No Work Experience...

[Steph2LN]

Hi everyone, this is my first post but I have been reading/loving this site (and the books) for a while. I'm wondering if anyone can relate to my situation:

I'm 24, I have a BA in psychology from a reputable and well-known university, and I have a lot of volunteer experience related to my college major. However, the only work experience I have is (a) 4 summers as a sleepaway camp counselor/group leader and (b) substitute teaching (which I was able to do during college breaks). I'm trying to find a FT job now, after spending the past 1 1/2 years struggling with grad school (which, for many reasons, didn't work out for me, so i'm just looking to work right now).

My question is this:
Is there really such a stigma about having a college education but no FT work experience? I'm applying for ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT jobs (not executive, of course, just basic entry-level positions), and with every resume I send I keep asking myself (and now, you all), Does no one (i.e. employers) consider a college education adequate preparation for basic administrative work? Or, rather, does it not even warrant an interview?
(And, for the record, I know that each "admin assistant" job is different and that there are always extenuating circumstances, yadda yadda, but all that aside, I'm just wondering why it seems like no one thinks a college graduate is worth contacting/interviewing/considering for an entry-level position...isn't that what entry-level implies? Little/no experience? Sigh...)

I would really appreciate any insights/advice on this matter, and again, I love this site and wish you all the best with your own QLCs. ;):

[LowCarbLife]

It is very possible to find a good entry level job out of school. I am not sure where you are submitting your applications, but when I was job hunting, Monster.com etc. was totally useless. No one would ever respond, unless it was for something silly - like selling paint brushes or something.

I had -as I have posted before- a great experience using a staffing recruiter. I used one that was completely free to me (the company that hired me paid them of course). They scoped out my personality and my interests and starting hunting jobs that I would like. About 2-3 days later, I had an interview and was hired! I have been there ever sense.

I do think it takes extra effort to find a job with little experience. Just keep plugging along and sending out your resume. You will find something that you love!

[lostnotyetfound]

Back in the day a college degree was probably worth interviewing regardless of experience level. Unfortunately these days a college degree no longer sets you apart from the crowd, they are a dime a dozen. You need something to separate yourself from the pack. What makes you special? Why should they hire you?

What, you ask? I have no idea because I'm one of those people with a degree and little experience. I haven't had much luck finding a decent job myself.

All I can say is your volunteer work should be considered experience. If you haven't already, you should see if the career services department at your college can help. Use your network, if you have one. I have had no luck with temp agencies. Careerbuilder is the only website I have gotten job interviews from. If you have a particular company you would like to work for, go to their site directly, most places post job openings right on their site.

Good luck.

[Isadora]

I agree 100% with the advice to list volunteer experience. Do you have anyone (preferably multiple people) who you can list as a reference from any of your volunteer experience?

Experience counts, IMO, more than a college degree for administrative work, but a degree will certainly get your foot in the door. I am the opposite of you - I have 8 years' experience in my field, but only completed my AA and most of my BA.

I second the suggestion to find a recruiter. I have gotten my last two jobs through working with recruiters. I also did not have to pay them anything. They tested my skills (MS Office Suite, typing, and legal vocabulary) and when I did very well on the tests, I was sent out for jobs that I thought were over my head but weren't after all. You might have to take a couple temp/contract jobs before they will be confident enough to send you for permanent work, but those generally pay very well and offer you an opportunity to build the skills you'll need. And who knows... one of those temp jobs might result in an offer to go permanent. :)

My recruiters originally found me through Monster. As others have said... just keep at it, build your skills, and the offers will start coming in before you know it. Stay positive and keep on looking. There are many companies who would benefit from someone with your strong background. You'll find the right one. :)

[caostotale]

Back in the day a college degree was probably worth interviewing regardless of experience level. Unfortunately these days a college degree no longer sets you apart from the crowd, they are a dime a dozen. You need something to separate yourself from the pack. What makes you special? Why should they hire you?

What, you ask? I have no idea because I'm one of those people with a degree and little experience. I haven't had much luck finding a decent job myself.


Me too. I have a liberal arts degree from an incredible school and that does NOTHING for me in the job market. Websites like Monster.com and Careerbuilder.com are borderline worthless unless you crave a go-nowhere job or a bunch of misleading smoke and mirrors games with temp agencies. Every listing on that site for jobs that pay 28,000 or above seem to demand 5-10 years experience in ten things that nobody has ever heard of except for the jerk-off who wrote the listing.

My only advice is to get to know people who have jobs and eventually you'll get pulled in to some situation, likely something you never expected.

