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My question would essentially be encountering the following in an interview, as I've read it as something people encounter in a blog post about software jobs.

“I’m sorry but we’re looking for someone with more experience than you for this position” as a possible thing to be brought up at an interview.

Caveats/different flavors context that may change your answer, that I would be interesting in exploring

  • As a student in the software industry
  • As a new grad in the software industry
  • As a professional in the software industry

I would imagine the overall answer be mostly the same regardless of industry but I am most interested in the software industry.

Overall if I encounter the question what comes to my mind is rather weak and something along the following :

  • Mention that I am malleable, eager to learn and adapt to the style/culture of the company and although I am not the most experienced I would be happy to try and become even better than their more experienced applicants, given the opportunity and mentorship. (e.g. I won't be coming in with bad habits built from prior experiences but this is kind of a moot point)
  • Emphasize my soft skills (e.g. interpersonal) and that I would like to think of myself as a pleasant and fun person to work.
user1821961
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  • Steve-O has your best answer OP. You will have to learn to be rejected by tons of companies before you get placed.Learn to say Thank you and move on. You can also add a line to Steve-O's answer and say "I loved working with you, please keep my application on file for future opportunities". – Isaiah3015 Sep 21 '17 at 20:07
  • Is this more experience in general or more experience with a specific technology? – cdkMoose Sep 21 '17 at 21:32
  • "if I encounter the question..." - A rejection is not a question. It just means they're not hiring you. It also means they have given you a hint about why. There's almost certainly not a way that you can respond that will cause them to change their mind. – Brandin Sep 22 '17 at 05:51

2 Answers2

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“I’m sorry but we’re looking for someone with more experience than you for this position.”

This isn't a question for you to answer, this is a statement. You don't need to say anything at all, but it would at least be polite to say something along the lines of:

Thank you for considering my application.

Any effort to continue selling yourself at this point is probably useless (and may even make you look desperate or weak.)

Steve-O
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Honestly, this one is simple: you don't answer it. They've made a decision on this job, and you're not the person they're looking for. Move on, find another opportunity, don't waste your time debating with people who aren't going to offer you a job.

You may well also find that "more experience" is a convenient phrase to use when rejecting someone and they don't want to explain why.

Philip Kendall
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