In the current job market, there is increasing demand for new recruits to have work experience on their CV. Why do organisations value it so much? Surely as a university graduate, you are qualified enough to get a job with no experience?
At first glance, it is obvious why recruiters put so much stock in you having work experience. Employers want experienced new recruits so newcomers can hit the ground running in their new role quicker. With the trend of work-from-home and online jobs, organisations can entrust you to work independently when you have experience.
Work experience is so desired in the job market there are even unpaid internships you can join. The experience itself and skills gained is what you gain from such programmes. Here at Graduate Coach, we provide our own digital internship programme. This provides the experience and digital upskilling that many employers desire.
The Job Market in the age of work from home
Work experience is so important when you begin your career. You will understand this with a deep dive into the UK job market. Remember when applying for a job, the aim is to stand out among many other candidates. Also the pool of candidates is far larger once you consider how everything is done online. Previously, you found jobs advertised locally thus focusing the competition on the location of the job. But now with the rise of ‘working from home’ recruiters don’t limit their candidate selection by location.
Furthermore, the supply of candidates with graduate degrees is far higher than in previous generations, far more than there are graduate level jobs available. Having a degree is not unique to employers, today there are are 36.4 million graduates in the UK. Remember the key is to stick out to recruiters and today a degree just does not cut it.
What Work Experience gives you
In this day and age to succeed in the job market you must have a skillset that employers want. This is the first real hurdle you must first pass in order to get your foot in the door which is easier said than done. Starting with no experience is very daunting to young people, particularly those who don’t know what job fits best. Here at Graduate Coach, we provide services to help new graduates in this situation.
Skill Development
As a job hunter you must not forget that you are advertising your services on the job market. To do this effectively in order to get the attention of organisations you must first acquire skills. This gives you the ability to provide a service which an organisation on the jobs market would find desirable.
Based on the career path you choose, you need to prepare the skills required to succeed in that career. Today’s organisations are facing volatile, uncertain global markets. This requires their employers to pursue further education and develop changes in executive skills. Lifelong learning is a must in such an ever changing job market.
The Importance of Confidence
The value of practice and repetition gained through experience is a key aspect of what employers look for when recruiting. First hand experience from ‘doing it yourself’ as opposed to learning from a textbook is far more desirable to employers. This is because it demonstrates proof of work in practice.
Having proof of work in your arsenal will give you confidence in the skills that you develop. This confidence will reflect positively when applying for jobs that require these particular skills. Employers seeing that you possess prior experience will have confidence in you because you learned through practice and repetition.
You can also develop confidence through a career coaching programme. Just as work experience helps develop confidence, you can also invest in the coaching provided by Graduate coach. This will help you become the confident candidate organisations want.
Time Management and Responsibility
Two key aspects that almost all jobs require no matter how specialised is to have good time management and the ability to shoulder a certain level of responsibility. Such skills in general are useful in all aspects of life and beneficial in general.
Having good time management also benefits your ability to take responsibility. In cases where there are deadlines to be met, being able to shoulder responsibility is something organisations look for. Responsibility comes with pressure and dealing with such pressure determines how responsible you will be. Having work experience gives you practice and overtime you will learn how to handle pressure.
Make Plans for your Career
It can be quite daunting when you graduate from formal education and prepare to start your career. For some people they have already made up their mind as to what they plan to do but for others it can be hard to prepare for a career with no plan when you don’t know what you want to pursue.
Work experience is very good for people in this predicament as it provides individuals with a clearer understanding of the workplace and the different fields of work. With this experience they can see what career path they have the greatest aptitude and satisfaction for. With this in mind people can steer their career in the direction they deem to be best for career fulfilment. The firsthand experience from working in different industries, job roles and work environments count a long way when clarifying career goals.
CV Enhancement
You need a good CV when you apply for a job. A well written CV can be the difference between an acceptance and a rejection and most importantly the content of the CV must be relevant to the job in question.
Employers often prefer candidates with practical experience, as it demonstrates that the individual can apply their knowledge and skills in real-world situations. The more relevant the experience the more it elevates the CV and increases the chances of acceptance.
Networking
A skill not taught in school that is a huge benefit to your career and life in general is the ability to network professionally. In school, you spend most of your on academic study and little on practical work. Much of the modern job market does not function like the education system does as getting a job is not as simple as passing an exam.
Even though competence, Knowledge and expertise are still highly valued, building a professional network can open doors to job opportunities, mentorship, and provide valuable insights into the industry. In order to start networking, you must get a foothold into the industry and work experience is a platform that this can start from.
Improved Employability
Employers look for candidates who can hit the ground running. Work experience makes individuals more attractive to potential employers, as they require less training and are more likely to contribute effectively from day one. As a result, those with work experience often have a competitive edge in the job market.
Show Competency in the Interview
Many jobs in certain industries involve being part of corporations in very competitive fields thus increasing the demand for candidates who can quickly and efficiently fill a role without the need for extensive training provided for by the employer. Organisations desire competent people to work for them and so bringing stories of your past experience to a job interview goes a long way to demonstrating your competence. Therefore, having work experience can give an edge over your competitors and be the difference between landing a job or not.
Summary
To wrap up, work experience in today’s very competitive job market gives you the edge over other candidates. This is because the practical experience gained is highly valued by employers. Whilst having academic credentials is a benefit to your CV , with the large number of graduates job hunting today, having relevant work experience elevates you above the many other graduates starting their career.
A candidate looking to start their career can gain experience that organisations desire at our Digital internship Programme. The skills that are refined through work experience, you will be able to learn in this digital internship programme.
Featured photo Pexels by fauxels
Written by Laurence Stables
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