Can You Get Hired Without Having Experience?

If you’ve ever Googled “how to get hired without having any experience,” you aren’t alone. This is a subject many people are interested in. It probably isn’t a stretch to claim that most people have, at some point, been interested in entering a field of work in which they had no experience. Some people want to learn as much as they can about a profession before jumping into it, and others want to hit the ground running, trained or not. If you fit into the latter group, keep reading.

Do You Need Experience to Get Hired?

Whether or not you need experience to get hired very much depends on the field you want to work in. Obviously, you can’t practice law without a law degree, but many professions aren’t nearly that cut-and-dry. Online research and speaking with individuals in the field you’re interested in should reveal whether or not you need experience to get hired, and how much.

How to Gain Job Experience When No One Will Hire You

There are some jobs that you simply must have experience in to land. In these cases, you’ll encounter a Catch-22 where you need to be hired to get experience, but you can’t get hired without experience. If you ever find yourself in this position, here’s your game plan:

• Be OK with starting at the bottom – If you are at peace with starting out in an entry-level job, you’re in a good place. In many professions, you will have to start at the bottom to get to the top (or wherever you want to be). Does this take humility? You bet, especially if you’ve been in the workforce for a significant length of time. Is it worth it? Most definitely.

• Get training or other credentials – Some positions require training or certifications. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to go back to school and get another degree, though. For example, in the IT field, a lot of employers are fine with candidates simply having certifications without an IT degree. LinkedIn’s James Citrin encouraged job seekers without experience in their desired field to “…pick your field of interest, whether it be coding, finance, aviation, or the business of art, and find a respected credential-granting school or organization and pursue it.” (Hint: There is a plethora of online, free training courses that sometimes result in certification on sites like Open2Study.)

• Volunteer – A great way to get experience in a specific field is to volunteer. Most companies love volunteers and readily accept them. After all, what employer doesn’t want free labor? Volunteering can be time-consuming, thankless, and pay-less, but it is beyond valuable on a resume.

There’s always the possibility that you will get hired without having experience in the position you are interested in. If that happens, more power to you. However, if it doesn’t, don’t give up – get creative. If you’re willing to volunteer, earn credentials/pursue training, and start at the bottom, you will eventually break into the field of your choice even if you don’t have much work experience in it.