I think it depends, I have been coding for about 15 years, shipped a lot of Java applications, a lot of Rails, shipped a react system so some Javascript, and done some Python scripting. I applied for a job that said it was heavy OO Python, I said I had some some scripting but hadn't done much large scale Python. I didn't quite complete the coding task as I didn't realize they wanted Python 3 and I was having a few weird problems as I was used to Python 2.
If they needed somebody fluent in Python/Django/Flask from day 1 and didn't have room for me to learn then I wasn't the right candidate. If they did and wanted my other experience in the domain area then this was a pointless box check test that I clearly communicated I may not do well on.
Funny enough that position is still open a year later and I am doing the same job at a different company in Python/Django. I said in the interview I would need time to learn and they said it wasn't a problem.
Hello, I am currently hiring for 2 junior positions. There are a few different things I look for in juniors.
First is smart and gets things done, any history you can show of building your own projects, from what the motivation was, how you established a goal of "finished" and how you got it there. Also what as the person shown a lot of interest in, and where does it look like their career is going. If you have been doing a lot of graphic programming or building software interfaces for hardware then why are you applying to my web dev position? Do I think the few years of training you will get me more years for productivity, so try to look for roles that align with your interests.
Second technical skills stuff. Do you know how to use any IDE, bonus points if you are familiar with the one that is commonly used in our group. We make heavy use of GitHub so you would get bonus points if you are familiar with it but won't get penalized if you aren't, I assume that hiring a junior is hiring somebody that needs to be taught everything, and anything that you are already familiar with will be great.
Third soft skills, especially for junior positions, I am way more interested in somebody that is bright, easy to work with, and will fit into the team well than I am looking for a diamond in the rough that will turn into a 10x engineer but is also a giant pain to work with. After 2 years of working together if I need get a ping that is you asking for help am I going to feel excited for the chance to teach and work together or am I going to clench my teeth and try to punt it until later.
As for getting through the HR/recruiter screening each manager should have a sense of what their tolerance for teaching is. You should apply to any job that seems interesting to you, and let them tell you no. Very rarely are position metrics hard requirements 1-2 years could also accept candidates fresh out of school or boot camp.