Listen to this article · 9 min
You finish your education and start looking for your first job. You find an interesting opening and believe you have the knowledge, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. But the employer wants two or three years of relevant experience. You look at other openings, only to find similar requirements.
It leaves you wondering how you are supposed to gain experience when nobody seems willing to give you an opportunity. You need experience to get a job, but you need a job to gain experience. Sometimes, even internships meant to provide practical exposure ask for previous experience. And this frustration isn’t limited to fresh graduates. Someone with fifteen or twenty years of experience may face the same problem when trying to change industries or careers. Their previous achievements suddenly seem less valuable because they haven’t done that particular job before.
When Our Experience Suddenly Stops Counting
I have experienced this myself. I moved into telecom after working in IT product sales. Later, I moved into e-commerce from telecom. In both cases, someone was willing to look beyond my industry background and give me an opportunity. I had to learn a new business, but I could also apply many skills I had already developed.
At the same time, I have been rejected for several other positions because I lacked the exact experience employers wanted. It made me wonder why capabilities that helped me succeed in one industry were considered less relevant in another. Consider someone who has spent fifteen years leading sales teams, building customer relationships and negotiating complex deals. When they apply for a similar role in another industry, they may be rejected because they lack that industry’s experience.
Every industry has its complexities, and learning them takes time. But does that make someone’s existing capabilities less valuable? If a person has demonstrated the ability to solve problems, lead people and learn complex products, shouldn’t those abilities count? Sometimes, we place more importance on where someone has worked than on what they have learned and what they can do.
Are Years of Experience the Same as Capability?
We often use years of experience as a measure of suitability. Someone with ten years of experience may appear more qualified than someone with five. But does that necessarily make them more capable? Two people can spend ten years in the same industry and develop very different capabilities. One may continually learn, adapt and take on new challenges. Another may spend much of that time performing similar responsibilities without developing significantly.
Experience matters. It helps us develop judgement, recognise patterns and avoid mistakes. But the number of years someone has worked doesn’t tell us everything about the quality of that experience. In many roles, the ability to learn and adapt may matter as much as familiarity with the industry. Someone who has successfully handled unfamiliar challenges before may be capable of doing so again. Perhaps we should ask not only whether someone has done the job before, but also whether they have demonstrated the ability to learn what the job requires.
Why Do Employers Prefer Familiar Experience?
Employers often have reasonable reasons for preferring candidates with relevant experience. They may need someone who can contribute immediately, have limited resources for training or face pressure to fill a position quickly. There is also the fear of making a wrong hiring decision. If someone from a different background struggles, the hiring manager may be questioned about their choice. Hiring someone whose experience closely matches the job description can feel safer and easier to justify.
Some positions genuinely require specialised knowledge, regulatory understanding or technical competence. Ignoring such requirements would be irresponsible. But not every job has the same needs. Does someone really need five years in a particular industry, or do they need capabilities that could have been developed elsewhere? Could some of the required knowledge be learned after joining? The question isn’t whether experience matters. It is whether every experience requirement is genuinely necessary.
What Might Employers Be Missing?
As a hiring manager, I have always been open to candidates from different industries if they demonstrate the right attitude, relevant capabilities and a willingness to learn quickly. Such people may need time to understand a new business, but they may also bring fresh perspectives and ideas that others haven’t considered.
Did these hiring decisions always work out? No. Some people adapted well, while others struggled. But those experiences helped me reflect on my decisions and improve how I assessed candidates. Hiring someone with relevant experience doesn’t guarantee success either. Every hiring decision involves uncertainty, regardless of how closely someone’s background matches the job.
Organisations often talk about innovation, adaptability and fresh thinking. Yet consistently hiring people with similar backgrounds may limit the different perspectives available within a team. This doesn’t mean people from other industries are necessarily better. It simply means that a different background shouldn’t automatically be considered a disadvantage.
When Rejection Makes Us Question Ourselves
Repeated rejection can also affect how we see ourselves. Imagine a young graduate who struggles to get interviews or an experienced professional who wants to change industries but repeatedly hears that their background isn’t relevant. Initially, they may feel disappointed. Over time, some may begin questioning their abilities and wondering whether their achievements have any value outside their current field. Eventually, they might stop applying for opportunities they genuinely want because they assume they will be rejected.
Of course, rejection doesn’t always mean the employer was wrong. Candidates may have genuine gaps in their knowledge or skills. But a rejection is a decision about suitability for a particular opportunity, not a complete judgement of someone’s worth or potential. Sometimes, the biggest challenge in changing careers isn’t our inability to learn something new. It is convincing someone else that we can.
Could We Give People a Fairer Chance?
Perhaps employers could begin by distinguishing between skills that are essential from day one and those that can reasonably be developed after joining. Instead of relying heavily on job titles and industry backgrounds, they could explore how candidates have solved problems, learned new skills and handled unfamiliar situations. Thoughtful interviews or practical assignments may reveal capabilities that a résumé alone cannot show.
Candidates have a responsibility too. Simply saying we are willing to learn may not be enough. We need to demonstrate how our previous experience connects to the new role, while acknowledging what we still need to learn. This isn’t about expecting employers to take unnecessary risks or give everyone an opportunity. It is about assessing people more thoughtfully and recognising that capabilities can develop in different environments. Our past experience offers useful evidence of what we can do, but it shouldn’t always determine what others believe we could become.
Pause & reflect
- Have you ever avoided applying for a job because you lacked the exact experience required, even though you believed you could perform the role?
- Have you ever felt that your previous achievements were undervalued when trying to change roles or industries?
- If you have been involved in hiring, have you sometimes placed more importance on industry experience than on someone’s capabilities and willingness to learn?
- Can you think of someone who succeeded because another person was willing to look beyond their previous experience and give them an opportunity?
Sometimes, Someone Just Needs a Chance
Every experienced professional was once inexperienced. Every person who successfully moved into a different industry had to learn something new. Somewhere along the way, someone was willing to look beyond what they had already done and recognise what they might be capable of doing.
When I look back at my career, some of the opportunities that helped me grow came from people who were willing to consider my capabilities beyond my industry experience. Those experiences also influenced how I approached hiring others, even though not every decision worked out. Perhaps we need to become better at recognising the difference between someone who lacks the ability to do a job and someone who simply hasn’t had the opportunity to do it yet.
If we only give opportunities to people who have already had them, how do we make room for anyone new?
Leave a Comment