5000 jobs in 50 days: how to show experience as a first-time jobseeker

LOOKING for your first job? Don’t have any experience to put on your resume? Here are some ideas and tips from careers experts.

EXPERIENCED: Evie Catt, 23, at The Haus in Hahndorf, SA. Picture: Keryn Stevens.

THE aim of News Corp’s 5000 jobs in 50 days campaign may be to encourage employers to give first-time workers a go but workers also have a part to play in making the match a success.

Young people without a previous job on their resume are urged to find alternate ways to gain experience that can translate into the workplace.

Professional development and performance coach Kelly Kozaris said they should look for internships and volunteer work to hone communication and business skills.

They would need to take initiative to “learn the ropes”, she said.

Nicole Dwyer, CEO of Workskil Australia.

Nicole Dwyer, chief executive of jobactive provider WorkSkil Australia, said programs such as Work for the Dole and Transition to Work helped jobseekers gain hands-on experience and develop core skills to make them work-ready.

“There is work out there for young people, they just need to know where to look,” she said.

“Despite tough economic conditions, the retail, food and hospitality sectors are all employing.

“Employment programs can help job seekers identify these vacancies and then prepare them for the work and then connect them with the opportunities.”

Short vocational courses that include work placements are another way for people to gain experience and get on the first rung of the career ladder.

TAFE SA foundation skills lecturer Deb King said students in her Certificate II in Work Skills and Vocational Pathways run by TAFE SA and Hahndorf restaurant The Haus gave graduates practical skills for their resume.

The eight-week pre-employment course also allowed students to gain contacts who can then serve as referees.

Ms King said many first-time jobseekers didn’t realise they could also list team sports and school committees on their resumes to illustrate transferable skills such as team work and organisation.

Evie Catt, 23, studied a Certificate II in Work Skills and Vocational Pathways after completing an environmental science degree at university and realising it wasn’t enough to find her work.

“I was running across the same stumbling blocks: I didn’t have experience,” she said.

“(In the certificate II) there are courses like how to work a bar but also things like workplace relations and how to negotiate cultural diversity and how to get along with others.”

Her best advice for other young jobseekers was to find work experience, which she recommended doing through TAFE as employers were more open to workers that had the backing of a training organisation.

“They think ‘what am I getting here? I don’t know you’ but when you have TAFE behind you ... they know this person has some knowledge of where they want to be,” she said.

“And if the employer likes you, you can possibly get a job out of it.”

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Originally published as 5000 jobs in 50 days: how to show experience as a first-time jobseeker