Look for jobs that are relevant to your education and life experience. If you already have the appropriate academic qualifications or certifications, then an interviewer will be aware of your abilities and knowledge, and you can highlight your education during the interview. But even if you have little professional experience in the field, you may still have the natural ability and know-how to be a successful employee. Many jobs are actually only mastered and understood once you begin them. The task is trying to convince the employer that you are qualified even if you are new to the field.
For instance, if you held a job working in a convenience store and want a higher-paying job in an office setting, you could advertise the organizational, multi-tasking and customer relations skills that you developed in the store and describe how they might apply to the office job. Your chances of landing a job decrease if you are unskilled. The choice is yours: you can either go back to school to earn the diploma you need to get the job you want, or use your own abilities to convince an interviewer that you can be an asset to them.
With little career-specific education, an interviewer might still question your capacity for success in the position, but you have a better shot of convincing them if you emphasize previous experience and your enthusiastic desire to learn quickly. Employers know that many aptitudes are transferable from one occupation to another, but they need to be told how your specific skills can work for them.
Realistically, you have a much better chance of employment if you have a relevant education. Enrolling in one of the many schools listed at
OnlineCareers.com could be worth your while and doesn’t have to break the bank. These schools are designed to offer short, inexpensive, career-oriented programs to busy adults. In one or two years you could earn the degree, diploma or certificate that instantly qualifies you for entry into a specific field. Instead of having to sell yourself to an employer, let your education do it for you.
Advances in technology and the constant flux of the job market make it important for you to have updated skills. Schools that offer job-relevant training strive to give students well-rounded knowledge and often provide free refresher courses that enable graduates to stay current. Your new qualifications, and the potential for you to update your skills, makes it obvious to the employer that you are capable and require minimal introductory training. They know you can serve them well and will be more inclined to hire you.
You may have just completed an academic program in your field of interest, or perhaps you are changing occupations. Whatever your direction, your past has helped you develop useful, often specific skills, so think deeply about how you could best serve yourself and a company. Don’t try to apply for a job that requires a high level of specialization or seems a complete departure from your area of expertise. Make it easy on yourself and apply to jobs in several slightly different markets in which you feel basically competent. You’ll be able to test the waters to figure out how the trends of the job market, your current abilities and your interests can best align.
If you are just trying to break into a new field, a temporary job or internship could be the ideal way to gain relevant experience, contacts and an important foothold in the professional world. Many of these positions develop into full-time employment, so don’t discount a temp job just because it’s not salaried with benefits. While these types of positions are good for your future resume, they can also give you insight into whether or not you are truly interested in the field. Explore your options before making a long-term commitment.
