"Must have relevant experience!"

It may seem impossible but there are well-proven ways to develop the experience you need.

If you're unemployed or have time to spare, consider volunteering for a charity or doing a work placement with a company to develop the skills and experience you need. This usually won't be paid, but you may be offered travel/lunch expenses.

Note: If you are unemployed, speak to your Jobcentre advisor first to ensure it doesn't cause any problems with your claim - you may even be eligible for special volunteering or work experience programs which could also provide training and a top-up to your benefits.

However you choose to do it and whether you end up volunteering for a charity or on a placement with a company, the most critical thing is to be sure you are working in the same area you are looking to get into. If you want a job in IT, a volunteer position in a restaurant is not going to help you much! Discuss your specific needs and goals with the employer, charity or person organising the placement and make sure it will work for you. Don't be scared to say you want something different. If you have never worked or have been out of work for a long time, remember that any work experience at all is good and will help your general transferable skills and enhance your CV.

A sideways move

Another option is to look at different ways to get into your chosen role over a longer time period. If you want to be a Chef but have no experience, maybe you could take a job as waiter to develop experience within the sector and then look for opportunities to jump sideways into a junior role in the kitchens. Or if you want to be a legal secretary but have no experience, working for a while as a secretary but for a legal firm will help your credibility on your CV and make sure your foot is in the door for any openings that might come up. With a bit of creative thinking you can open up a world of opportunities!.

On-the-job Training

Many companies also offer training positions - and not just for University graduates. While the salary for these may be lower, you will get trained on the job, often have the opportunity to study towards a qualification, and have the chance of a permanent higher-paid job at the end. Either way you will get relevant work experience that will increase your job prospects when you apply for your next job.

Education and Training

If its not the experience you need but skills or qualifications, the most obvious thing to do is to take a break from your job search to undertake training to develop the skills and get the relevant qualifications.

Beware though - training can be expensive, it won't pay the bills, and the longer you spend out of work, the harder it may be to find a job at the end of it. So don't assume you need a year off to re-train - look at options to work part-time and study at the same time; consider short courses that you can work around, or look for employers that will offer training as part of the job (Apprenticeships are especially worthwhile looking into). If you are unemployed, ask your Jobcentre Advisor about courses on offer, but make the course you do is relevant to your job goals- if you want to get into Web Design, the course needs to teach this and not general IT or admin, ideally you want to look for a course that offers work experience or a work placement within in it, as no amount of training is a substitute for real work with a real employer.

Home Learning

If your gap is specific skills, don't forget you can learn at home. For example, if its your typing speed or MS Office skills that aren't as good as employers seem to want, there are plenty of free courses available on the web and books in your local library; just make sure you practice every single day until you've got your skills to the level you require.

Work While Looking!

Above all, remember to keep looking at jobs all the time you are re-training. More skills or a qualification will definitely increase your chances, but a relevant job will almost always do more. There is a 'training trap' many people fall into where they think they need more training and more qualifications to enable them to walk straight into the high-paying job they want Above almost anything else, what employers want is recent, relevant, work experience! If a job comes along before you finish your course, what should you do? Only you can decide but remember, you can always undertake training part-time and it may be a while before the right job offer comes along again.

The longer you leave it, the harder it will get to find something, so look for a job that will give you some of the experience you need, even if not all. Remember it's about baby steps towards your long-term goals!

Hopefully now you realise there are always ways around things and that there are ways of overcoming the "not enough experience" Catch-22.

Good luck with your job search!

This article was published on www.fusejobs.co.uk . Fuse Jobs is London’s only entry-level job site. Whether you need help finding your first job, returning to work after a break, or changing careers, check it out. www.fusejobs.co.uk