How do I overcome the “You Don’t Have Any Job Experience” Objection

I had a college senior write to tell me she did not get the job because the interviewer told her she didn’t have any relevant prior work experience. She gave up at that point. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Consider the following. What do most jobs require? Ability to think, read, write, meet deadlines, communicate information, set and meet goals, multi-task, and more. She had years of experience doing all of those. The only difference was that she wasn’t being paid or had a job title.

To overcome the objection, she needed to think of each item in terms of transferable skills. I replied, “I am certain you can provide specific examples that demonstrate effective performance of meeting deadlines (finish an assignment by a specific date), critical thinking (assimilate information and come up with a compelling argument), reading and understanding complex information (analyze a scientific paper or business strategy or conduct a case study), writing a paper on a key subject, making presentations to a class or school board (build a case for a specific point of view and defend it), setting personal goals (master a specific topic), demonstrating leadership (lead a team on a project, running for student council, president of a fraternity or sorority, leading a food drive or organizing a study abroad program,…), and multi-tasking (study for multiple finals in different subjects).”

The next time an interviewer says you do not have any real job experience, please read this article and realize you DO have the experience and transferable skills to do 90% of the tasks required by any job. If you don’t have a specific skill, you can learn it because you are high in “learning orientation” (mastered each of the subjects in order to graduate).

The next time you get a job interview, you can proudly tell the interviewer that you most certainly have years of experience doing what the job requires and can give them specific examples.

Example:
The following list came from a Management Trainee job opening.

• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment.
• High energy that can anticipate needs and show effective follow –through. Must be self-motivated and directed.
• Ability to set and manage priorities.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Keen attention to detail.
• Exceptional service orientation.

You must identify a specific example from your education/part-time job, or volunteer experience for each of the items listed above.

If the interviewer asks; “how are you at setting and managing priorities?” You should respond with a specific example, “I can give you a specific example. I had three school projects due at the same time. I wrote down the hours needed for each project and ranked them according to the complexity and information each required. I moved my timeline up so that I would have a day to spare in the event I hit a snag. On ______ project, I identified five documents that helped me uncover the pros and cons of doing the task a certain way… I interviewed several managers to get their opinion. All three projects were completed ahead of schedule and received high marks. The extra day gave me added time to study for my _______ test. “

Tip: Untrained interviewers will ask hypothetical questions that can be answered with a yes or no or a brief answer. Example: “Are you good at working with difficult customers?” The most common answer is, “Yes.” To win the interview, provide a specific example with rich details. You will be credible and memorable and that is how you beat the competition.