Students: How to Get Experience When You Don't Have a Job

You need experience to land a job, but how can you gain experience when you don’t have a job? As a student you most likely have secured “related” experiences without even knowing. Here are two ways to pinpoint those experiences:

1. CLASS PROJECTS. Throughout your coursework, you undoubtedly worked on individual projects, group projects, or conducted research. These types of experiences can be included on your resume under “Related Experience.” Here are a couple examples I wrote for students:

Marketing Product Analysis, College Name – Fall 2008
*Researched student market and pinpointed buying patterns/preferences for well-known energy drink; developed a marketing strategy that would boost sales to the student market.

Tourism Development Plan for Small City – Spring 2009
*Collaborated as a group of five to analyze and develop a tourism plan for a small city.
*Interviewed business officials, examined seasonality of attractions, and developed a 35-page report to improve marketing efforts and increase tourism dollars.


2. INVOLVEMENT WITH ORGANIZATIONS. As I’ve worked with students throughout the years, I’ve found that most students only include the name of the student organization, but fail to showcase what they accomplished while a member of the organization. If you were active in student organizations (or even volunteer work), many of these skills are transferrable. Here is an example I wrote for one student:

Organization Name – Title – Fall 2008
*Raised over $4,000 over summer/fall semester by supervising fundraisers and motivating volunteers; developed an improved method of tracking inventory to boost future food fundraisers.
*Increased membership by 12% during fall semester; executed recruitment campaigns including presentations, designing brochures, interviewing candidates, and overseeing membership requirements.

Dig deep and uncover those hidden experiences!