It is common to find the terms junior, semi-senior or senior in job offers. Some companies have even adopted these definitions as part of the names of the positions to be held. Thus, on a day-to-day basis we can find positions such as: Junior Marketing Assistant, Senior Accounting Analyst and the like. But what happens when we find seemingly incompatible positions like Junior Chief or seemingly redundant positions like Senior Manager? Over the years and in the different opportunities in which I searched for job opportunities, I found that this type of situation is frequent. Faced with this scenario, questions arise such as what are the characteristics that define the level of seniority - also known as the level of experience - in a professional? and what about companies,and especially those in charge of the recruitment and selection process, do they know and understand the meaning of the different levels of seniority? Motivated to clear up these doubts, the present investigation was carried out. Therefore, the objective is to determine if seniority levels are applied correctly in the Peruvian labor market. Likewise, it is expected to provide a clear definition of the characteristics that define each of the levels, so that it contributes to companies, recruiters and professionals in general.The objective is to determine if the levels of seniority are applied correctly in the Peruvian labor market. Likewise, it is expected to provide a clear definition of the characteristics that define each of the levels, so that it contributes to companies, recruiters and professionals in general.The objective is to determine if the levels of seniority are applied correctly in the Peruvian labor market. Likewise, it is expected to provide a clear definition of the characteristics that define each of the levels, so that it contributes to companies, recruiters and professionals in general.
METHODOLOGY
Design
The research is qualitative and quantitative. It is qualitative because in the first part the most relevant characteristics will be determined to define the different levels of seniority. It is quantitative because in the second part, job offers published in various job boards will be analyzed to determine the level of compliance with the characteristics resulting from the qualitative analysis.
Population and sample
The sample used is made up of 1214 job offers published on 3 different web pages.
RESULTS
Data collection
For the collection of qualitative data, no books or research articles were found that describe the subject discussed, which is why blogs, both personal and business, were used, all written by human resources professionals. Likewise, the dictionary of the University of Cambridge was consulted in its original language to know the exact description of the levels of seniority, since they are terms in English.
For the collection of quantitative data, sampling was used in virtual job boards corresponding to different categories, positions and cities.
Analysis of data
The exact definition of the three levels of seniority existing in the English language was sought, and then they were faithfully translated into Spanish. In the first place, the term junior "is used to describe someone of low rank or a lower rank in relation to others within an organization" (Cambridge University Press, 2019). Second, the term senior “is used to describe someone of high rank or of a higher rank in relation to others within an organization” (Cambridge University Press, 2019). So, it is understood that the term semi senior is used to describe someone in an intermediate range between junior and senior.
Subsequently, it was sought to determine which are the most relevant characteristics that each of the three levels possesses. For this purpose, six sources considered hybrids were consulted, that is, the Blog on the internet. As a result, Table 1 was obtained, which summarizes in a clear and orderly manner the main characteristics that define each level of seniority.
Table 1. Characteristics of seniority levels
| CHARACTERISTIC | JUNIOR | SEMI SENIOR | SENIOR |
| Description | Beginner: in the learning process | Experienced: sufficient experience | Very experienced: sufficient knowledge and skills |
| Experience | 0 to 2 years | 2 to 6 years | more than 6 years |
| Chores | Simple and almost always supervised | Technically self-sufficient. You can develop more complex functionalities | You successfully perform the tasks required by your position and may even ask for greater responsibilities |
| Autonomy | Low: They do not handle the tools and processes of their work activity with ease | Medium: Sufficient criteria to function independently. Respect standards and methodologies | High: Years of experience allow you to make decisions without needing supervision |
| Tracing | Journal at a detailed level | Weekly and at a general level | Proactively reports the status and progress of your tasks and / or project you are working on |
| Other features | · You need the help of a superior to guide you throughout this learning period
· You need to have your work defined frequently May have difficulty conveying ideas clearly |
He cares about making better use of his time
· He makes himself understood but fails to win sympathy or awakens the vocation of his collaborators to accompany him in his suggestions |
Try to minimize time, streamline processes and be more productive
Can participate in high-level decisions and collaborate if necessary in more operational activities Has a high degree of specialization |
| Response under pressure | · Crashes
Be distressed Gets confused Get stressed |
· He gets angry
Defends itself Distance yourself Resigned |
He gets excited
Commits Take charge of the situation Self overcomes despite difficulties |
Once the characteristics that differentiated each of the 3 levels had been defined, their level of compliance was verified in the job offers of 3 of the main web pages dedicated to the job offer. The ads consulted were 283 junior vacancies, 13 semi-senior and 144 senior on the Computrabajo website; 238 junior, 31 semi senior and 383 senior on the Bumeran website; and 69 junior, 1 semi senior and 52 senior on the Aptitus website.
Below is the graph resulting from the sampling carried out, in which it is expressed as a percentage how many job offers meet the characteristics defined for the seniority levels:
Seniority Labor Market of Peru
Graph 1. Percentage of compliance with characteristics
We can see that the compliance percentage is only high in all its characteristics for the semi-senior level, while for the senior level, practically none of the characteristics are fulfilled. Finally, at the junior level the only characteristic with high compliance is the number of years of accumulated experience.
In the first place, for the vacancies for junior positions it was also found that in 96.4% of the cases they request a minimum of 1 year of experience. On the other hand, regarding the level of compliance in the characteristics related to the description, tasks and autonomy, it was found that in more than 90% of the cases the characteristics of a semi-senior position are described.
Second, for vacancies in semi-senior positions, it was found that in more than 90% of the cases the characteristics of that level are met, however in few cases these characteristics were those corresponding to a junior position.
Finally, for senior vacancies it was found in less than 1% of cases the characteristics of that level are met. In the rest of the cases, the characteristics were those corresponding to a semi-senior position.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
After data collection and subsequent analysis, it is evident that in the Peruvian labor market it is largely unknown what are the characteristics that define the three levels of seniority, which leads to the excessive use of the terms junior and senior in the designation of positions.
To reverse this situation, the Ministry of Labor and Employment Promotion should carry out a dissemination campaign in which both companies and individuals are made aware so that, due to ignorance, recruiters do not incur the wrong job offers or people misclassify themselves.
Additionally, this article can serve as the basis for future research that is complemented by conducting interviews and surveys with recruiters in order to deepen the subject and find the root of the ignorance and misuse of seniority levels.
Bibliography
Anonymous. (2016, July 21). Are you a junior or senior worker? Retrieved on January 19, 2019, from Adecco Blog:
Anonymous. (November 2, 2017). The TRUE differences between a Junior, Semi Senior and Senior professional. Retrieved on January 12, 2019, from Marca Personal Online:
Aptitus. (2019). Job Bank. Retrieved on January 31, 2019, from Aptitus:
Boomeran. (2019). Job Bank. Retrieved on February 1, 2019, from Bumeran:
Cambridge University Press. (2019). Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved January 20, 2019, from the Cambridge Dictionary:
Carrasco, L. (October 26, 2015). Junior or senior. Age and experience in job offers. Retrieved on January 20, 2019, from Infoempleo:
Computing work. (2019). Job Bank. Retrieved on February 2, 2019, from Computrabajo:
Daza, D. (June 4, 2014). The Who's Who of a company. Retrieved on January 19, 2019, from E-Magister:
Gutiérrez, G. (June 11, 2014). The differences between a Junior, Semi Senior and Senior professional. Retrieved on January 20, 2019, from Linked In:
Salama, D. (September 3, 2008). Differences between Junior, Semi Senior and Senior programmers. Retrieved on January 12, 2019, from Almost a Good Blog:
