How to find a job without experience?

You need to understand that it will take effort, action, and entrepreneurial spirit. The right attitude is important. The task of the first job in a new field is not to get a high salary immediately, but to gain experience and the opportunity to further develop as a professional.

Why is experience so important to employers?

Most job postings have requirements for experience in the field and/or position. Employers can understand:

1. It will take longer for a newcomer to get up to speed, learn skills, and get into the system.
2. It is not always possible to allocate a mentor for a new employee to help him get used to the system.

In Western practice, free internships are common. To get a job, newcomers work for several months or even a year without pay. For example, German residents under 27 years of age receive an allowance (Kindergeld), which gives them time to gain experience on internships.

What vacancies are worth applying for if you have no experience?

First of all, you need to analyze the field where you want to get. What position seems most suitable? For example, in IT there are more than a hundred specialties and job titles. It is important to study their descriptions in detail. Only after singling out five or six options that one feels are acceptable, one can begin to examine the actual job openings.

1. Engage the resources you already have

Yesterday's graduate has the following opportunities to get a job without work experience:

• Apply to organizations where internships have taken place, volunteer.
• Offer their services to companies in which they have had the opportunity to work part-time.
• Consult with a specialist in graduate employment assistance.
• Connect with acquaintances (the analysis will make it clear to those close to you what positions are being considered).

For those who already have work experience, but want to change their specialty, it can be recommended to start with the firm where the person works. There is a chance that the employer will go out of their way to offer the following:

• Assign a part of the functionality from the desired field (involve the salesperson in the development and implementation of an advertising campaign of the store - and this is the experience that is sought!).
• Allow the use of company resources (why not allow an accountant "with views" on a career in the IT industry to practice improving or maintaining a website).

Many employees are reluctant to have this conversation for fear of being rejected or even fired. In fact, more often than not, employers respond positively to their employees' desire to develop.

To get a job with no experience, it doesn't hurt to ask about the desired field from everyone with whom you have a connection at your current place of employment. Ask counterparties, business partners, and office building "neighbors" about job openings. After all, these companies have an idea of your reputation, albeit in a different field. In parallel with the "search for internal reserves," you need to start responding to job openings.

2. Respond to job openings on the market

Important! You need to respond as much as possible. First, most job sites are paid for the employer, which means that the money to open contacts of newcomers may simply not be enough. Second, wider networks - more fish. How to get a job without work experience? Maximize the reach of potential employers.

But do not respond thoughtlessly:

1. Write cover letters explaining why you're interested in the job.
2. Keep a register (where you responded, what terms, contact phone number) - failure if the recruiter calls and the job seeker has already forgotten about his/her response (you can print out the job, take screenshots to be ready for the phone interview).
3. Respond not only to jobs that don't specify experience requirements, but also to jobs where they are minimal (up to a year and 1 year or more). Even if it states that one year or more experience is considered, a promising newcomer has a chance of getting a job without experience.

How to write a resume? What to write about work experience?

A general recommendation - you need to "delineate", confirm and specify your "flexible" and "hard" skills, as well as the tools and the degree of their possession. Consider two options.

What to put on your resume?

• Details about education: not just the name of the school and the full name of the professional field on the diploma (correct!), but also a list of internships and practices with responsibilities, specialization, research topics, achievements, volunteering (only if it was in the profile of the desired work!). Recommendation letters from internships are a plus. All these will increase your chances of getting a job without experience.  
• Possession of tools (special programs, equipment, etc.) Do not be limited to a dry listing, it is worth writing about the skills in detail.
• Portfolio of work (link), even if it was academic or done for free.
• Professional Interests.

2. "Profile Change" - I have experience, but it's in a different field

What should I write?

1. It is necessary to list briefly all the experience, even if it is not in the profile. But in the description of the duties it is worth trying to "single out" the skills that may be useful in the new place. The seller wants to become a marketer - it makes sense to indicate that he took part in the design of promotions, promoted the page of the store in social networks, etc. 
2. Argue the desire to work in a new direction.
3. List what has been done to "retrain": take courses or self-study, do trial work (even if it was for free).

How do you go about the interview? Nuances for those with no experience

Newcomers have no (or very few) professional skills yet. So recruiters focus on two factors when interviewing them:

• Flexibility skills (soft skills).
• Prospectivity.

Therefore, expect a lot of "projective" questions, cases in the style of "what would you do if ...". In addition, there will be a discussion of achievements in the studies and plans for the future.

To get a job without work experience, be prepared for such questions.

General tips and advice for job seekers without experience

There is a legend that a famous designer opened a studio when he had no customers. He came up with nonexistent firms himself and, along with his employees, designed websites for them. No experience? Start creating one yourself! Build a portfolio, get free orders for feedback, intern and practice.  

In today's world, soft skills - flexible skills that can be acquired and applied anywhere - are valuable. Especially important is the ability to self-learn, to act in a situation of uncertainty, to change the direction of development flexibly. Those who can demonstrate such skills will be attractive in the eyes of employers even without work experience.

A specialist needs to apply to 3 vacancies and go to 2 interviews. A beginner would have to write 40+ letters and go through 10+ interviews. How do I get a job without any experience? Be persistent! Patience and hard work = success.

Labor market forecasts say that the future is for multivolunteers (specialists in two or more fields). Therefore, if you have experience in another field, you can find a "related" option that combines the "old" job and the desired job. Jobs like "electrician-designer" or "programmer-artist" are no longer fantastic. So experience in another field is not always a disadvantage, often it is a huge advantage.

It is important to separate your plans for the "here and now" and the "future. Yes, everyone starts out rank-and-file. But the "starting position" (maybe - not very money and prestigious, not in the best firm), in which the newcomer is - is not the rejection of dreams and suppression of ambition, but a necessary step in development. Such an attitude will help you get a job with no experience.

What not to do

• Cheat on your resume and at the interview.
• Be passive in your first job search (or change in profile).
• Send blank resumes or options like "studied for the last few years with no job opportunities."This is one of the reasons why employers don't respond to resumes.
• Starting your first job search without analyzing your desired field and clear career plans.
• Giving up on your dreams out of fear that "they won't hire without experience.