How can I overcome my lack of experience?

Question:

I've read your advice on why a resume isn't an effective job-hunting tool and on how I should approach job hunting. The field I'm interested in is IT?development and programming. At the moment, the main nonsense I get from prospective companies is that I have insufficient experience. I haven't been getting interviews. Having read your stuff, I think you may well have a point.

 

What's the answer to a lack of experience? Is it still plausible to tell employers how you're going to help them if all they're interested in is your past?

 

Reply:

No matter how successful, everyone starts from a position of "no experience." Everyone must make the leap?usually with someone else's help (or faith).

 

I'm sure you've heard that so-and-so got a job because she knew someone on the inside. That's one way people make the leap: A credible reference provides assurances to the employer that the candidate will come up to speed quickly and be able to handle the work.

 

Much of Ask The Headhunter centers on this very approach to job hunting: cultivating relationships that produce such referrals. (I am not speaking of "good old boy" referrals that lack substance, of course.)

 

In most cases, employers rely on a candidate's history to predict the future. Unfortunately, work history is a poor predictor of success, at least the way it's used in the traditional interview. (I've seen many miserable job candidates win jobs just because they've "been in the business" longer than more talented candidates.) I'm convinced that companies pay for this misjudgment over and over and never learn from it. That's where downsizing comes from.

 

You might find my advice difficult, but it's honest. You will overcome your lack of experience by developing relationships with people who can recommend you as a hard worker and a fast learner. This takes time. But I know of no approach that works better or that pays off more in the long run.

 

The kind of relationships you'll need might evolve from an internship, from joining a professional association and volunteering your time, or from taking a lower-level job that enables you to demonstrate your aptitude. Good workers get noticed, and they get support when they try to move up the ladder.

 

When we discuss careers, we're talking about people's entire lives, and the relationships we form need to be cultivated for the long run. The time to start is now. The payoff will come in due time. It won't come at all otherwise.

 

I wish you the best,

Nick Corcodilos