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By Jim Davis
One of the biggest frustrations that young people have who are just trying to start out is "How do I get experience?" It seems that every time you try to get a job they want someone who already has experience. But, how in the world are you ever going to get experience if you can't get hired?
The best answer I can give you is this. Start by concentrating on what you can do instead of what you can't do. Use that as a base to work from and start building that base larger. Then, when you write your resume include the abilities you have developed even if you never used them in a job.
Develop as many "portable" skills as you can. These are the abilities that you will need regardless of what type of job you may have. This could include learning to speak in public or maybe just learning to express yourself more clearly. It might be learning to listen so you understand what someone really means. It might be learning to control your temper and use anger in a positive way. Or, it could be learning to manage your money or your time more effectively.
Determine what kinds of jobs you are interested in, and find out what skills are needed for those jobs. Then find out about as many other jobs as you can that use those same skills. Then try to get a part-time job, even if it is a volunteer job, so that you can learn some of those skills. (For more on skills, see the article "Looking for Career Clues" in this section.)
In addition to finding out what your interests are, develop new interests as well. Go to the library and look through the magazines. Find some that have articles about subjects you don't know anything about, and read at least part of several of those articles. You may find yourself wanting to know more about something you never even thought about.
Or, take a course in something that has obvious benefits but that you don't know much about. For example, you might take a class in cooking so you could at least have more to eat than peanut butter sandwiches if you were on your own for a day or two. Even if you find out that you don't like it you may meet someone who's involved in something else you find appealing. And, you'll still be learning something useful.
Another thing you can do if you go to college is to get an internship job. This is usually a non-paying job that you take for the experience. Many colleges and universities are now making internships a requirement for graduation, so if you are going to college this decision may be made for you.
And, remember that some of the abilities you developed as you were growing up could be valuable to a potential employer. Just because you never had a job doing something you're good at doesn't take away from the fact that you do it well.