How do you get a job that you'll be good at with no relevant experience?

[nope]

I've been noticing ads for jobs I admittedly wouldn't be drawn to if it weren't for the pay (mostly because of the job title: administrative assistant, program coordinator, etc.), but as someone who's still trying to figure out what she wants to be when she grows up, I can see myself doing these things and being good at them. Unfortunately, my resume won't reflect all the things I know because all the readings I've done on my own time, and at this stage of my life I can't afford to volunteer just to get a foot in.

Advice?

 

[Paiva]

I have a master's degree in history of religions, but I got a job as a social worker without any relevant experience. The first thing I did was to apply for a temporary position. There are not nearly as many applicants for these type of positions, and once you are in, it's more likely that they will hire you if they need someone permanently. I was only in the temporary job for 2 months (was supposed to be 9), and then they offered me a permanent job.

The other thing I did was to focus on my strenghts that would be good for the job. Some of them were personal, others were from my degree. If you think you would be good for the job, make sure you tell them why. Some places might say no because of lack of experience, but some places will say yes if they think you are a good match for the job.

 

[Bolletje]

My advice would be to apply to these jobs with a well-written motivation attached. It's still a long shot, but if you properly explain your interest and motivation for these jobs, there are bound to be companies willing to at least invite you over for a job interview so they can see whether or not you're the right fit for the job.

I went to a long period of unemployment two years ago, with rejection for all kinds of jobs driving me insane, but in the end there was one company willing to take me on and from there on I've been hopping from job to job, gathering experience and credentials as I go.

 

[Mr Allen]

No offence but why would you apply for a job in which you have no experience? I've been applying for shop work in my own search for work because I've been doing Charity shop work for years, and thus have customer service experience.

I also have the product knowledge to work somewhere like PC World, Game, or the Lego shop, in fact I probably know more than the average PC World employee is paid to know and would confuse the customers with technical jargon.

 

[paloftoon]

No offence but why would you apply for a job in which you have no experience? . . ..

You would apply for a job in which you have no job experience because you might think you could prove that you are very apt for the job because of your versatility, newly found skills, or you think the job would like you for who you currently are. There might be opportunities out there that might give you a try that you would not know otherwise had you not applied. It's a small risk to take, but can be an investment of your time and energy too.