Top 3 Tips on How to Get a Job Without Experience

You hear recruiters and employers say it all the time and on the job adverts, we want someone with experience, 3+ years, 5+ years. You then look at your CV and go “I have no experience in this field :(“. You might be starting out fresh in your career or you might be changing your career from one industry to a another discipline, it is unrealistic to expect you to have the relevant experience. So what do you do in this situation?

Before I get into my top 3 tips on how get a job without experience, I would like to point out two things from my experience of being a hiring manager for our Agile team in Xero NZ.

Firstly, that job ads are job ads, they describe the ideal candidate. However, the chances of getting that exact person are pretty slim and most of the time, people grow into the role they apply for.

Secondly, experience is only good if it is the right experience. For example, when I was hiring for Agile Coaches for Xero NZ, on one hand I might have a candidate who says they have had 5 years of agile coaching experience and on the other hand, I have someone who has had no agile coaching experience but a tonne of team facilitation and leadership skills. In this situation, I would question how good the 5 years of agile coaching experience is because it might not be worth anything and I probably would give the candidate with no experience a shot in interview because I can see their transferable skills. What I am trying to say here is don't rule yourself out of a job before the job rules you out.

Now onto the 3 tips to get the job you want with no experience :)

1. Highlight Your Transferable Skills

Look at and highlight the transferable skills you can bring to the new job. What a lot of us don't realise is that for all the jobs we do, we are gaining skills and a lot of these skills are transferable across all industries and jobs.

For example, skills like communication, teamwork, leadership and problem solving are fundamental to any jobs. At the end of the day, especially in NZ, employers generally care more about the skills you bring than the experience. So make sure you highlight your transferable skills in your CV and covering letter. If you don't know how to do so, book me in for a free 30min 1:1 here.

2. Show You Have Got the Right Attitude

Show the prospective employers that you have the attitude and mindset to succeed. What employers care even more than skills is your attitude. Remember growth mindset, your skills and experience can be gained. Most employers are willing to help you gain those skills on the job. However, if your attitude is rotten and continues to be, then no one can help you but yourself.

So show that you are hungry for the role. In your covering letter, tell the employer why you want the role and why you want to work for this company.

3. Get Some Experience

If no experience is really the thing that is holding you back then go and get some experience. This might be in the form of volunteering or start to do some of the new tasks on top of your current role. This will show the prospective employer that you are proactive, you want to learn and you can do this new role.

For example, a lot of software developers have asked me, how do I change my career to become a scrum master or an agile coach. My advice to them is to start doing some of the scrum mastering tasks for their team on a day to day basis and overtime, they will be recognised and become the part-time scrum master for their team. Then it is much easier to transition into a full time scrum mastering role.

I hope these tips have been helpful and do book me in for a free 1:1 coaching session to talk more about how you can get the career change you want.