No experience? No problem. Get your foot in the door with these tips.

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In case you missed it…

Before we get into it, let’s congratulate Juliana for landing an interview at Meta!

This week, Final Draft Resumes client Juliana landed an interview at Meta for a product marketing manager role. Woo hoo!

If you need help with your resume because it’s not generating any traction, schedule a free discovery call with me, James.

You never know, I might be able to help!

FYI: We’re currently taking clients in for early November.

How to Get a Job When You Have No Experience

Hey there!

Ever feel like you're stuck in a loop? You need experience to get a job, but you need a job to get experience. Sound familiar?

Don't worry, we've all been there. But here's the good news: there are ways to break this cycle. Let's dive in, shall we?

Your Secret Weapon: The Portfolio

First things first: you need to show what you can do. That's where a portfolio comes in.

What's a portfolio? Think of it as your professional highlight reel. It's a collection of your best work, even if that work wasn't done in a traditional job.

Where should you put it? LinkedIn is a great start. Or maybe a simple website. The key is to make it easy for people to find and explore.

But what if you don't have anything to put in it yet? Don't panic. We're about to fix that.

Getting Real-World Experience (Without a "Real" Job)

1) Start your own project

Ever had an idea for a product or service? Now's the time to make it happen!

Let's say you want to be a product manager. Why not create a mock product? Design it, plan it out, maybe even build a prototype.

Boom! Instant portfolio material.

2) Volunteer

Know any local nonprofits? They often need help with all sorts of things.

Could you help a charity improve their website? Or maybe help a local animal shelter set up a better system for tracking adoptions?

Not only do you get experience, but you also get to help a good cause. Win-win!

3) Consulting/freelancing

Got skills? People might pay for them, even if you're just starting out.

Can you write? Design? Code a bit?

There's probably someone out there who needs what you can do.

Websites like Upwork or Fiverr can be good places to start.

The pay might not be great at first, but remember: you're after experience, not just money.

Learning the Ropes: Courses and Bootcamps

Sometimes, you need to learn new skills. That's where courses and bootcamps come in.

Online platforms like Coursera or edX offer tons of courses. Many are even free to audit.

Bootcamps can be great too, especially for tech skills. Just be sure to check their job placement rates before you commit (and believe me when I say, not all bootcamps were created equal).

Remember: these are tools to help you gain skills. They're not a replacement for real-world experience.

Network, Network, Network

Ever heard the saying "It's not what you know, it's who you know"? There's some truth to that.

Join professional groups on LinkedIn or Facebook. Attend local meetups or conferences if you can.

Don't be shy about reaching out to people in your target field. Most folks are happy to chat about their work.

Pro tip: Always be genuine. People can tell when you're just trying to use them for a job lead.

The Certification Question

Certifications can be helpful when you don’t have any experience to your name.

For example, CompTIA A+ is a great certification to get your foot in the door for entry level IT jobs.

Other certs like the PMP (Project Management Professional) actually require you to already have some experience before being eligible to attain it.

If you do go for a certification, make sure it's well-respected in your industry. And don't expect it to replace real experience.

Wrapping Up

Remember: everyone starts somewhere.

Even that impressive VP of Engineering had to land their first job once (case in point: president of Nike).

The key is to start building experience however you can. Create a portfolio. Start a project.

Volunteer. Take a course. Meet people in your field.

Before you know it, you'll have broken out of that "no experience" loop.

So, what's your first step going to be? A personal project? A volunteer gig? Whatever it is, the most important thing is to start.

Good luck out there.