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Getting some work experience by Scott Boyd

But you can’t get the work experience without a job, right?

Well, I’m afraid it’s time to pay your dues!

The very least you want to do is find a job in the industry of area that you want to work in – even if it’s a crap job.

Crap jobs can be a means to an end.

A few tips on how to get work experience from crap jobs and other sources

1. Find out about the industry you are working in. I temped for 3 years in various areas that are all largely irrelevant to me now, but helped broaden my knowledge base. It may seem that the ins and outs of the administration of an office are irrelevant to your ambition to be a rocket scientist, but valuable interpersonal skills can be learned, as well as some industry knowledge.

2. Ask for more work (no I’m not mad!). If you can suggest something to your manager that would be of use to the company / department and also be of interest to you, then you will gain valuable experience from it. You can go along to your next interview and say, “Well, yeah this was my job (and it was quite dull), but I also did this…”. This will show initiative and make you look like a damn good worker.

3. Use these dull jobs to hone your computer skills. Boring admin jobs can be good practice for working with databases, email, corporate intranets and other information systems. And like anything else, your keyboard skills and IT literacy will improve with experience.

4. Try voluntary work. It shows commitment and initiative (even if you aren’t doing anything to mentally taxing) and, again, you can increase your industry knowledge and may discover a new career path that you hadn’t thought of before. It also bulks out your CV (oh, and yeah, it helps other people). Voluntary work can be online editor positions, charity work, or I’m sure any number of other things.

Good Luck!

Regards

Scott Boyd - Webmaster and Founder - Jobseekers Advice

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