The worst situation is that you need a job to gain experience, but every job seems to demand it. Early job seekers who are trying to get their foot in the door may find this irritating.
So, is it even possible to find work without prior experience? The simple answer is yes, but only if you have a well-honed Soft Skills & job search plan. To acquire some of the greatest advice, we spoke with various leadership and human resources specialists globally.
1. Make Your Resume Stand Out
When you apply, a hiring manager will initially look at your résumé. But if you don't have any work experience, what should you list?
When starting out, professional employment experience isn't the only thing you should list on your CV. Take your involvement in extracurricular activities, school projects, internships, or volunteer work as an illustration. In that case, it's likely that you've acquired important hard and soft skills that you can apply to your first job experience.
"Think about how these experiences have helped you develop abilities that are relevant to the position you're looking for." If you're applying for a position that demands strong communication skills, for instance, you may mention a moment when you oversaw a team project and effectively communicated with all parties involved.
For the position, you don't have to have exactly the same experience that is listed in the job description. Your experience working in an ice cream shop, for instance, can be useful if you're looking for a sales position that requires you to interact with clients on a regular basis.
Its about storytelling, many HR professional advises connecting your experience to the requirements of the position. It all depends on how you tell the story.
2. Have faith in yourself
At the end of the day, you must have faith in your ability to get employment despite a lack of prior work experience.
You must genuinely believe that positive things will occur.
"Don't take it personally, even if you apply and receive many no's and rejections. It just signifies that this position wasn't for you. Maybe the circumstances weren't right—the moment or the fit. You can expect greater things soon. Show some patience and work on increasing your skills.
3. Express Your Intent
Employers prefer recruiting motivated individuals who are eager to learn versus those with extensive experience when filling entry-level positions.
"Most HR worry more about soft skills, such as confidence, a desire to learn, and a self-starter mindset, when employing someone without experience.
In essence, I need to be confident that if I offer someone a task that they are unfamiliar with, they will joyfully accept it, receive the necessary training, and attempt to figure it out on their own.
Come prepared and well-rehearsed to the interview to demonstrate your intent. If you've done your homework about the business, the position, and its objective and ask pertinent, insightful questions during the interview, you'll stand out from the competition.
4. Up-Skill Yourself
Your educational experiences and certificates have taught you skills that are useful for applications. If you studied data journalism and are searching for a job in journalism, for instance, you may add data analytics and data-driven reporting to your skill set.
Want to improve your skills? With one of Exlcareer programmes, you may learn from leading corporations.
5. Apply to the Relevant Opportunities
Many entry-level jobs online claim you need considerably more experience than an entry-level job should demand, which is a running (and cruel) joke. This is annoying, and it indicates that you should focus more on the specifics of the job needs.
Search only just entry-level positions. Even though not all of the entry-level jobs mentioned will be genuine entry-level roles (requiring little to no experience), this gives you a place to start when searching for positions that don't require established professionals. Include positions that call for a year to two of experience; these also count as entry-level positions.
If you meet at least 60% of the requirements, submit an application. Employers frequently list prerequisites as "wish lists," not as absolute necessities. If you meet the majority of the requirements, apply. Don't let a job description depress you into thinking. There are very few people who can check off all the boxes.
Look for positions that need you to submit sample or test work. Instead of outlining your background and education, you'll be able to show off your abilities via tests or sample work.
6. Remove Hesitation
Don't be hesitant to use your network and to make contact with others. Of all, your network consists of more than just the contacts you have in the workplace. It can be your cousin, a classmate, or a friend of a friend. It doesn't harm to make a kind, kind request to whoever it is.
According to Victoria Tomlinson, CEO of Next-Up, when you reach out to someone, explain you are now looking for a job and would welcome any advice or suggestions about who you could approach." This is a game of numbers. The likelihood that someone you contact will know about a job increases when you contact and approach more people.
Your message might benefit both sides i.e. you and the company
Experts says that "It's not that you're annoying them; in fact, you might be doing them a service, unknowingly you're adding some value to their work, plans. Many businesses run referral programmes. They might receive a referral incentive if you're employed.
So basically, if you don't have any work experience, can you truly find a job?
It's definitely achievable, even if it could take extra effort during the application process (such as refining your resume, applying for the relevant roles, networking, and demonstrating your motivation).
And this is not just the case with you; it is the case with everyone seeking for work. "We all need to find a way to get our foot in the door,"
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