4 ways to overcome lack of experience

Have you ever interviewed for a job and been rejected because of your lack of work experience?

When you’re applying for entry-level jobs or internships as a college student or recent grad, this is a pretty common experience. Even though the career services office on your campus may have barked at you incessantly about applying for internships and part-time job opportunities, and your parents breathed down your neck over break about doing seasonal work to make some extra money, you may find yourself with very little work experience to list on your resume at this point.

If that’s the case, today’s Tuesday Tip video and article are for you. College Recruiter’s Content Manager, Bethany Wallace, offers four quick tips in a 5-minute video.

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1. Lack experience? Get some.

Alanis Morissette should have added this to her lyrical list of ironies back in 1995. Recruiters don’t have much sympathy for job seekers without experience listed on their resumes, though. If you lack experience prior to the job search, the best remedy is to seek experience. The sooner you can gain experience, the better.

The worst thing you can do for yourself is to allow yourself the luxury of feeling bad about your lack of experience. The best thing you can do for yourself is to take action. A great first step is to register at CollegeRecruiter.com and search for job opportunities in your area.

2. List all experience.

If you can’t find a full-time job, settle for part-time employment. Combine a few part-time jobs if necessary. It’s best to find part-time employment in your preferred career field, of course, because this allows you to build a repertoire of skills you can use in that great entry-level full-time job you’ll land soon.

If you can’t find a paid part-time position, consider volunteering with a non-profit organization. You might be able to use the skills gained in your academic major to help the organization; this experience can be listed on your resume as well.

Don’t forget to list other experience on your resume as well, including paid and unpaid internships and your involvement in organizations both on-campus and off-campus.

3. Compensate with strong soft skills.

Soft skills are skills which you may have acquired as a college student (but not necessarily in the classroom); these skills are a combination of personality traits and habits which make you a quality employee and a pleasant person to interact with. Research shows that people with excellent soft skills tend to perform well at work; in fact, people with strong soft skills perform just as well (and sometimes better than) people with strong technical skills.

Some of the soft skills recruiters and talent acquisition professionals are looking for including communication skills, a strong work ethic, time management ability, problem-solving skills, and ability to work well under pressure.

When you’re in an interview, think about how you can sell yourself by demonstrating your soft skills. Think in advance how you would answer questions like, Tell me about a time when you faced a difficult problem. How did you solve it?

4. Seek additional training opportunities.

If you lack training which applies to the job opportunities you’re seeking, get some! There are multiple ways to seek training. You can take an extra college course in journalism, for example, if you want to write for your local newspaper but keep getting rejected when you apply for writing positions. You might also scour the internet and newspapers for local writers groups. These groups are free to join, and not only will you learn from other writers, but you might enjoy the fellowship and constructive criticism.

Ultimately, if you lack experience related to your career field, no one can gain it on your behalf.

It’s your responsibility to stake your claim in the world of work.

Taking steps in the direction of gaining work experience can be intimidating, but you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment each time you take one more step.

Why not take one more step forward today?

Work on the draft of your resume. Submit your final draft to the free resume editors at College Recruiter. Make an appointment with the career services department at your local university. Find out when the career fair will be hosted on your campus this spring. Register and search for jobs on College Recruiter’s website.

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