The Great Experience Dilemma: Can Grads Get Jobs With NO Experience?

If you're a student or a fresh graduate, you probably know the feeling.

You feel so excited when you find your dream job advertised... only to realise that it requires experience ???

Getting experience as a student or graduate feels like a chicken and egg situation. You need experience to get experience, but to get experience, you need experience.

Crazy, right??

It's a cycle that makes your job search seem never-ending. Rejections left and right… all because of your lack of experience.

Let's face it; many entry-level roles aren't so entry-level any more. But this doesn't mean that you should lose hope.?

Troves of graduates land top-notch job offers every year with little experience (and we've been fortunate to work with many of them!)...

So why can't you too?

Here are 3 proven strategies you can use to breach the "experience gap" and land heaps of job offers:

1. Get "Easy-Access" Experience.

Believe it or not, nobody started with experience!

Here are some ways you can get experience if you don't have any: start a business (even if just for fun), volunteer (e.g. vollie.com), virtual internships (e.g. theforage.com), personal projects (e.g. on GitHub), freelance (e.g. UpWork.com), tutoring, part-time jobs, internships, work experience placements, and more!

When I was a student back in the day, I tried to build a couple of businesses, completed 6 internships, and worked some part-time jobs. This helped me a ton in standing out to land a job at KPMG upon graduating. Many of our clients have used the same strategies - one even ran an e-commerce store!

Curious to know how I got a job offer at KPMG? Check out my story here!

2. Convert an Internship.

Many internships out there (but not all…) are available to students and graduates who don't have experience. Internships are a fantastic way to break into your field, but there are 2 things most people don't know about them...?

Firstly, you can create your own! Check out this newsletter here to learn how our clients land hidden jobs and internships. This stuff works!

Secondly, if you perform well during an internship, you can often secure a full-time job offer??

3. Showcase Transferable Skills.?

So, you don't have much experience... But does that mean you don't have skills?

Absolutely not!

In comes transferable skills. These are skills you've acquired elsewhere but are transferable (or useful) for the job you are targeting.

For example, you can highlight relevant skills and accomplishments acquired through university projects, societies, or volunteering.

If you can demonstrate how these skills make you a fit for your target job, bingo! Interviews will come your way.

Listen to our podcast episode here to learn how one of our clients, Nathan, doubled his interview rate and eventually landed a consulting job at EY by better showcasing his transferable skills.

Fun fact: he used to lead a team of gamers to complete international tournaments! Pretty cool, right?

There you have it - 3 tips to get you started!

Remember, determination, passion, and a willingness to learn can open doors you never thought possible. Never lose hope, and have a positive mindset.

Wishing you the best of luck in your career pursuits!

Mackenzie

Founder, Grad Jobs

P.S. Need a hand with the job search? Schedule a FREE call with our team?here.