A TikToker provided some job hunting advice, assuring people that even though some job openings require five to 10 years of experience, that might not always be the case.
The video comes from creator @ryuhhnn, who promises “edutainment, hot takes, and the occasional cringe post,” and attracted more than 1.3 million views as of Saturday.
It starts with a stitch of someone saying, “The fact that you can’t get hired anywhere unless you have 10 to 15 years of experience,” and then the creator interrupting that train of thought with a reassuring, “I’m going to let you in on a little secret here.”
@ryuhhnn #stitch with @katiedotcom I see so many people not applying for positions they’re qualified for because of this unrealistic expectation. #jobtips #interviewtips #jobmarket #jobhunting #resumetips ♬ original sound – ryuhhnn
The creator says, “If you see an entry-level job posting that says you need like five or 10 years of experience, no, you don’t.”
“Apply for that job anyways,” he advises. “Because a lot of the time, the person hiring for that role has no idea that those requirements are even on the job posting.”
The TikToker continues, “I think what’s happening is that these older generations, their only measure of success was, ‘Did you go to college?’ and if they did, they pretty much got the job. But as the job market became more saturated over time, companies got more selective about who they hired. So they introduced all these really arbitrary measures for candidates.”
Theorizing that the years of experience test was to “weed out the bad candidates,” the creator notes, “If you think you’re underqualified for a position, you’re not. Apply to it anyways. And the worst thing that can happen is that they’ll say no, and if they do, just take the L and move on. That company wasn’t right for you anyway.”
Commenters weighed in regarding the creator’s positivity with their own shared optimism.
“Best advice I was ever given was ‘Always let them tell you no; don’t tell yourself no,'” one commenter said, which drew an appreciative response from the TikToker.
“Thank you so much for this!” another said. “Have been freaking out over this exact thing.”
That led the creator to respond, “Don’t give up on yourself, sending you lots of good energy! Good luck!”
One cracked, “I’ve been ‘under-qualified’ for every position I’ve held.” The TikToker answered back with “literally same lol.”
One groused, “They still don’t contact,” which led the creator to say, “You’re going to be rejected more than you’re accepted. Don’t give up though!”
Another had a specific complaint about a job requirement impossible to achieve, noting, “I saw a job with ’15 years of Experience with Kotlin’ … for anyone that doesn’t know, Kotlin was only created in 2010… 2025 will be 15 years.”
One commenter underscored one point the TikToker made, sharing, “Big companies have standardized job postings. Hiring managers don’t write it and we mostly don’t read it. Source: am hiring manager at big company.”
And, as one advised in turn, perhaps a little cynically, “Remember, kids, if it can’t be fact-checked, you can lie all you want.”
The Daily Dot reached out to the creator via TikTok comment.
