'The professional entry level senior role': Coding intern job listing demands 7 years of work experience

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Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Oct 11, 2025 9:00 PM EDT

At this point, it is widely accepted that looking for a job these days is not as good as it once was. Arguably, it hasn't been good for a very long time, but now it has somehow become even worse. The culprits behind this are many, including things like economic stagnancy, the AI boom messing with the recruitment process, and perhaps most egregiously of all, employers who have lofty expectations of what kinds of candidates should apply to their roles. It ain't pleasant out there. 

Perhaps the one dingy silver lining to this sad state of affairs is that every so often, a job seeker comes across a description, interview question, or requirement so preposterous that they cannot help but laugh. If nothing else, the audacity can be entertaining if you look at it from the right perspective. You might think that the world of work could not get more boringly nonsensical if it tried, but you would be wrong.

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    Cheezburger Image 10563031040
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.


     

  • When a programmer and recent graduate was seeking out a position in which to deploy their skills, they came across a ridiculous requirement that one company had for an intern role that they were hiring for. They claimed that they wanted seven years of past work experience for applicants to qualify for the role. 

    Bringing proof of this to social media, some tried to reason about why this might be, and others marvelled at why it happened in the first place. Post-college jobs are a notoriously difficult nut to crack anyway, so this kind of messaging certainly doesn't help.

  • 02
    NZ @CodeByNZ Intern with 7 years of experience?
    via CodeByNZ
  • 03
    stis Intern formation My Experience L Application Questions 1 of 2 Que a required fiela erience My Experien quires you to list a minimum of 7 years of our employment history less than 7 yea. of work experior, please list all work history to unpaid or volunteer work. any gaps in employment six (6) months or more with appropri 84
    via CodeByNZ
  • 04
    NZ@CodeByNZ Replying to @CodeByNZ so basically they want a genius who started coding in primary school.
    via CodeByNZ
  • 05
    Kiryoko-chan * @OxKiryoko Replying to @CodeByNZ Al-adjusted job offering they know that if you're anything less than that in terms of combined knowledge (human+Al) then you're not gonna cut it
    via 0xKiryoko
  • 06
    Mani Batra @ManiBatra23 Replying to @CodeByNZ 7 years of experience using GPT-5
    via ManiBatra23
  • 07
    The Random Recruiter @randomrecruiter Replying to @CodeByNZ Should be at least 10
    via randomrecruiter
  • 08
    Adarsh @Adarsh_Web3 Replying to @CodeByNZ Apply as senior developer..!! with 5 years of experience (+-5 years)
    via Adarsh_Web3
  • 09
    Steve Smith @steve_ntnl Replying to @CodeByNZ And that is why high school is so important for that professional work experience
    via steve_ntnl
  • 10
    prathap @Iam_Prathap Replying to @CodeByNZ Here he is MASSEFOR
    via Iam_Prathap
  • 11
    Zahin Haque @JasonHaque_ Replying to @CodeByNZ 30 years of experience needed. Candidate must be under 25
    via JasonHaque_
  • 12
    Ankit Sharma → @startupsharma Replying to @CodeByNZ Ah yes, the professional ‘entry-level senior' role
    via startupsharma
  • 13
    Kishan @kishanvats03 Replying to @CodeByNZ I recently saw a job posting, it required 25 yrs of experience, although for senior engineer but seriously? 25 yrs ago Google was barely known
    via kishanvats03
  • 14
    Umananda Aribam @UMNND Replying to @CodeByNZ It's either a copy paste blunde by the HR. Or a means to filter as they often get a lot of applications. A way to look for serious candidate who can exhibit college or personal projects.
    via UMNND
  • 15
    Lynet @norskelynet Replying to @CodeByNZ "We want to pay a pittance of what you are worth"
    via norskelynet
  • 16
    J. Rolf Haltza @RolfHaltza Employers lost any right to "transparency" long ago. Just tell them what they want to hear.
    via RolfHaltza
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    LA\/ENDER @LavenderGhast What I don't understand is it feels like every job that pays enough to survive has a laundry list of requirements making out you have to be borderline a CEO to land it but then you see the people working these jobs and they're doing TikTok dances in the office and their job basically amount to three zoom meetings a day and 12 lunch breaks.
    via LavenderGhast
  • 18
    Stranger @explorer_of_ent This is the problem with job applications and I recently started looking at them and most of the ones I found want 10 years of experience. I'm like what you're newly starting out and you want 10 years that's insane and people wonder why unemployment is so high
    via explorer_of_ent
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    Cheezburger Image 10563040256
    via Mileinfiveohone
  • 20
    Hannyah @HannyahZ Stuff like this very stupid but you learn pretty quickly that minimum experience in every job opening is fake literally apply if you think you can do it and you will be hired if you are lucky enough to be picked.
    via HannyahZ
  • 21
    Julio Espinosa @julivanespi The manager and/or hr rep that post job reqs like this should be fired or put on a pip. It makes no sense to have 7 years of experience for an intern job
    via julivanepsi

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