking at the issue from the perspective of an employer. I'm in the software development and web development industry, and unless someone has at least a couple years of experience, they probably have no idea what they are doing. Many companies just don't have it in the budget to train an employee for six months until they start to actually become useful. A senior level developer can be 10x more productive than someone fresh out of college, yet their pay levels is only about 2-3 times as much, so it's more economical to hire the developer with experience.
This is why internships in college are so critical to finding jobs when you graduate. It's also why doing freelance work can be your key to getting a job as well (that is, if you can do freelance work in your industry)
The first year or two of getting your foot in the door in an industry is easily the most difficult part of many careers. When I first started my career as a developer, I had to work at some pretty miserable places, as they were the only ones that would take someone with no experience. And as someone with no experience, I had little value, and so could be easily exploited. But I stuck it out, took whatever job I could find, worked hard, and now life is so much easier.
This begs the question. If you aren't doing YOUR part, what happens when the population of senior developers dries up. Aren't you going to be forced to hire people more junior?
The issue is, without the relevant experience, how do you ever move beyond a Cashier position?
When I did retail cashiers would move up. Hiring someone new means the whole background check, references, drug test etc It takes time and money so why bother if you can have someone internal fill the spot.
I remember one friend that was promoted and management said it was a big mistake to have him sit behind the register. He's moved up several times and makes probably 2 to 2.5 times as much as he did before.
Being able to come to work on time, good personal hygene, willing to take orders, and getting along with others is RELEVELANT EXPERIENCE for ANY job. Those soft skills will transfer to any industry.
That's not experience or soft skills, that's character. And employers will find out your character from speaking to your past employers and references.
As 313Weather has said, cashier experience does not count as admin assistant experience. It's not relevant experience so you won't qualify for the job.
When I did retail cashiers would move up. Hiring someone new means the whole background check, references, drug test etc It takes time and money so why bother if you can have someone internal fill the spot.
I remember one friend that was promoted and management said it was a big mistake to have him sit behind the register. He's moved up several times and makes probably 2 to 2.5 times as much as he did before.
And that's nice when those opportunities do come along.
But for every person that gets a promotion, 99 others will have to move out in order to move up.
That's not experience or soft skills, that's character. And employers will find out your character from speaking to your past employers and references.
As 313Weather has said, cashier experience does not count as admin assistant experience. It's not relevant experience so you won't qualify for the job.
Character is what you do or how you act when no one else is looking. This is 2014. Employers will not or should not say anything about a previous employee. That is grounds for a lawsuit if they can prove they did not get a job based on what you said about them.
The issue is, without the relevant experience, how do you ever move beyond a Cashier position?
Part luck, part how you present yourself. If you can convince them that you have either the skill or the ability to learn on the fly to do the job, sometimes that is good enough.
Don't make it seem like this is something that's never been done before, or that it's like rocket science. ALL OF US here, for the most part, started from the bottom. Through observation and experience, we learned what it takes to move up beyond entry level. Now, we are trying to tell you what worked for us. You can either take our advice and tips and try to employ it for your benefit, or you can tell us that we're wrong or that what we suggest is impossible and carry on with the path that you're currently on. It's your choice.
Part luck, part how you present yourself. If you can convince them that you have either the skill or the ability to learn on the fly to do the job, sometimes that is good enough.
Don't make it seem like this is something that's never been done before, or that it's like rocket science. ALL OF US here, for the most part, started from the bottom. Through observation and experience, we learned what it takes to move up beyond entry level. Now, we are trying to tell you what worked for us. You can either take our advice and tips and try to employ it for your benefit, or you can tell us that we're wrong or that what we suggest is impossible and carry on with the path that you're currently on. It's your choice.
The bolded is the thing.
No matter what skills or abilities you have, it means nothing if you're not around the right people in the right place at the right time.
I know those who are offering their own experience as advice mean well, but sometimes it's not very practical either.
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You can't just show up with no job skills or formal training that can be adapted to their processes. The job is for the first rung of their ladder.
