Junior job ads either too basic or too picky

[ASDnocareer]

just aimlessly venting about my ongoing corporate job search…

I mostly seem to find junior job ads which are either extremely vague and have ‘easy’ requirements that any teenager would meet who has never had a job.
For eg “good communication skills”. “ability to work in a team environment” - surely everyone could easily say yes to that, it would’t exclude many. I apply but don’t expect to get shortlisted because presume they are swamped with thousands of applicants

vs other junior roles (still says junior on the job ad title) which are really picky, want at least 3 years working in the role with very specific industry knowledge.

Also, if I had 3 years of solid experience in a professional role I’m not sure I’d consider myself for junior/entry roles (I know I wouldn’t be senior but not junior anymore?)

Where are the junior roles inbetween

I have consistently worked in the same industry after uni (5+ years in same industry) but none of my experience matches with the picky junior ads so I feel forced to settle for the first type

Perhaps they've been taken by internal applicants that have been promoted from the more junior roles?

You should be applying for the picky junior ads. You don't have to hit all the points to be a credible candidate. Sometimes the format of the ad is imposed by the organization and doesn't reflect what the hiring manager understands about the experience a good candidate will have. Stop applying for entry level jobs.

Good grief good communication skills and working in a team are much rarer than you realise - if you can demonstrate those well you will have a foot in the door

and yes we were always much more likely to promote into higher roles than pull in externally - you had to try internal first

Haha yes I agree, even some senior people are still not great at communication

I meant from the initial application stages so haven’t met at interview stage. Everyone can easily say yes to that when applying, and with the job market not being great they will likely get too many applicants

One of the managers in my team would jokingly say she’s antisocial (very introverted) but she obviously doesn’t lead with that in an application

I have been described as an excellent team player / communicator within my performance reviews but sadly not opened any doors within the companies I’ve worked for, so trying to move to another company to prove I have some worth

You don’t just say you have the skills, you point out examples of them in your career.

Thanks, yes I agree and have been doing this with my applications.
My friend works in talent acquisition, so previously ran one of my applications through her to make sure I wasn’t making obvious mistakes too

I think most people could point out examples of having ‘good communication skills’ without much difficulty as could be applicable to any role or even voluntary position

Not much help but I completely understand where you’re coming from.

I’ve been looking since before Christmas and it’s been soul destroying. I don’t want a managerial role, but I’m also not interested in being bottom of the rung/general dogsbody. Job adverts either expect the moon on a stick and want to pay barely anything or are so vague and generic that it seems like a waste of everyone’s time going through an application and interviewing to find out it’s a role that will bore you to tears with no potential progression.

All I’d say is keep looking. Had a final round interview yesterday for a position with a company I genuinely wanted to work for and clicked so well with the decision makers that they called not half an hour later offering it. There will be something out there, might just take a while.