When starting our professional lives, in most cases, we are required to present our experience in the field. It’s a classic catch-22 situation; you need experience to get a job, and a job to get experience.
This can feel disheartening, but remember that you’re not alone. Finding a job with little or no experience isn’t impossible — you just need the determination and tenacity to uncover the right opportunities.
Having no professional experience may seem like a disadvantage, but it’s actually possible to turn it into an advantage with the right preparation, and state of mind.
When hiring new employees, according to human resource professionals, employers typically look for personality, aptitude, and experience. But there should be no need to panic when you lack experience, as that is the time to shine with personality and aptitude. Here are some ways to accomplish this:
Talk about your initiative
Just because you don’t have professional experience doesn’t mean you have no knowledge about an industry. Alexia Mudasumbwa, a tourism and hospitality specialist, says that she knows many job seekers that have tried to create time during their studies so as to familiarise themselves with the industry.
"It is possible to take courses or certification programmes, reading books, and networking with people who work in those industries that you want to join,” she says, urging people to create time for the industries they want to join beforehand.
"This not only shows great initiative, but it also signals how important the industry is to you,” she adds.
Convey passion
James Kigeli, an engineer, is of the view that joining a new industry because you think that you will get more opportunities is not a smart move.
In order to stand out, a job seeker must properly convey something new by establishing how connected they feel to the company/industry.
"You can even share a personal story. For example, you’re looking to venture into nursing because you were inspired by the care a loved one received during a difficult time and it forever changed your career perspective,” Kigeli says.
He also adds that giving personal experience to why you want a particular job is not only a good way to show your desire for the position, but it allows you to show a little bit of your personality, which gives the employer an idea about the type of person they may hire.
In his article "No experience? Three ways to show you’re right for the job anyway”, Ryan Kahn says that it is not in every situation that employees want highly experienced people. He writes that there are many employers who will take a chance on someone with no experience if that employee has the desire and aptitude to learn.
"In some instances, a job seeker that has no previous experience, but wants the position bad enough, is considered less risky for investment. Those who have less experience can be trained and get as far as possible, if the employees have passion in that specific career,” he writes.
Social media is also a really effective way of building and maintaining your professional network. Being present on sites such as Twitter and LinkedIn, and following and connecting with companies and individuals in your chosen field can yield impressive results. It’s not unheard of for students and graduates to be offered a job off the back of their social media profiles, writes Emma Knowles in her article, ‘How to get a job with no experience’.
She adds, if you’re struggling to secure a long-term or permanent position, internships and apprenticeships are great ways to gain that much-needed experience. They make it possible to earn a wage while acquiring first-hand knowledge of a job or organisation, are useful for building a network of contacts and can sometimes lead to permanent employment.