[sparky88]

Yes, you should list your volunteer experience and subbing experience. It all counts, and really play it up.

Another idea, were you involved in any special assignments in your college classes? Could you use a term project to demonstrate you abilities?

[AshleyJordan]

It depends. We definitely have hired people for entry- and even mid- level positions with little work experience, but that's at times when we have the capacity to train someone, and the candidate has a great deal of potential (as shown in the interview process, and his/her internships during college.) It also helps if they know someone here who can attest to his or her "worth" as a candidate. At other times, if we just don't have the capacity to train, even someone with f/t administrative experience, and a degree from a good school, might not be my first candidate for an entry-level job, because I'm most concerned with past examples of how s/he has been able to "hit the ground running" during past jobs. I've definitely passed up great candidates for entry-level jobs (with good degrees and some experience,) because I needed a Superwoman/man to help out immediately. That's not a reflection on the candidate, but on my/my employer's needs.

And you don't necessarily know if your employer is going through times like that, but be mindful of those extenuating circumstances, and try not to internalizie that.

I hope this helps.

[winneythepooh7]

I've also been in charge of hiring, and sometimes, especially in my field, my hands are tied if someone doesn't have a certain amount of years at times of direct working experience for the position they applied for.

The state mandates certain experience requirements for the various positions I hire for. We would get cited as a program if we didn't abide by those requirements. I know for at least a couple of our positions it says right on the job description "candidate must have 2-3 years of working, not internship experience".

What some people fail to realize as well, is that I also worked MY way up from the bottom in my field, and still fill in at the positions I hire for, so I KNOW first hand what a candidate needs for the position. It really often comes down to the lack of actual working experience, and need to be able to work independently without a lot of oversight.

I know that new grads often want to think that they can manage this, but as funding gets cut, and we are dealing with more and more "difficult" client situations, lack of resources, places refusing to take our client, etc. it's really hard for them to absorb that on their own.

With everything I need to get done on a day to day basis, and places I also need to be, I just don't have the time either to oversee someone with little to no experience.

I also have to refer to my social work values and ethics when it comes to hiring someone...........the first and most important thing I remember is "to do no harm".

In social work, it's almost always about knowledge of resources to refer your client to. People with little to no working experience don't have this, because you learn all of this really on the job, not really in school. Not having this knowledge very often puts the client in harm's way, and again, the program at risk of being shut down. I also have first-hand experience of seeing this happen where I was previously employed, as this was the main reason the program was closed down.

Lastly, I would think that as a new grad, or someone without a lot of experience, you would want to be in an environment where you have someone that you can reach out to who is available to you all the time for supervision and training when you are first starting out. Just some food for thought, because those places do exist. You get our experience and then you move upwards and onwards.

[AshleyJordan]

When I have a candidate who I think has a lot of potential, but who is not yet ready to "hit the ground running" for my department, I try to refer him or her for another opportunity w/in my organization that would be a better fit for his or her experience, and that has a better capacity to train him or her. I don't have to do this at all, but I do to try and help my employer and the candidate who's interviewing with me. So, if you interview with someone who does this, consider yourself lucky ;)

[eastcoaster782]

Hi everyone, this is my first post but I have been reading/loving this site (and the books) for a while. I'm wondering if anyone can relate to my situation:

I'm 24, I have a BA in psychology from a reputable and well-known university, and I have a lot of volunteer experience related to my college major. However, the only work experience I have is (a) 4 summers as a sleepaway camp counselor/group leader and (b) substitute teaching (which I was able to do during college breaks). I'm trying to find a FT job now, after spending the past 1 1/2 years struggling with grad school (which, for many reasons, didn't work out for me, so i'm just looking to work right now).

My question is this:
Is there really such a stigma about having a college education but no FT work experience? I'm applying for ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT jobs (not executive, of course, just basic entry-level positions), and with every resume I send I keep asking myself (and now, you all), Does no one (i.e. employers) consider a college education adequate preparation for basic administrative work? Or, rather, does it not even warrant an interview?
(And, for the record, I know that each "admin assistant" job is different and that there are always extenuating circumstances, yadda yadda, but all that aside, I'm just wondering why it seems like no one thinks a college graduate is worth contacting/interviewing/considering for an entry-level position...isn't that what entry-level implies? Little/no experience? Sigh...)

