Having work experience in your specialty is one of the important requirements for employment. But what if it’s not there? What to do if you only recently received your university diploma? Or you suddenly decided to radically change your field of activity and do something new. How to start working without work experience? What difficulties do beginners usually encounter along the way? And how to overcome them?
Director of the HR-Online recruitment agency Ekaterina Kichigina spoke about five nuances that will help you understand the issue of where you can work without experience.
The practice of employing beginners exists
It is a mistake to believe that only qualified specialists are needed in any field. There are enough areas where beginners are in demand. Of course, these are not responsible professions, and no one will allow you to treat people or design buildings. But there are many large companies that are ready to train and provide initial experience to their employees who have never worked a day before.
“First of all, where you can get a job without experience are large chain retail companies,” comments Ekaterina Kichigina. “This could be food retail or fashion retail of various types, where they will gladly accept a person with absolutely no experience.”
At the same time, the level of education does not always play a key role in employment. According to the expert, it is desirable that there is still education. But the decision to hire is made only based on the results of the interview. And if the applicant makes a positive impression, it may well turn out that that initial educational level is sufficient to master the knowledge that the company plans to give to the new employee.
What to do if you don't know how to do anything? Working step-by-step instructions
Step 1: Surroundings (look from a different angle)
Man is a social being. Our behavior patterns are highly dependent on the environment in which we find ourselves. “We've heard this a hundred times already,” you say. And I will tell you: “Look at the advice from a different angle.”
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In this case, a person who earns a lot of money at the same job for many years in a row is not someone you should absolutely follow. Instead, watch those people who easily start doing different things and bring it to a certain viable result.
Take cues from fast learners.
How to look for such people:
first of all, these are your friends and acquaintances! And then professional chats in Telegram, gatherings in big cities, thematic groups. Follow professional news portals in your city that broadcast about modern trends in work and freelancing - news about events is very often distributed through such publications.
Step 2: Allocation/creation of value for these people
“Find a mentor” is what people are advised to do. But the mentor should also be interested in you. Highlight your strengths (they don't have to be outstanding) and think about who and how you could be useful. For example, if you want to program and you have a friend who needs help with monotonous work, you can become his assistant. In return, he will teach you how to perform his tasks (at least in a basic way). Personally, it was my programmer brother whom I looked up to.
Step 3: Collect Information Like SpongeBob
Do you remember that cartoon where a cheerful and lively guy in the shape of a sponge runs around and constantly gets into different situations and says “I’m ready”? So you should become a kind of “sponge”. Get active and watch what successful people around you are doing. Absorb the information, summarize statistics, track frequently recurring types of employment. In my environment it is: website creation, design, programming, marketing. In order to “absorb” information, you need to strive to be in the center of events, offline or online. Once again, the atmosphere and environment are very important components.
Step 4: try it
At this stage, you already understand who is who in the “digital world”. Let's start filtering:
1) Select an activity from the list of those you have observed.
2) Trace the maximum number of options for getting paid for working in this field.
If this is the area of website creation, then there will be such things as website development from scratch, website development using a website builder, website design, landing page design and others.
3) Among the found options, leave only those that, according to your own feelings, satisfy the balance “monetary reward - joy of execution - difficulty of execution”
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Everything here is often individual, and will greatly depend on the image of those people who appeared in your life in the previous steps. Don't be afraid to make mistakes - this is a process of becoming. For example, I experimentally found out that it is more convenient for me to be a freelancer because of the free schedule and freedom to choose clients.
4) Start trying the list. Master the minimum necessary skills to complete the task. Here I would advise you not to set high standards for yourself, but rather, set goals that you think are most likely to be achieved.
Make sure not to underestimate your capabilities - a bit of adventurism will not hurt. Use the contacts you have acquired in previous stages, and do not hesitate to ask for advice. For example, make a simple, typical business card website using a builder like Wix or Tilda.
5) Once you complete the task, start offering your services to people you know. Again, connections will only benefit you here. Don't position yourself as an expensive professional; instead, focus on getting results. Remember that 80 percent of success is 20 percent of effort.
Job vacancies are available on “job sites”
There are a large number of sites on the Internet that offer job searches. For the applicant, their services are usually free, and in the search you can choose a vacancy from several dozen areas of activity.
In this case, it is worth using the vacancy filter and focusing only on those in which the employer indicates the possibility of employment for a newcomer. This means that this company has developed and uses its own employee training algorithm. And this practice makes it possible to hire people without any knowledge of their specialty and take them through all the stages that form the necessary pool of skills.
If you want to get a job without experience as soon as possible, pay attention to the following specialties:
- waiters;
- consultants;
- sellers;
- couriers;
- sales representatives;
- call center operators.
“You need to decide exactly what field you would like to work in,” advises Ekaterina Kichigina. “After that, you need to apply for vacancies of interest and answer calls from employers.”
