Graduate Opportunities: How Can A Recent Graduate Get A Job Without Experience?
After finishing university you might be faced with the
conundrum of not having the necessary experience to get a job. But without that
first job, you may be left wondering how to build your experience level in the
working world. If you end up in this situation, there are several things you
can do to give yourself a higher chance of securing a job as a graduate.
Focus on your
strengths
There is often a lot of competition when it comes to applying
for graduate jobs. That’s why, your job applications need to help you stand out
from the crowd. To do this, you should include work experience, internships and
volunteering on your CV. However, with it being your first job after
graduation, you might not have any relevant work experience. Therefore, to
still build an impressive CV, you need to focus on the skills you have and how
they make you a good fit for the job.
Before you make the assumption that you don’t have any
experience, you should extract the skills that you developed from your previous
jobs. By doing this, you might be able to find experience that you didn’t know
you had. Even if this experience isn’t entirely relevant to your chosen field,
you have probably gained some transferable skills from which you can build your
job applications around. Transferable skills don’t just have to be taken from a
place of work. In fact, they can be developed from a whole host of different
places. For example, if you have played a team sport for an extended period,
then that can be used as evidence to suggest that you will have the ability to work
as part of a team in a professional environment.
Not having any direct work experience doesn’t necessarily
have to be a negative thing, as it’s an opportunity to demonstrate your passion
and dedication to learning. To emphasise this, you can provide examples of when
you have shown a commitment to learning, through either education, work or
internships.
Network
Without the necessary experience to get a job, it can be difficult
to get your foot in the door and uncover that first opportunity. When applying
for jobs in highly competitive fields, you will probably have heard something
along the lines of it’s not what you know, but who you know. While, this might
not seem like a fair process, employers are far more likely to hire you if come
with a recommendation from a reliable source. To diversify your network, you
can go about optimising your social media profiles, especially LinkedIn. So
whether it’s your university lecturers, fellow graduates or even recruiters, building
your network will allow you to be closer to those who can provide you with a relevant
job posting.
If you just rely on sending off formal job applications, you
will miss out on a range of opportunities. As not all graduate jobs are
advertised, you can still send off your CV and cover letter to an organisation.
This is known as speculative applications, which allows you to highlight the
reasons why you’d be a good match for a company. Even if the company doesn’t
have any current entry level positions, they might consider you for future job
vacancies. While, this is likely to be practiced more within some industries than
others, speculative applications can be a direct route into a company.
Volunteer
If you have absolutely no relevant work experience to put on
your CV, then fortunately you can create some. You can do this through either voluntary
work, work experience, or an internship. However, it’s important that the
experience is relevant to your chosen field, as you don’t want to waste time
with unrelated work.
Be realistic
If you don’t have any relevant work experience, it’s
unlikely that you will land your dream job first time round. Therefore, it’s
important to manage your expectations accordingly and avoid setting your hopes
too high. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be ambitious, but you will find it
more beneficial to target positions that match your level of experience when
you are just starting out in your career. By turning your focus towards entry
level positions, you have a higher chance of being successful with your job
search. From here, you can gain work experience and then work your way up the
career ladder.
To help you get your first job after graduation, you should
be targeting entry level positions that are less competitive. These
opportunities can usually be found in regional areas outside of cities.
Therefore, it’s sensible to check the location of each job posting before going
through the effort of filling out job applications.
Speak to a career
coach
For guidance on transitioning from university into your
chosen field, there are likely to be several recruitment services available to
you. If you are still at university, then you will able to take advantage of
career fairs and networking events. However, if you are a recent graduate, there’s
always the option of talking to a career coach. Even if you are undecided on
your dream job, sessions with a career coach can help to identify the right
kind of work for you.
If you need further support in landing your first role as a
graduate, then make sure to contact Pareto for help.
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