I would really appreciate any insights/advice on this matter, and again, I love this site and wish you all the best with your own QLCs. ;):

I don't believe there's a stigma. For a lot of us (including myself), it is/was hard to figure out how to take that degree and turn it into something that employers would find useful. I'm one of those with a liberal arts degree and after graduation had no idea where to begin. At the time, I was working as a part-time cashier/sales rep., so I was really concerned what employers were thinking when they'd see my resume.

I realized quickly that those major job search sites don't always produce the results you want because everyone on planet is submitting their resumes at the same time and who knows how many of them even get looked at.

My mom gave me this book: How to Get a Job with Any Major (Donald Asher) and it really helped me explore jobs out there that I wasn't even aware of or felt qualified for because of my lack of experience. The book helped me break-down my major into its basic terms (i.e. what my liberal arts major consisted of, which is research, writing/comm., etc) and then take those skills along with the practical skills as a cashier to find internships and jobs that weren't going to be dead-end.

[winneythepooh7]

When I have a candidate who I think has a lot of potential, but who is not yet ready to "hit the ground running" for my department, I try to refer him or her for another opportunity w/in my organization that would be a better fit for his or her experience, and that has a better capacity to train him or her. I don't have to do this at all, but I do to try and help my employer and the candidate who's interviewing with me. So, if you interview with someone who does this, consider yourself lucky ;)


I've done that as well. I also have given people contacts to call at other agencies too where I feel they may be a better fit.

[AshleyJordan]

Also, it *is* true, in my experience, that there are many, many vacancies at my organization that aren't advertised. As soon as there's a vacancy, my colleagues will reach out to me (and, of course, many others, within the org,) and briefly describe the position (often we don't even have a job description yet,) and say that if there's anyone I know of/have interviewed who's qualified, to let them know. Just another example of how networking is key, because most people on the "outside" wouldn't even know of these vacancies. ;)

[wordsmith]

Also, it *is* true, in my experience, that there are many, many vacancies at my organization that aren't advertised. As soon as there's a vacancy, my colleagues will reach out to me (and, of course, many others, within the org,) and briefly describe the position (often we don't even have a job description yet,) and say that if there's anyone I know of/have interviewed who's qualified, to let them know. Just another example of how networking is key, because most people on the "outside" wouldn't even know of these vacancies. ;)

The organization that I work for ALWAYS announces vacancies to the staff first, and if the position can't be filled internally/current employees pass on it, then it is advertised to the community at large.

[AshleyJordan]

Generally, it's much, much easier and quicker to hire based on an internal recommendation, in my experience (and I've been on both sides of this process.) The worst is that sometimes orgs have to advertise a position and interview a certain number of candidates, even if, from day 1, they knew who they planned to hire. I strongly suspect I have been one of the candidates "interviewed" to fulfill those requirements, on more than one occasion.

[wordsmith]

Same here. "Thank you for interviewing, we've decided to hire from within" is generally pretty transparent. It's like, thanks for wasting my time. Especially because in one instance, I drove three hours one way several times for rounds of interviews. Very inconsiderate...if all they need is warm bodies to say they interviewed, how about not selecting them from hundreds of miles away?

[winneythepooh7]

My mom gave me this book: How to Get a Job with Any Major (Donald Asher) and it really helped me explore jobs out there that I wasn't even aware of or felt qualified for because of my lack of experience. The book helped me break-down my major into its basic terms (i.e. what my liberal arts major consisted of, which is research, writing/comm., etc) and then take those skills along with the practical skills as a cashier to find internships and jobs that weren't going to be dead-end.


Talking to people in general is a good way to find out what you may be qualified for, as well. They may even be willing to look at your resume, and help you word prior experience towards the types of jobs you are interested in.

Another "tip" I have is not to shy away from certain kinds of companies either because you think they may not have a position you would be interested in, or that applies to your major.

For example, I may work for what people would traditionally consider a "home health care" company, however, there are lots and lots of positions that cover the various majors from payroll/billing/accounting to reception/admin asst. to schedulers/supervisors and office managers, human resources, PR & marketing, fundraising, the list goes on and on.

Often large companies like this offer not only a fair and decent salary, but often great benefits as well. Where I work now, there are great healthcare benefits, a 401K and options for yearly bonuses and raises based on performance.

I've tried to encourage people to go this route in my own personal life who are looking for a job, but seem to get the "I am not interested in being a social worker like you, or a home health aide". They seem to totally miss the point I am getting at ;).

I also agree about finding out about positions from the inside. I've worked in several companies actually where they kind of just "created" a position for me when I expressed interest in the company. Often this is based on the needs of the company and skills that one has that they can bring to the company.