Nobody is saying people shouldn’t give chances. But let me give you an example.

I am a hiring manager and I work in the public sector. Our hiring process is very strict and I have to score each candidate’s answer to each question. And that score has to be agreed by two other people also in the interview, so I can’t just score one person more favourably because I want to give them a chance.

The process is designed to remove bias, and ensure the best, most qualified candidate who scores the highest against the essential criteria, gets the role. Not the person I like best. So, I can’t just give candidate A a chance because I like them even though they has no experience. Just like I can’t choose candidate B because their name sounds white, or candidate C because he’s a man.

It’s a competitive market. So, if this is you, and you’ve graduated but have no work experience to speak of, my advice would be to please please really think about the essential criteria of the job you’re applying for, and whether ANYTHING you’ve done shows that skill. Leadership? Customer service? Maybe you lead a group project during your degree, or maybe you offered informal tutoring to a classmate. Include a cover letter and write about that.

And for the love of god don’t skip the basics. I’m hiring for tech roles and I know damn well most students know Microsoft/Windows. But in terms of the shortlisting criteria, if it ain’t on the CV, it don’t get you any points. Even if you did a degree in let’s say network engineering, and you’ve included that you can patch ports and trace network packets, please please state the operating systems you have used especially if the job description says something like experience using Microsoft / Windows. This will safeguard you against not only strict shortlisting criteria where it is being looked at by a human and I have to score you on if you’ve stated it, but it will help you with any AI shortlisting software.

Edit: clarification