Overcoming a lack of experience | My World of Work

If you lack work experience there are many things you can do to build up your CV. Learn how you can overcome a lack of relevant job experience. Skiptomainnavigation Skiptomaincontent Overcomingalackofexperience You’renewtothis–andit’sok.Herearesomewaystogetthatall-importantexperienceforarole. Whatyouwilllearn Identifywhereyourlackofexperiencelies Howtosellyourexperienceandhowthathelpsplugtheexperiencegaps Focusonyourcurrentskillsandexperienceandhowthiscanhelpwithyourlackofexperience Practicalwaystogetmoreexperience Whenyou’reapplyingforyourfirstjob,ormovingtoanewcareer,youmaybefeelinglikeyoudon’thaveallthenecessaryexperienceforaparticularrole–butthisisn’tnecessarilyabadthing. Howyourespondtogapsinyourknowledgeorexperienceisjustasimportantasfillingthemin.Simplyhavinganawarenessofwhatyouneedtoworkonwillshowemployersthatyou’reproactiveandadaptable. So,let’sstartbyviewingholesinyourexperienceasopportunitiestolearnandbecomebetterskilled. Weunderstandit’snotalwayspracticaltoreturntostudyingfull-time,whichiswhywe’veoutlinedsomeotherwaysyoucanupskillyourselfbelow. Understandingyourtransferableskills Ifyou lack work experience therearemanythingsyoucandotobuildupyour CV.Startbylisting yourpreviousachievements,nomatterhowbigorsmalltheyare.Didyoucompleteacourseatcollegeoruniversity?Arethere activitiesyou’reapartof?Haveyousuccessfully givenapresentation?Itisimportanttorememberthatalltheseachievementsrequiredskillstocomplete and whetherthiswasteamwork,stickingtodeadlinesorbeingaleader,youwillhavelearnedwaysofworkingthatwillbetransferablein the workplace.   Apositiveattitudeandpersonalitycanbea skillinitself.Usethistosellyourself,evenifyoulacktheexperiencerequired.BybeingyourbestselfanddescribingwhatexperienceandskillsyoudohaveyouwillbeabletomakealastingimpressiononyourCVandataninterview.   Alwaysensure thatyourCVsellsyourexperienceandskillsthatyoudohaveinsteadoftheskillsyoudonotcurrentlyhave.Employersaren’talwayslookingforthefinishedarticle –  they arelookingforsomeonewhowillintegratewellwithintheircompanysotickingalltheboxesisn’talwaysnecessary. Though,ifanemployerislookingforsomethingyoudon’thave,istheresomethingyoucandorightnowtoaddressthegaps?  Howtobuildonyourexperience  Don’tletyourlackofexperiencestandinthewayofgoingforyourdreamjob.Takesometimetoidentifywhereyourknowledgeorskillgapsmaybethen lookinto practicalwaysto getmoreexperienceonyourCV.Thisdoesn’talwayshavetobepaidor fulltime positionsandeducation,thereareopportunitiesouttherethatyoumaynothaveconsideredinthepast.Itisperfectlynormaltotakeastepdownthecareerladdertogettoyourdreampositioninthelongterm. Takealook at waysyoucanbuildonyourexperiencebelow.  Volunteering  Somepeopledon’talwaysconsidervolunteeringanoptionwhenlookingforskillstobuilduptheirCV.However,itcanbe theperfectpositiontolearntransferableskillsinaction.ManyvolunteeringpositionswillprovideyouwithrelevanttrainingthatyoucantakeadditionallearningfromandutiliseonyourCV. Volunteering isnot the quickestoreasiest waytobuildupyourCVbutitcanbeanopportunitytolearnfromothers, havearolewithinthecommunity, meetnewpeopleandpotentiallyfindhiddenskillsandpassions,allofwhichwilladdtoyourexperience.   Freeonlineresources  Takingadvantageoffreeonlineresourcescanbealowriskwaytoexpandyourknowledge.WatchingeducationalYouTubevideosonacertaintopic,readingblogsortakingpartinafreeonlinecoursecanbeyourfirststepintolearningsomethingnew.Therearemanyfreeresourcesonlinethatcanhelpyoufindanewwayoflearning,manyevencomewithaccreditationthatyoucanaddtoyourCV. MyWorldofWorkisaresourcewhereyoucanfindfreeonlinecoursessuitedtoyourinterests.Checkoutourlearnandtrainpageformoreinformationonhowyoucandevelopyourskillsonline.  Workexperience  Internshipsorworkexperiencecanoftenbethewayto learnwhiledoingthejob.Theseareafantasticopportunityforthosewhoarelookingtogetyourfootinthedooratacompanyorwithinaspecificsectorasyoucandothejobofyourpeersandtrainalongsideworking.Althoughthesepositionsmaynotbepaidorevenwellpaid,theyaregreatforbuildingupyourCVwhilemeetingpeoplewithinyourchosenindustry.Havingconnectionswithinyournetworkwillbeusefulinthelongterm,asyouwillbeabletocallupontheminthefuture.   Mentorship  Callinguponyournetworkcan openup endlesspossibilities.Utilisingyoursocialnetwork,yourcontactsorevenpreviouscolleaguesfor advicecanhelpyoutolearnfromtheexperienceofothers.Mostpeopleareopentodiscussingtheirrolesorhowtheygotthere,itisjustbuildinguptheconfidencetoreachoutandask.Ifthereissomeoneyouaspiretoworkalongside,don’tbeafraidtoestablishaworkingrelationshipwiththem,askthemiftheycouldgiveyouacall,allowyoutoshadowthemattheirworkorprovidementorship.Learningfromotherscanhelpshapethe wayyoulookatyourCVandcareerjourneywhichwillhelpyouhaveabetteroutlookonyourfuture.  Part-timestudy  Lifecanbebusysometimes,youmayhavechildcaretoconsideroryourcurrentjobtoworkaround,sovolunteeringorlearningfulltimemightnotbeanoptionforyou.Therearemanyopportunitiestolearnpart-time,whateveryou’reinterestedinstudying.Manycollegesanduniversitiesoffernightclasseswhereyoucangaintherelevantskillsrequiredtoreachyourgoals.Ifyou'reover25andliveinScotland,LinkedInLearningcouldhelpyoudevelopnewskills.  Alackofworkexperienceshouldn’tbetreatedasabarriertoyourcareerdevelopment.Itshouldgiveyouthemotivationtoexploreotheroptions and whatskillsyouneedtodevelopandwhatexperiencewillhelpyoulandyouyourdreamjob.Allexperienceisvalidandbuildinguponthiscanhelpyouinthelongrun.   Someotherarticlesyoumayfindhelpful Takingchargeofyourgoalsandachievements Ownyourachievementsanddiscoverhowtopresentthemwelltoemployers. Havingtheconfidencetoplanyourcareer Herearesometipstohelpgrowyourconfidencewhenyou’replanningyourcareer. Onthejobexperienceandhowitcanhelpyou Fromashadowingtovolunteering,findouthowworkinginthejobyouwantcanbeveryuseful. GetyourLinkedInLearningaccount Youneedtoconfirmyouareovertheageof25andlivinginScotland Yes,Iam25yearsoldor older Yes,IliveinScotland Readour privacypolicy Iagreetotheprivacypolicy JoinLinkedInlearning Success! CheckyouremailinboxforanemailfromLinkedInLearning.Thismaytakeafewminutesto come through. Youmustactivateyouraccountbeforeyoucanstartanycourses. Ifyouhaveanyproblemswithyouraccount,getintouchwithus. Error Sorry,somethingwen'twrong. Tryagain. Refresh