How To Get A Job When You Have No Experience

What is the most common manner of young and inexperienced people applying for a job?

Most of them enter a website, choose a couple of job offers, send their CV and, in the best case, also attach a cover letter.

And then, during the rest of the day they sit down somewhere, drinking coffee with their unemployed friends complaining about how wrong all employers are for not offering them a job.

Not so great as it sounds, right? And in the evenings, they usually get quite depressed because they are doing the same thing over and over again for a couple of months not getting even a single call for a job interview.

The truth is that in order to get a job when you have no experience at all, you should first realize the fact that often most companies employ not the most skilful and hard-working people, but those who know how to sell themselves in the best way and then keep their job.

If we have to put this in other words, in order to get a job when you lack any professional experience you should be unbiased enough and consider even if you would employ yourself before applying for a certain position. Here are some ideas you can use:

Would you hire yourself?

No matter what you think, this is actually quite an important question you should ask yourself before asking someone else to hire you. In other words, you should confess if you are responsible, loyal and professional enough in order to get the job, no matter if you are applying for a job as a waiter, doctor, architect, etc.

Choosing the right approach

There are no strict rules you should follow when applying for a job. This is not a book and there is no theory that can help you turn everything you’ve read into practice. However, there are several basic tips you may follow in order to get the job you are applying for even if you don’t have the experience needed.

•    Stay focused

Instead of applying for different jobs you know nothing about in companies that you have not made a research for, try to stay focused in a single job position and apply at two or three companies. This will give you the opportunity to make a research for the company and its employees, which on the other hand will help you keep yourself informed about the details. And knowing the details will give you a serious head start before any other job applicant.

•    CV and Cover Letter

Do not even think of sending a standard CV – this will make you look like everyone else and you won’t have any competitive advantage. However, you should remember that your CV is crucial for getting a job, so a good idea is to try making it different, especially considering the fact that you have no professional experience at all. There are many examples of non-standard resumes on the Internet and you can come across some great ideas if you spend enough time on that.

When applying for a job, always remember to send a cover letter, too. It is absolutely unacceptable to send a CV without a few sentences in the accompanying e-mail. Also, try writing your cover letter freely and make sure it is different from the clichés and all the “good practices”.

•    Try not to fit in the standards

Be noticeable and unusual. And this, of course, does not mean putting on any extravagant clothes or anything else of this sort. The important thing is to be unconventional but show your future employers that you are motivated and energetic, and not just another cuckoo. There is a subtle difference between these two things, so be really careful.

•    Make an offer that they can’t refuse

Now it is the right time to attack and be absolutely ruthless. Make an offer that your future employer won’t be able to refuse, which means that the offer should be consistent enough and should be in compliance with the job.

Also, consider the fact that employers are very careful when choosing an applicant who has no experience at all. What will make a difference is to offer:

•    certain results;
•    working for free until achieving the results you have discussed;
•    be flexible;
•    be sincere and show how much you like the company and how much you want the job
•    suggest starting at a lower position that you actually deserve

With this step you literally sweep all the competition if we can talk about a competition at all. This demonstrates motivation and ambition, as well as a strong interest and faith in your own knowledge and abilities. This is a step that almost no one would do, and that is exactly why it usually makes such a strong impression.