Lera
How can you get a job if you have no previous work experience?
I am going to be graduating from high school this month, and I'm looking for a summer job. #job #job-search #first-job
4 answers
Carlos Lonsdale
Carlos’s Answer
Hi Lera,
One place to start is to start asking your friends and family if they know anyone hiring. Besides that, there is alot of places such as call centers (that may not be the most fun selling products and services) where you can gain some valuable experience which you can directly apply to other places later. Usually post in classified adds. Best of luck!
Celeste Juarez
Celeste’s Answer
Although you have no work experience, there are tons of skills that can be applied to the workforce that you have learned while being in school.
Therefore I would start with making a resume:
1: List an objective at the top: For example, “To obtain a part-time position, with opportunities for training and advancement where I can use my skills and gain further work experience.”
1: List skills that you may have such as determined, motivated, punctual etc.,
2: If you ever volunteered or participated an, any extra curricular activities list those as well.
3: List your education (high school graduate)
Once you’ve created a resume start with applying to entry level jobs so you can begin to gain that work experience. Online is usually the best method to apply for most companies and find openings.
Samantha Secrest
Samantha’s Answer
I would include all of the extracurricular things and academic achievements you have. Those can really make a difference in getting a job without previous experience. A lot of places are just looking for someone who can multitask on some things, can prioritize their responsibilities and who has a good work ethic!
Good luck in your job search!
Brandi Olden
Brandi’s Answer
Hi there,
While the experience varies from job type to job type, I would generally advise you to look for an internship of some sort. It can be paid or unpaid, but try to look for something in the field you want to study. If you can't find a job in your field, any job will give you experience that you can use on a resume for jobs in your career.
If the job hunt just doesn't produce any results for you, volunteering somewhere in your intended field of study can give you great experiences as well.
Good luck on your job search!
Thank you! Can you recommend any sites or resources that will makes my job search easier?
Lera
Another tactic that I have used in my many moves (I'm a military spouse) is that I explore the city, looking for companies to apply to. I will then go home and find their website. Most have job openings listed. Those that don't, I print up a resume and take it to the company.
Brandi Olden
Sure! There are always the job seeking sites, like monster.com or careerbuilder.com. They all let you search for jobs by amount of experience. My favorite job seeking site is indeed.com, because it compiles all the jobs from all the other job seeking sites in one place. My favorite site to look for volunteer positions is volunteermatch.org.
A tip for internet job searching: The companies will typically list "must haves" and "nice to haves". I apply for jobs where I have 90% or more of the "must haves" and at least 2 or 3 "nice to haves.." Don't be afraid to apply for jobs that are a small reach. The worse that could happen is a "no" and sometimes you are surprised with a "yes"!
Brandi Olden