Is it Entry Level or Not?

As we all know and have probably experienced, so many jobs want us to have 5 or more years experience in the field before applying. This can be really daunting even before applying for a position; so daunting in fact it puts us off doing it. I know it has for me.

As a 2020 graduate, the job market is incredibly difficult as it is without the pressure of not meeting employers expectations with certain experience levels. I mean, I'm 21, I've just graduated, how am I supposed to have 5 years experience in a specific field already? This is also counteracted by the fact of, I can't gain any experience unless I land a positon. So where am I meant to go from there?

I'm taking matters into my own hands; I'm doing my own work, I'm reaching out to companies and promoting myself via social media. I'm doing as much as I can but until an opportunity comes up, how am I supposed to have legitimate experience? It makes it a very disheartening task as a bright eyed graduate ready to work and get my foot in the door of the industry. It can feel like a downer and make you doubt things and even yourself. I went through that myself and I had to pull myself up. Tell myself that it isn't going to take away from what I want to do with my future but use it as fuel to get myself up there and pursue my career.

For example, I do illustrating as a side hustle. I started out when I was in university and taught myself over the next 3 years. I am at the stage that I am now because it is a skill that I stuck with and pursued and now it is something that I am looking to turn into a career. I have been selling art, paintings of different mediums and different forms of art. It's always been something that I have been interested in from a young age and something that, for me is incredibly therapuetic. I can't speak for others but I know that some of my closest friends have also found their areas of expertise and they are working so hard to get themselves towards their goals. I have friends writing for major film companies and associations, some working for big companies and some who even started their own small businesses! It isn't a case of us not wanting to get into work and show our skills as well as gain more and become more qualified as individuals, we just aren't presented with such opportunities because we don't have masses of experience at the age of 21.

Another thing a lot of students suffer from is a lack of motivation. A lot of students that have graduated with me and I know that are still in university, all lack motivation and an urge to do things they love. The subjects some of us choose to specialise in are becoming oversaturated. The fields are becoming so overdone that the things we once enjoyed are now tedious, they're entirely work oriented and they lack the interest we had in them. For me, this has happened. I love Media but some parts of it are so oversaturated that it makes me not want to take part in it or even go for a job within that area of expertise. I still love my degree and I am so grateful to have a degree but some areas are just ones I can't see myself working in simply due to the fact of them being an area I view as exhausting.

A lot of people think that the Media industry is easy. It's simple to do what it is I have been dreaming about but put any of these people in my shoes, and they're at a blank. They don't know how to use the equipment, they don't understand the paperwork and they definitely don't know the first thing about the amount of work I have to put in even before production. My field is one that I love and will forever work hard to get into however, I truly believe that employers do need to take a chance on younger job seekers as well as those who may not have years of experience. The market is changing, students are developing masses of knowledge for the industry and they are so much more innovative in production of work. We do side hustles with our work, we make our own businesses out of it and we create individual and incredible work because we want to succeed. We teach ourselves to knowledge of differnet industries. We make ourselves learn how to use different equipment, use different programs and even learning about different important figureheads within the business. We make the effort to learn these things without any prompt, so why can't we be given a chance? Why can't we be given to opportunity to excel, to help on projects and in some cases even help bring something new to the industry. It's like everyone says, you never know who could be the next game changer, the next person to revolutionise the industry and bring new aspects to it.

So if you're an employer, take a chance of someone. There's so many new ideas and prospects being brought into this industry; give a young person the chance. Give them the opportunity to help and to learn. It could change your business and their prospects for their future.