Long, impressive resumes are the ticket to high-income, high-responsibility roles in most fields — and that standard usually makes sense.
“The higher-level positions in a company tend to pay well but require a lot of experience,” said Sara Bandurian, operations supervisor and head of hiring at Online Optimism, a digital marketing and design agency.
However, her agency breaks the mold by prioritizing performance over tenure. For instance, she’s seen interns rise to become directors in a few short years.
“It just makes sense to focus on a person’s abilities and track record at our organization instead of an arbitrary number of years of experience,” said Bandurian.
Not all organizations and HR leaders share her tendency to value proficiency over years on the job, though. Some roles — and even entire industries — have notoriously high experiential barriers to entry, even when greener employees might be perfectly capable of excelling at the position. Here’s a look at five of them.
Project Manager
- Salary.com average annual salary: $124,403
Clarke Duncan is the founder of OutsourcingStaff.ph, which specializes in finding and training virtual assistants for small to medium-sized businesses. He knows how common it is for companies to pass up excellent candidates based solely on their thin resumes.
“I’ve seen firsthand how experience requirements can create barriers to entry for high-paying jobs,” he said. “One such profession is project management. Although this role requires strong organization and communication skills, many vacancies require several years of experience and formal qualifications. However, I believe many people already possess these skills through their personal life and other work experiences. The need to have a project management certification or diploma can often overshadow the demonstration of these skills.”
Data Analyst
- Salary.com average annual salary: $83,557
Data is the currency of the digital age, and those who can make sense of it command high incomes. Unfortunately, they usually won’t get the chance without years in the industry.
“With the rise of big data, companies are seeking candidates with extensive experience in data analysis,” said Duncan. “However, many people are capable of learning and applying these skills quickly, especially considering the range of online courses and tutorials available today.”
B2B Salesperson
- Glassdoor average annual salary: $97,018
Duncan’s final example is sales roles, particularly high-level B2B sales.
“These roles often require extensive industry-specific experience,” he said. “However, I’ve found that individuals with strong people skills and the ability to understand a product’s benefits can often perform just as well, if not better, than those with long-standing industry careers. Experience is certainly important, but it should not eclipse potential, aptitude, and the willingness to learn and grow.”
Startup Marketing Positions
- Glassdoor average annual salary: $95,089
According to Forbes, established companies can get away with spending as little as 5% of their revenue on marketing. But in the crucial first year, emerging businesses often spend half their startup expenses on getting the word out.
With that much at stake, budding businesses tend to hire only the most experienced marketing professionals to handle the task — but that’s often a misguided philosophy.
“I’ve seen job postings for startup marketing positions that ask for five to seven years of experience when, in reality, someone with two to three years of experience could excel in the role,” said Keith Donovan, startup advisor and founder of Startup Stumbles. “Often, this practice discourages aspiring entrepreneurs and marketers from pursuing opportunities that they are perfectly capable of handling.”
He notes the irony in startup founders requiring extensive experience. “By nature, startups are often the breeding ground for innovative and fresh ideas,” said Donovan. “Many successful startups are founded by young entrepreneurs with little experience but a lot of passion and determination. I encourage companies, especially startups, to lower these unreasonable experiential barriers and give a chance to those who show a strong willingness to learn and bring new ideas to the table.”
Real Estate Broker
- Glassdoor average annual salary: $132,533 ($210,316 total pay)
Shri Ganeshram, who was recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30, is the CEO of the real estate platform Awning.com and managing partner at Fresh VC. In his experience, the best real estate brokers have intrinsic traits that can’t be taught or learned, no matter how many years they spend in the field.
“I’ve observed thаt while еxpеriеncе cаn teаch negotiаtion skills аnd prоperty vаluаtion, it’s nоt аlwаys pаrаmount,” said Ganeshram. “Sоmеtimеs, whаt you need is аn innаte understаnding оf сurrent mаrket trеnds, teсhnology, аnd, impоrtаntly, peоple skills. I remember а nеw recruit with only а couрlе оf yeаrs оf еxpеriеncе but аn unpаrаlleled knаck fоr understаnding client needs. Thеy еndеd uр сlosing deаls fаster thаn somе оf our tеnurеd аgents.”