Many of us already know how frustrating it is to apply for an entry level job only to discover that it requires two years of experience and a bachelor’s degree. We’ll get the degree (or perhaps already have one), but how are we supposed to gain work experience when the supposed starting point in most job fields requires said experience?
Preparing for the work world
Many of us already know how frustrating it is to apply for an entry level job only to discover that it requires two years of experience and a bachelor’s degree. We’ll get the degree (or perhaps already have one), but how are we supposed to gain work experience when the supposed starting point in most job fields requires said experience?
It has to make you wonder if these qualifications are undermining the value of a college degree.
More and more people are attending institutions of higher education, and societal pressures to continue education and training after high school are growing. Also, having experience in a related field is becoming increasingly important.
The question remains: How are we students supposed to gain that experience? The lingering economic depression means that there are fewer jobs out there for graduating students. Competition is becoming fiercer, and companies are looking to hire those with the most experience who require the least amount of training.
Fewer jobs and more competition make stepping out of university life and into the workforce a daunting notion. Yet it’s possible to make the transition smoothly with unpaid work. Unfortunately, that may delay your ability to make any money at all, and for those who’ll graduate with a heavy burden of student debt it could be even more daunting.
But even unpaid work will improve your chances of getting a paying job once you graduate.
What you may not realize is that when a job listing stipulates that a certain amount of work experience is required, it doesn’t necessarily mean work that you’ve been paid for. Work experience can include any position where you have used skills that could translate to a paying job.
Internships, extra-curricular activities and even volunteer work can all provide experience for jobs you will apply for later in life.
Most companies are willing to offer more unpaid internships or volunteer opportunities than paying positions, so the level of competition for this kind of work is significantly less, but it’s still a fairly tough market.
It may not seem like the most glamorous type of work when you’re not reaping the benefits of the effort you’re putting in, but in the long run you’ll find that you are more qualified for jobs in your field than if you didn’t have any experience at all.
Volunteer work and internships are an integral part of a university education. Like classes that you have to pay to take, internships require time and hard work—often on top of your course load. Still, like the courses you take to get a degree, internships provide you with the experience and knowledge that employers look for.
Before you give up on the idea of ever finding a job after you graduate, it’s important to think of all the opportunities you’ve had—and could have—in school that’ll set you above the competition.
It’s possible to possess all the qualifications for an “entry level” job before you graduate, though this may prove to be more work than it once was.
Work experience doesn’t replace a college degree, though. While your previous work experience may influence the number of jobs that you’re eligible for, it’s more a matter of convincing the companies that you want to work for of the skills you possess.
If you only list the paid jobs that you’ve had or the degree that you received on your resume, you’re leaving out the knowledge and experience you’ve gained in other ways. For example, if you record the research projects you’ve completed, your computer skills, the foreign languages you learned, and the grades and honors you received, you’ll suddenly stand out from the competition a lot more.
A degree is vital, yes, but so is everything else you’ve done and learned as part of earning that degree: paid jobs, unpaid internships or volunteering, or even the classes you’ve taken. Ultimately, it’s about having the knowledge and the confidence to show others what skills you possess.
Work experience is as necessary as a degree to securing a career after school. It might become more important in the future, but what you need to know now is that you can prove your skills to your employers regardless of how you obtained them.
