Every day, countless people look for a job without relevant experience. People often want to find a career path that suits them, their personality, and their talents, but this can be hard to do right away. In fact, nearly a third of people have changed their careers since graduating college, wanting to try something new or different. As a result, a career change may require job seekers to get a job without direct experience in their chosen field.

Other times, recent grads prepare to enter the workforce but find they have little experience in the field in which they want to work. They may wonder how they can capture the attention of a hiring manager so they can get a chance to work in their field of choice.

Fortunately, there are various strategies that people in either situation can employ to help them get interviews and secure a new job in their chosen field, even without relevant experience. Below are ways to get started on your new career path with no experience.

Although you may not have worked in a specific sector before, you might be surprised by the experience or relevant education you do have. While you’ll likely not be able to include years of experience on your resume, think back to extracurricular activities, volunteer work you’ve done, or event positions you’ve held to see if you can find any transferable skills or responsibilities that you can emphasize on your resume.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Did you hold any positions of leadership in a classroom?
• Did you organize or lead any school clubs or other group activities?
• Did you participate in any volunteer activities?
• Did you have any jobs that may have helped you develop soft skills that might translate to the new field?
• Have you taken any classes that might have transferable information or emphasize similar skills, such as data analytics?

Once you have your list, you can begin to build a resume that helps you demonstrate what you can bring to the job, even if you come from a background with no relevant work experience.

While you wait for job openings, it’s important to start building your job experience and educational credentials in the interim. This can help demonstrate your commitment to the field and give you more relevant experience to add to your resume. Look in the following areas to start building your resume:

• Massive open online classes (MOOCs). These are classes offered by professors from major world universities on a wide range of subjects. While some might require fees, a number are also completely free.
• Volunteer opportunities. Look for opportunities to help out in the community that also apply to your field of choice.
• Join relevant organizations near you. Look for like-minded people who can help you get involved in the industry or offer educational opportunities. You can ask those already in the industry for career advice, as well.

In addition to the educational opportunities you can pursue independently, you should investigate internships or apprenticeships. A variety of organizations offer opportunities for people to learn more about their industry through hands-on experience. Consider looking in the following areas:

• Checking with local unions to see if they offer training and apprenticeships
• Investigating local industry organizations to see if they need interns or volunteers
• Working with your local network to uncover additional opportunities for internships or training
• Researching local trade schools to see if they offer apprenticeships or internships

You also want to make an effort to build your soft skills. Soft skills are easily transferable between different careers and roles, which can help you adapt more easily to new positions. Soft skills include:

• Communication skills
• Problem-solving skills
• Teamwork
• Time management
• Creativity
• Leadership skills

Identifying your soft skills and understanding your weaknesses can’t always be done independently, though. Many people struggle to effectively analyze themselves in this way. Instead, it can be helpful to enlist the help of those who know you best and who you feel closest to. Ask friends and family to help you identify your strengths and weaknesses in these types of areas.

Once you’ve identified your soft skills, look for ways to incorporate them into your resume. Include how you used these skills at an internship or volunteer opportunity, for example, particularly when those skills align well with what you would use at your desired job. Go through the job description and identify the soft skills that the hiring manager will be most likely to care about and use that to guide your resume production.

Armed with insight into your soft skills, take time to improve in these areas. Fortunately, a number of methods can help you improve your skills.

• Speak with people who excel in this area. If you know someone who has exceptional organizational skills while you regularly lose items and miss deadlines, ask them for tips and tricks and begin to implement their suggestions in your daily life.
• Take classes on the subject. With the wealth of classes available online and the countless hours of video available on YouTube, there are also a variety of different platforms available to help you improve specific soft skills.
• Practice with another person. Whether this person is a coach you hire, a friend willing to help you improve, or just others in your life that you interact with on a daily basis who can provide feedback, practicing can have a tremendous impact on your success with new soft skills.

As you begin to explore the job market, you’ll want to keep in mind that even well-experienced people typically don’t land the first job to which they apply. Therefore, having the capacity to save your job search and customize your results can help tremendously. A job search platform like Joblist can help with this, allowing you to customize your list, save jobs you like, and save specific searches so you’ll know when new jobs meeting your criteria arise.

When finding a job with no experience, it’s also a good idea to make yourself open to various types of employment. While you’ll generally have decent luck with an entry-level position, don’t ignore the potential that might be found with a part-time job or even a paid internship. While these might not be ideal, they can provide a stepping stone by giving you more experience and a chance to build a more relevant resume.

Sometimes, employers post jobs for which they know they’re unlikely to find a candidate who meets all of their criteria. This can be particularly true for entry-level positions where they also want someone with several years of experience.

If you read the job description and know you’d be a great fit for the position, don’t be afraid to apply anyway. Use your application to draw attention to the credentials you do have that would make you a good fit for the job.

Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean that you should randomly submit your application to any job that you happen to think sounds interesting. Applying should still be done conscientiously, where you think carefully about your role and why you would perform well if given the chance.

You want to connect with people in your network and let them know you’re interested in getting a job but may not have the right experience. Voice your intention to find a position on social media, particularly via your LinkedIn profile. You can also use LinkedIn to join relevant groups to help you engage in conversations with recruiters and others actively working in the industry of your choice.

Those in your network can connect you with job openings, introduce you to people who work at different companies, and offer advice about breaking into the industry. Your networks can also serve as references. They can help you make a strong case for your communication skills and work ethic, which can help you present a strong case for why hiring managers should give you a try.

You also want to focus on creating an outstanding application for the position. Review the job description to gain more insight into the specific skills and experience they want candidates to have. Although you might have no experience, use the skills and experiences you outlined earlier to create a resume that best reflects your abilities.

In your cover letter, you have the opportunity to articulate why your experiences make you a good fit. You can reference the soft skills you’ve developed and what you have learned from those different experiences.

Once you have successfully submitted an application that demonstrates your relevance for the position, the next step is getting through the interview process. The hiring manager will want to know what you’ll bring to the position and if you will be a good fit for the company. Regardless of whether this is your first job after college or you’re changing industries, you’ll want to prepare for the conversation in a similar way.

• Review the interview questions that you’re likely to be asked. Prepare answers beforehand.
• Familiarize yourself with both the company and the position being offered. Coming to the interview fully prepared will help you make the best possible impression.
• Don’t be afraid to acknowledge that you don’t have direct experience. Instead, focus on what you’ve learned that might translate well to the new job and why you still make an outstanding candidate. Emphasize your existing skill set and the value it will bring to the job.
• Bring up your soft skills. If you have examples that demonstrate your prior experience with real-world skills like problem-solving or teamwork, bring them to the attention of the interviewer.
• Follow up the interview with a thank-you note. This demonstrates professionalism and gives you an additional opportunity to make a positive impression on the hiring team after they’ve interviewed their candidates.

Use these tips to get the job that is right for you!!!