No Experience? No Problem! 5 Ways to Get a Job Without Experience

Offpich
4 min readSep 7, 2019

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Maybe you just passed out from a college a few weeks ago, and you’re out in the market looking for your first job. Alternatively, perhaps you’re looking for a career change and ready to explore something new. However, either way, you’re probably facing a significantly tricky task for job seekers — trying to get a job without experience. Whether you’re a lawyer-turned-pastry chef or just framing your degree,

Here are 5 Ways to Get a Job Without Experience:

1. Find a Way Through Side Door

So you don’t have a full resume of past jobs doing precisely what you desire to do next. That doesn’t mean you haven’t got any skills or experience to offer.

If you’re good with social media and you want to get into fashion, see if there’s any chance to help with a company’s Facebook page or tweeting campaigns.

Ok, you might not be behind the runway immediately, but it could get your foot in the door. If you’re an accountant, who wants to become an event planner, see if a company is willing to let you do their books for pay, in exchange for some free interning hours shadowing the event work.

2. Promote Your Soft Skills

Soft skills, for those not familiar with the term, mean those abilities that are not related to specific information or knowledge. Think excellent phone manners versus fantastic PowerPoint command, or being highly organised versus fluent in French.

The thing about soft skills is that they are underestimated and can be challenging to learn. It’s a bit common thing to put on your cv “great with people” or “really friendly.” On the other hand, if you can put specifics “excellent time management — balanced an 18 hour class load with a part-time job” that resonates, it could help you get a job without experience.

Moreover, do your research to find out which soft skills are most valued by which types of jobs, for example, the soft skills necessary in sales are different from those in human resources.

3. Translate Your Experience

You might not have dead-on expertise for the job you want, but you can express what you’ve done in such a way that it’s easy to see why the learning curve for you will be a lot less.

If you are coming out of college, look at your activities on campus. Did you do much fundraising for a cause? Tally up those numbers and translate them to sales — after all, persuasion is persuasion. If you can say “raised Rs.10,000 for a campaign for the education of poor childrens ” it indicates that you’ve got the people skills and persistence that could appeal to a sales team.

4. Work For Cheap

Look, if you want to do something in a field that you are new to, you’re going to have to earn it. If you know that the starting salary in your dream field pays min. Rs. 20,000 per month, offer to work for Rs. 15,000 (and tell them you expect for salary to be revisited in six months or a year).

Alternatively, look for a part-time job in the area that you want and agree to a reduced rate, and then work another job in your old career that helps supplement the income.

5. Work For Free

Ok, it’s not ideal, because a job is meant to put food on the table, not be a celebrated hobby. However, free is everyone’s favorite four-letter word. If the subject line of your email is “I’m looking for an opportunity to learn — and I’m available for free,” you’re likely to grab attention at least.

Moreover, again, it’s not forever. Ask for a three-month time, to make it clear you don’t plan to be a trainee for a long time. Especially if you’re currently not working — you’ve got the free time, anyway, why not do something productive?

It’s Not Easy To Get A Job Without Experience, But It Can Be Done.

Be realistic but optimistic. Take a hard assessment of what you have to offer, or ask a colleague or career services, counselor, to help you take stock of your work history.

Let others know that you’re hungry and open to opportunities. Network — you don’t have to have the experience to sip a glass of wine and smile. The more experience you get at promoting yourself, the sooner you’ll find an opportunity and get a job without experience.

Thank You,

Offpich Technologies

Visit: www.offpich.com

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