Overcoming a Lack of Experience
Lack of Experience Shouldn’t Hold You Back
A lot of people worry when they begin looking for a job because they don’t believe that they have the experience that they need to do the thing that they really want to do. Well, guess what? Everyone starts somewhere, and even the biggest and most experienced, successful, and powerful businessman in the world had to start somewhere. Yep, even that guy (or girl) had to apply for their first job once, and they didn’t have any experience at that time.
So, how did they overcome that and get to where they are? And even better, how can you overcome your lack of experience to land the job that you really want?
First of all, you probably do have experience, even if it might not be in a professional capacity. You have gone to school, were involved in sports and other activities there, and you might even have volunteer work under your belt through Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts. These are all things that are helpful to you and count as “experience.” Put them on your resume!
Second of all, what is it you’re passionate about? True, there are some jobs that you do need to get advanced education for (lawyers, doctors, teachers), but not all jobs require this. If you know that you want to go down one of those paths, then your next step out of high school is college. If things are more up in the air for you, then you should start figuring out what it is you are passionate about and what you want to do with your professional life. If you like working with animals, look for places where you can get some hands on experience doing this. Even if it’s volunteer work at first, this is a good way to get your foot in the door and start building up your resume so that when you do apply for a job, not only do you have the background that your prospective employer is looking for, but you will now have a higher degree of confidence when it comes to interviews, too.
Also, employers do appreciate leadership experience as it indicates to them that not only are you responsible, but you might be a candidate for promotion in the future. Being the captain of the high school football team counts here. Little things like this add up over time, and they all can help you to show a future employer that just because you haven’t had your first job yet doesn’t mean that you cannot be the best employee that they could possibly hire.
Finally, if you don’t have the experience yet, create it for yourself. This doesn’t mean to lie on your application, but rather it means go out of your way to build up your background by putting yourself in places where you can get experience. If you want to get a job working with computers, for example, volunteer to help teach senior citizens how to use the internet. Sure, this is a small example, but it’s something that almost every younger person in the world already knows how to do. Something like this shows a few things to employers. It shows that you are determined to succeed in this field. It shows that you have initiative. And, it shows that you are responsible enough to be trusted to successfully lead other people. All of these things are huge plusses on your behalf, and it all helps build up that experience that employers look for.
So if you don’t have “experience” just yet, think again. It’s much easier to do than you might think.