We’ve all seen the famous job posting for an “entry-level” job that somehow asks for five years of experience.

It feels ridiculous.

But the truth is, companies do want to hire entry-level people.

Especially in HVAC.

Any HVAC company that really wants to grow has almost no choice but to hire entry-level technicians because there simply aren’t enough experienced techs out there.

The problem isn’t that companies don’t want entry-level people.

They’re scared of hiring them.

And if you understand what they’re scared of, you can make yourself a much easier person to hire.

A lot of people think they want to work in HVAC without actually knowing what the job is like.

Maybe they start and realize they hate working in attics.

Maybe they don’t like getting dirty.

Maybe they don’t like working with customers.

Maybe they just realize the trades aren’t for them.

From the employer’s perspective, they might spend weeks or months training someone only for that person to quit.

That’s a huge risk.

So one of the best things you can demonstrate is that you actually know what you’re getting into and that you genuinely want to be in HVAC.

Maybe you’ve never worked with your hands.

Maybe you’ve never touched a tool.

Maybe you don’t even know righty-tighty, lefty-loosey.

That means the company may have to teach you absolutely everything from scratch.

Employers don’t necessarily expect an entry-level person to already be an HVAC technician.

But anything you can show that demonstrates mechanical aptitude or hands-on experience makes you feel less risky.

This is something people sometimes forget about HVAC.

In a lot of HVAC jobs (especially residential HVAC) you spend a lot of time interacting with customers and homeowners.

You’re inside someone’s home representing the company.

What if you’re rude?

What if you communicate terribly?

What if you create a horrible customer experience?

One bad interaction can damage the company’s reputation.

So employers care a lot about whether you can communicate, be professional, and deal well with people.

Now flip all of those fears around.

What does an employer want?

Someone who shows up and demonstrates:

That is what you’re trying to communicate.

And that is basically the entire job of your resume.

Your resume should de-risk you to the employer.

You don’t want to look like someone who has never touched a tool in their life.

You don’t want to look like someone who has never thought seriously about working in the trades.

You don’t want to look like someone who has zero experience dealing with customers.

Instead, highlight anything you have that shows three things:

1. You know about HVAC and care about HVAC.

2. You have hands-on skills or experience and care about working with your hands.

3. You have customer service, sales, or people skills.

That’s it.

If your resume has almost nothing else on it but you can convincingly demonstrate those three things, that’s still a win.

You don’t need five years of experience.

You need to make the employer believe that taking a chance on you is going to work out.