How Students Can Find a Job with No Experience

Watkins explained that employers don’t necessarily expect entry level resumés to be formatted in the traditional way (e.g. education followed by work experience, followed by hobbies etc.).

He said: “Whilst visual appeal is important, as there are many CVs to read and not much time to devote to each one, content is clearly the key”.

Take time curating your resumé, formatting in a way that you think would make the most sense to an employer. This usually means starting with your education.

Find out how to write a great CV with no work experience.

Be honest and highlight your other skills

Being honest about your experience is vital but being apologetic about your lack of experience may hinder your chances of finding a job.

“There could be a whole host of reasons why you have minimal experience,” said Watkins, “but it is what you can offer in the future that employers are looking at”.

Although relevant work experience will be something that stands out to employers, other factors such as ambition, drive, energy, commitment to the role and an understanding of the employer will also help boost your chances of getting hired.

Gaining experience

If you are looking for work experience to boost your resumé, there are plenty of opportunities currently available, explained Watkins.

“Virtual events often have very high capacity and there are numerous short engagement opportunities with employers and learning providers.

“The University of Law Employability Service has run a Summer Commercial Awareness Challenge and a Virtual Leadership Experience, as well as putting on an extensive program of other events”

He added that “all of these add value and enhance employability”.

Employers are looking to assess whether a student will perform well in their work environment, explained Watkins.

There are several things employers hope to find on a graduate’s resumé:

• Evidence of building relationships: Employers want you to be able to build strong relationships with clients and colleagues.
• The ability to deal with challenges: Challenges such as meeting deadlines and overcoming problems arise often in a work environment.
• Being able to deliver successful outcomes: You need to ensure employers that you can deliver work on time, to a high quality.

How can you demonstrate these qualities as a student? “These attributes can be highlighted through extra-curricular activities and hobbies” advised Watkins. The skills you have developed in these activities can be transferred to a working environment.

Watkins said: “Students should consider how they would draw upon previous experiences to show that they are suitable for the role in question.

“Relevant experience is great, but anything to do with people will always transfer across well and the personal disciplines of organization and time management can be found from many activities.”