Ideas for business with small investments
Even with financial limitations, there are many directions for starting your own small business; they can even be divided into categories:
- Home-based business is attractive because you don’t need to rent a separate room to work, and you can also combine activities with household chores. This is especially convenient for young mothers on maternity leave. The areas of activity here can be very different: from organizing a business using your own garage or garden plot to profitable handicraft activities (sewing, knitting, cooking, crafts, etc.).
- Business in a village (village) - this area is associated with agriculture, within its framework you can engage in breeding domestic animals, growing crops, ecotourism, and breeding exotic animals.
- Business in a resort town - in this category you can open a mini-hotel, attractions, catering outlets, night discos, and organize excursions.
- To do business in a small town, it is preferable to focus on trade and services (hairdresser, shoe repair shop, equipment repair shop, etc.).
- The real estate industry is very attractive and reliable for running your business. One of the most popular areas, available even for beginners, is subleasing apartments, when you rent an apartment monthly for a reasonable price, and rent it out daily, ultimately making a profit.
Resume Content Matters
On most job sites, the applicant will be asked to fill out a resume, which will be viewed by potential employers. You should not neglect this offer, even if it seems to you that you cannot write anything at all on your resume.
According to the expert, any of your experience, even if it is not related to professional activities, is interesting to the employer. Therefore, when filling out your resume, indicate all aspects that will characterize you as an attractive applicant.
For example, you can reflect your knowledge of foreign languages, which will be useful for a consultant or waiter. Driving skills are indispensable for a courier. And the experience of social activities, if during your studies at a university you, for example, headed a student union, can be implemented in the future within the company. All this will show your active position, which may interest the employer and encourage him to invite you for an interview.
Right choice
When you ask a small child what he wants to become, you often hear in response: “I will work like my mother (father) - a driver, a doctor, a teacher,” etc. If you ask the same question to high school students, they most often The answer is a shrug. Really, who can you work for if you don’t know what you want? To determine this, you need to understand that incapable people, in principle, do not exist. Everyone can do something, sometimes better than others, the main thing is to understand what he gravitates towards. If some teenagers are interested in specialties with a technical component, others prefer the humanities, others feel they have communicative abilities, and still others are only interested in the world of creativity.
Everyone in their place can achieve good results if they accurately and promptly recognize the skills unique to them in order to develop them professionally in the future. This is why self-determination is so important when choosing a profession.
But an equally significant aspect here is the family, with its help and support in all vital circumstances. It is the parents who should prepare the child for the moment of independent steps on the path to professional development. After all, every day, watching their child, like no one else, they notice developmental features, inclinations, interests and behavior. Another question is whether the teenager himself will listen to the opinion of the family when deciding on the concept of “My future profession,” but the parents’ point of view must certainly be expressed.
Changing the field of activity seriously affects the level of income
It happens that in “mature” age the decision comes to start everything from scratch and realize oneself in a completely new field, not related to the previous specialty. How to start working without work experience in this case? It is important to understand one unpleasant point here. Downshifting may bring psychological satisfaction, but it will have a negative and significant impact on income.
“It is always much more profitable to monetize existing experience than to gain new one,” clarifies Ekaterina Kichigina. “But if your decision is firm and you are absolutely sure of the need to change activities, be prepared for the fact that your income will decrease by 40-50%.”
The most promising areas of work
If you urgently need a job, go to the market for in-demand professions. Expert sources (my-orientir.rf) name from 5 to 10 most needed specialties in Russia:
- IT specialists,
- Engineers,
- Builders,
- Service workers and maintenance personnel,
- Sales specialists,
- Marketers,
- Chemists,
- Biotechnologists,
- Ecologists,
- Logisticians,
- SMM specialists.
You can read more about the most in-demand professions in our country here.
Most professions on this list require special training. But you can start small, become a worker or assistant specialist in one of the in-demand fields, and then, if you like it, get a diploma in your chosen specialty.
Note that a sought-after specialty does not necessarily imply a large salary, but it provides a reliable way to earn money.
The algorithm of actions is the same as for students
At the start of a new specialty, you will have to focus on the same vacancies marked “without work experience.” At the same time, the expert advises not only to respond to vacancies using a standard form on websites, but also to “reach out” to decision makers within companies directly.
To do this, you can use your acquaintances, old connections and search using the “five handshakes” method. Its essence is that you can get to any person you are interested in through a chain of mutual acquaintances, on average consisting of five people.
“You must be active and make maximum efforts, which will definitely bear fruit,” notes Ekaterina Kichigina.
The expert advises making it as easy as possible for an employer to contact you. Leave a wide contact funnel, indicating not only your phone number, but also your email address and all the instant messengers you use. Respond to your employer's letter or call as quickly as possible. Be positive and consistent in your communication and you will be able to successfully find a job even without experience.
6.How to choose a profession to your liking?
Read my life story above.
Understand that imposed opinions will not bring you happiness and good luck. Trust your heart. Decide on your goals and desires. And may you be happy!
Each person has his own characteristics. Some write well, others count well. To each his own.
Make the right choice! This determines whether you enjoy your work or suffer from it.
