Career advice: How young jobseekers can compete against more experienced candidates

Even if you are the least experienced candidate in the shortlist, there are ways to convince an employer to give you a shot. Try this advice.

Rather than focusing on the experience they do not have, young people need to look at the experience they do have but have not talked about.

That could be voluntary work, sporting clubs, community groups, school or university.

It could be that you have built an app or created something for someone.

If you are ambitious, there is probably a lot you have done that you haven’t put on a piece of paper.

You haven’t just studied, you have participated in other activities, which shows you can take on more than one thing and you are ambitious in other areas of life.

Just because you haven’t had a full-time job doesn’t mean you don’t have experience.

Add it all to your CV and talk about it in an interview because that’s what makes you uniquely you.

If you are the least experienced candidate in the running, considering offering to do a trial. Picture: iStock

Young people also need to ask themselves: what is it they do that people around them say they do better than anyone else.

What’s their niche that they are good at?

What do they thrive doing?

What do they enjoy doing?

It could be related to technology or they might be brilliant writers or editors or have great speaking skills.

Everyone has got a gift in an area and if you talk about it in a job interview, it will shine through.

Amanda Rose says young people can gain an edge by showing they want the job more than anyone else. Picture: iStock

One idea for jobseekers competing with people who are more experienced is to ask the company to give them a trial.

You could say in your job interview “I am passionate about this industry, please just trial me for a month or three months and if you don’t like it I will walk away.”

They could put you on probation or on a casual contract to test you.

Make it easy for them to give you a chance.

Apart from that, its about showing effort.

Enrol into courses and volunteer. Keep active. If you stop dead, it’s not a good sign.

Call the company before you apply and after you apply.

Really, employers want to see you are ambitious and hard working and you want this more than anyone else.

Amanda Rose is a business consultant, workplace trainer, LinkedIn influencer and founder of six organisations – and now she is tackling your career questions for SMART Daily every Monday.

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Originally published as Career advice: How young jobseekers can compete against more experienced candidates