Hiring without previous experience: the argument innovative companies have already won

There is a structural contradiction in the Spanish labour market that we have been ignoring for years: companies say they need fresh, innovative talent without acquired bad habits, but they require two years of experience for entry-level roles.

It is not a new problem. It is a problem that the companies that hire best have already solved.

The numbers first

43% of junior job adverts in Spain include some kind of previous experience requirement, according to data from the 2024 Youth Employment Observatory. The direct result is an artificially reduced talent pool, where the same companies compete for the same profiles with more or less identical CVs.

The companies that have removed the experience requirement from their entry-level processes have not lowered the quality of their hires. They have changed what they measure: instead of employment history, they assess learning ability, problem-solving and specific motivation for the role.

What experience really predicts

Previous experience is a proxy. We use “two years of experience” as a signal that someone knows how to work, manage expectations and solve problems. But it is an imperfect proxy, especially for junior profiles where that experience is usually university placements or unrelated jobs.

The skills that predict performance in an entry-level profile can be measured directly: speed of learning new tasks, quality of written communication, and ability to prioritise under pressure. None of these requires employment history to be assessed.

The model that works

The Spanish technology companies with the highest retention of junior talent share a pattern: a selection process based on a short practical test (less than 2 hours), a culture and expectations interview, and a decision within 10 days.

They are not looking for the perfect CV. They are looking for the person who will grow best in that specific environment.

Why this matters now

The junior talent market in Spain has a specific window of opportunity: there are more university graduates than ever, with higher levels of English than any previous generation and digital natives in tools that many companies are still adopting. The companies that design processes to capture this talent without artificial filters will have a competitive advantage over the next five years.

Those that continue asking for “two years of experience for a junior profile” will carry on competing for the same reduced pool, paying more for the same thing.

The decision seems obvious when put that way. And yet, most companies do not make it.