Why Do Companies Ask Experience from Freshers?

Feb 23, 2026

You open a job post full of hope…
then suddenly you read:

“Experience required”

And the first thought comes:
If I had experience, why would I apply as a fresher?

It feels like a joke. But actually, companies are not asking for years…
they are asking for confidence about you.

They are thinking:
“After hiring this person, will our work move forward… or stop?”

Companies Are Afraid of One Thing

Not your marks
Not your college
Not even your branch

They are afraid of complete dependency

If a candidate needs help for every small step like:
How to start
What to do next
How to fix error
What the code means

then the team’s work slows down.

So “experience” actually means
Can you try to solve problems before asking for help?

Degree Proves You Studied

  • Experience Proves You Tried

  • Thousands of students finish the same syllabus every year.

  • But interviewers look for something different:

  • Have you ever struggled with a bug for 3 hours?
    Have you built something that did not work at first?
    Have you searched, failed, and finally solved it?

Because real jobs are exactly this.

Not writing perfect code
But fixing imperfect situations

Here Is the Truth Many Freshers Don’t Know

  • A project you built at 2 am
    A small website you hosted
    A mini app that only half works
    Helping a friend debug code

  • This is experience.

  • Yes. Real experience.

  • Companies trust people who tried in the real world, not only watched tutorials.

Why Some Freshers Get Selected Easily

Two candidates say they know Python.

First candidate
“I completed Python course”

Second candidate
“I made a simple attendance system. At first data was not saving, then I learned file handling and fixed it”

Who sounds ready to work?

Not smarter
Just more real

What You Should Do From Today

Stop counting courses
Start collecting attempts

Build small things
Break them
Fix them
Explain them

Your confidence will change automatically

And interviewers can feel that confidence in 2 minutes.

Final Thought

  • Companies don’t want experienced employees.
    They want reliable beginners.

  • A fresher who has tried, failed, and learned
    is safer than a topper who only memorized.

  • So don’t wait to “become experienced”

  • Start doing small real work today
    and you will already be ahead of most freshers.

Still Got Queries?

Take advantage of Offline Learning, Exclusive Workshops, LinkedIn optimization, and ATS-approved resume services at the upGrad Learning Support Centre in Pune. From your academic journey to your Career advancement, our team is here to help you succeed.

Still Got Queries?

Take advantage of Offline Learning, Exclusive Workshops, LinkedIn optimization, and ATS-approved resume services at the upGrad Learning Support Centre in Pune. From your academic journey to your Career advancement, our team is here to help you succeed.

Still Got Queries?

Take advantage of Offline Learning, Exclusive Workshops, LinkedIn optimization, and ATS-approved resume services at the upGrad Learning Support Centre in Pune. From your academic journey to your Career advancement, our team is here to help you succeed.

Still Got Queries?

Take advantage of Offline Learning, Exclusive Workshops, LinkedIn optimization, and ATS-approved resume services at the upGrad Learning Support Centre in Pune. From your academic journey to your Career advancement, our team is here to help you succeed.