How to look for a job without experience

You wanted to be accepted for a new job but then you realized that you do not have the background that suits the requirements. Give up? Definately not. Michael Weizman, VP of Talent Solutions from the ManpowerGroup Group with all the tips that will help you get through the situation and get the job

The strange routine that the Corona has created for us in recent months has presented us all with quite a few challenges, but there seems to be nothing bigger than the subject of work. Entire branches of employment have closed down at once and many have found themselves, sometimes with no choice, recalculating a route and looking for a new profession. But what if you are required to change direction, but have no experience in this new profession?

One of the most complicated problems we encounter in job search, certainly and certainly at a relatively early stage of our career in a particular field, is the problem of experience. Or inexperience, to be exact. Many employers want to hire someone who is experienced and not "new in the field", so how do you even manage to get into a situation where you have experience, if you do not get the opportunity to start? How will you start your real career if until now you worked as a waiter in a restaurant or as a saleswoman in a clothing store? And as mentioned, what can you do if your industry is one of those damaged by the corona and you have to change professions as a result? It all sounds complex, but of course there are solutions.

so what are we doing? And is it even worth it for us to try to get jobs even if we have no experience? Michael Weizmann, VP of Talent Solutions of the ManpowerGroup Group with the answers.

Look for characteristics common to all jobs

"In every job we look at, you can find similar characteristics, unless they are jobs from really distant fields," he explains. What characteristics are we talking about for example?

•attention to details

• Ability to work with other people

• Be accurate at work

• Know how to process data at a proper level at the very least

• Know how to work on a computer

What you need to do in such a situation is to think and understand which of those common characteristics you have already managed to gain life experience, in one way or another. It could be in high school, in leisure activities, in the military or in your initial job, even if it is not really related to the field you are looking for. This experience is all around us, everywhere and just need to know how to explain it to the interviewer.

When does it not work? "If it's for technology jobs, where you ask for a programmer with a certain amount of years of experience, then it's less suitable. But in most jobs there are generic things that can be noticed."

Many jobs have similar basic characteristics (Photo: ShutterStock)

Woman at work (Photo: ShutterStock)

Assemble a rich enough resume

So you thought about the answers and you want to move forward. The next step will be to put together your resume and here too, use everything you have done so far. You do not have to invent things, of course, but what can you tell about without hesitation, even if it is not work experience?

• Volunteering you did

• A hobby in which you are successful

"The basic thing is to arrive ready," Weizmann clarifies. "Understand what kind of job it is and how to connect the skills we have already acquired to the job in question. Highlight my skills. In the end, an employer understands that he does not get 100 percent fit for what he asked for, but if I have motivation and understanding for the job, it's good."

Hobbies are much more than soup hobbies

Hobbies as such, are something we tend to ignore, but if you spend hours of your free time on something and you are successful at it, emphasize it, both in your resume and down the road, in the job interview: "If I have a hobby that requires discipline, diligence, accuracy and personal responsibility, it Can also be accepted as an experience and strengthen my candidacy. If for example I read a lot of books that broaden my horizons in interesting areas, it can testify to me as a person. Show that I am curious and have a desire and ability to learn. Or if I practice art, it indicates flight, creativity and thinking "Out of the box. Anything can help."

Do you have a hobby that you are successful in? Use it as an experience (Photo: ShutterStock)

Young woman playing guitar (Photo: ShutterStock)

Turn the hobby into "work experience"

This hobby, for example, if it is in some way relevant to the jobs you are looking for, can also become a real job as part of "helping" a friend or relative. How for example? Suppose you dream of becoming a website developer, but you have just graduated from the military and have not yet worked in the field - spend a good few hours building a website for someone close to you, someone who has a small business or wants to promote themselves in some way. In return, you can present the site you built as a job for everything and experience you have gained: "You need to convey a message that you have the abilities and skills to suit both the organization and this specific role," says Weizmann.

Do not be afraid to compromise a little at first - it makes perfect sense and is acceptable

And yes, even compromising sometimes on a starting position, if it is related in any way to the field you are looking for, is perfectly fine. Obviously we all want to get to the top, but we need to build the road there and slowly gain all the necessary experience.

And good luck!

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