Generally, (based on conversations about this with HR people) the point is to filter out applicants who don't have any experience at all. They expect people wi

Generally, (based on conversations about this with HR people) the point is to filter out applicants who don't have any experience at all. They expect people with experience sufficient for the entry-level nature of the position to contact them or include in their cover letter a statement which points out that they lack the arbitrary 5 years but otherwise have X, Y, and Z sufficient to do the job. For example: most federal agencies required 5 years of experience for legal positions for entry-level legal positions, but frequently hired graduating law students for these same positions (at least until the hiring freezes in 2009 and 2010). To put this in perspective: 5 years is usually the standard experience required for a lawyer to seek certification for a speciality in an area of law...