The Career Doctor’s Cures & Remedies:
"How do I gain the necessary experience employers seek?"
by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.
This article is part of a series from The Career Doctor's Cures & Remedies to Quintessentially
Perplexing Career and Job-Hunting Ailments.
Read more.
Okay, so maybe it’s a little unfair, but you still need to deal with the fact
that employers are looking for all job-seekers to have some amount of
experience -- even for those "entry-level" positions.
So how are you supposed to gain the experience? Here are five major
avenues where you can gain experience:
Part-time (or summer) jobs. These jobs that help pay the bills
are often overlooked or downplayed by new job-seekers. . . but don’t
downplay your retail sales clerk or waitressing experience. These
part-time jobs show that you can be a responsible employee, that
you can interact with customers, and that you understand the basics
of business.
Internships. I encourage all college students - if possible -- to
complete at least two internships while in school. Not only can internships
help hone your career interests, they give you valuable experience in
your career field and provide you with valuable contacts for your network.
Volunteering. If you’ve done a lot of volunteer work, be sure to
show it on your resume. . . even if that volunteer work was not
necessarily in your career field. These experiences show your
maturity in recognizing a world outside your college dorm room --
and they can also provide you with important contacts for your network.
Class projects. At Stetson, where I teach, we require our business
students to complete quite a number of class projects, many for actual
clients. If you prepared a marketing plan for a local business, designed
store windows for a local merchant, conducted market research, etc.,
then by all means include this valuable experience on your resume.
Don’t overplay the experience, but do include it.
Temping. A lot of job-seekers overlook temporary agencies because
of the misconception that temp agencies are only for secretarial or
clerical work. In fact, many temp agencies place a wide variety of
professionals in short-term, long-term, and contract placement…
and this kind of work is a great way to gain experience and confidence.
Read more about temping.
There are more than just these five -- and you can read about them all in our
Job Search 101 Tutorial, specifically on the
Gaining Experience page.
Who is the Career Doctor? Learn more, read his current career column, or browse the column
archives when you visit the Career Doctor's homepage.
Dr. Randall S. Hansen is a nationally recognized career and job-search expert.
He is Founder and Webmaster of Quintessential Careers, as
well as publisher of its electronic newsletter, QuintZine.
He writes a biweekly career advice column under the name, The Career Doctor. He is also a tenured, professor
of marketing in the School of Business Administration at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida.
He can be reached at randall@quintcareers.com.
Read more about Dr. Hansen.
Dr. Randall S. Hansen is a nationally recognized career and job-search expert.
He is Founder and Webmaster of Quintessential Careers, as
well as publisher of its electronic newsletter, 