Getting A Job Without Prior Work Experience

(1) Create some experience

(2) Include a Killer Cover Letter

(3) Sell your skills (not your experience)

(4) Tailor your resume to the Job Description

(5) Network

(6) Apply speculatively

(7) Research the Company and the People

(8) Prepare for the Interview

Let’s look at these suggestions in more detail:

(1) Create some experience

There are two types of experience: one is direct relevant experience and the other is any work experience. Of the two, for young people just starting out in working life, it is extremely hard to get direct, relevant experience (that’s what you’re applying for, right?) but it is much easier to get some other type of work-related experience. Organizations really do prefer that a job applicant have some rough idea of what it means to be an employee, to have working hours, to be managed, to have to perform continuously on the job, to have colleagues and to come back the next day, and do it all again. They want to see someone who has done this before because someone who has never done this, is just too scary for an employer to hire. The normal preference is that some other company deal with ‘breaking in the newbie.’

So what you need to do is create some experience, not by inventing it but by finding anything that gives you a pay cheque for adult work. On that score, consider doing work for no pay as well, if that is something you can manage. Volunteer for a recognized charity for instance, and once there, ask to be placed in a role that forces you to use your brain more than your muscles because a recruiter wants your head and not the rest of you! Internships are popular but they are actually very if-y in terms of whether a young person actually learns anything as an intern because companies seem not to know what to do with an intern. But if you can get that sort of position, and put that on your experience list, it is for sure, a big plus.

If you can’t get either a volunteer position or an internship, take any legal, paying job. It will still teach you something while you earn a fair wage. Remember: experience is never wasted. What you then do with it is what counts.

(2) Include a Killer Cover Letter

If you lack experience, don't try to brush over the fact or worse, try to hide it somehow. A cover letter is the perfect place to address any gaps in your resume, so use that as an opportunity to directly address any concerns the employer might have.

Be upfront about it but make your case for why you are deserving of an opportunity whether to be hired on probation or just to be interviewed. Experience is important, but so is your attitude to work, your personality, your understanding of the company and its activity, your motivation, your resilience, any ideas you may have for the future. In fact, the list of what you could put in your cover letter is endless, but be clear, be strong, be committed and not a rambler.

One additional comment is to stringently avoid using platitudes and fluffy generalizations. Don't claim that you want to commit your life to the company because that’s nonsense and no-one will believe you. Don’t say you want to help the company be great, or say anything that sounds so ridiculously unbelievable.

Your ‘killer cover letter’ is where you know what your specific strengths and capabilities are and you show how they can mesh with the employer’s needs and operations.

(3) Sell your skills (not your experience)

Everyone has talent and skills. They differ from individual to individual, and the level of proficiency varies too but everyone has capabilities and that is what needs to be accentuated and presented to a recruiter, especially if you’re lacking the requisite work experience.

The challenge is to be able to identify, itemise and rate them honestly. On this score, you may not actually be the best person to assess your skills and capabilities because of innate bias or prejudice but at least, give it some thought and start the process. It may well be a question that is put to you during your interview anyway, so have a clear view of what your talent and skills are is extremely valuable.

(4) Tailor your resume to the Job Description

It isn’t necessarily obvious to job applicants – young or otherwise – that a resume is not meant to be one version and totally cast in stone. The facts in your resume should never change (!!) but for different jobs, there ought to be different emphasis on key elements so that the specific recruiter can immediately see your fit to the advertised role. This comes from simply adjusting resume lay-out and design elements like having bold or larger fonts etc.

The easier you make the recruiter’s job for him/her (by showing how you fit the advertised job), the more likely the decision will go in your favour.

(5) Network

Networking provides you with two benefits: access to non-advertised employment positions and the ability to get referrals from people who are known to the potential employer.

Too many first time workers think that the only jobs that are available are the ones that are advertised either in newspapers or on the net, or even on a company door. Nothing could be further from the truth. The classic picture of an iceberg, where four-fifths of it is underwater, is the norm where 80% of available jobs are not advertised and the way to access them is via a network. That’s the critical importance of building a network and then maintaining it, even if you are employed.

If you don't have the required level of experience, you need to be trustworthy and dependable. Your network contacts are the ideal way to get you recommended to the potential employer. Employers are more likely to overlook the gap in your experience if you come with a recommendation from someone they can trust.

(6) Apply speculatively

If you only apply for advertised jobs, you're going to be assessed against set criteria. What you should do then is just apply speculatively to companies that interest you. That means submitting an application eventhough you haven’t seen any job vacancies advertised by that organization.

Do your research, show that you have done your research, and then ask if there are any opportunities for you in that company because you're really looking to break into the industry. If the answer is no, ask if you can apply again in 6 months, and find out what you can do in the meantime to improve your chances.

There is nothing to lose and everything to gain. That should be the deciding argument.

(7) Research the Company and Its People

The internet is a wonderful resource if you make the effort to use it properly. Every company, for instance, has – or should have – a website. Some are indeed better than others but that alone will give you some understanding about the organization. It may even convince you that you don’t want to apply for that company. Don’t discount that possibility.

LinkedIn is a wonderful resource also because it will allow you to search for people who are working for a company so that you can see what kinds of people work there. You can review their backgrounds, their qualifications and learn a lot about your prospective employer. Your ability to “read the signs” is very personal so you may see what someone else doesn’t but that’s alright because you are the one applying not that ‘someone else’.

Don’t discard what you learn via your search. At one level you will likely need to share what you know of the company at your interview but on another level, it will give you insight into whether that is the kind of organization that will likely suit you. Or not. Trust your instinct and believe in your gut feel. It will likely be right.

(8) Prepare for the Interview

The intention here is to help you gain employment eventhough you may not have any prior work experience. If your work background isn’t going to sway the recruiter then you will have to otherwise be so “wow” that the recruiter puts aside the need for experience. Something else has persuaded them that not having you onboard will be a huge missed opportunity for the organization so they have to have you. How do you achieve that?

You prepare for the interview.

That seems so obvious but there are significantly more job applicants who don’t properly prepare than there are ones who prepare. Any recruiter, any manager will tell you the same thing because it is so obvious when you meet someone who is more than ready versus someone who just showed up on the day, hoping for a good outcome.