About the author
You want to go into a new career field, but you know nothing about it. Rather than let that be a barrier to entry, having no experience can be your in.
Really.
No experience in a new field is intimidating, and you may feel like you’re not worthy of the opportunity to work in the field that you want to.
Don’t look at that as an excuse.
If you want to go into this new career, pursue it. Make your lack of experience an asset by focusing on the value of the perspective you can bring the company – the fact that you aren’t conditioned by years of exposure to the field – and your drive to learn and grow along with the industry.
The “sure thing” sometimes isn’t always the best thing for you or the people hiring you; the person with no experience but with passion and drive can be just as valuable.
It may be scary to jump ship from what is expected of you to what you want to do with no experience and in a world where “things have always been done this way,” you come in with a fresh perspective and look at the industry from a different angle.
3 Reasons No Experience Will Land You That Dream Job
Here are the three reasons why inexperience is an asset:
1. You See Things Differently From The Bottom
We all have to start from the bottom, at some point or another in time.
When you take that step and recognize what you’re currently doing isn’t how you want to spend the rest of your life, you’re starting from a blank slate again, and when it’s a step you want to take you look at “the bottom” a bit differently and approach it differently.
It is another – and just as valuable – perspective. Nothing more, nothing less.
Starting from scratch in the field you want to pursue may be exactly what you need. We all have fears of failing at our passions if it’s too drastic of a change. But sometimes it’s that drastic change that we need and the new perspective that the industry (or your employer) wants.
Don’t limit yourself and your opportunities before you’ve even seen the landscape. Don’t doubt your opportunities before you’ve even pursued them.
2. Innovative Thinking Is More Important Than Ever
It is that ability to innovate that is going to be incredibly important to your career moving forward, regardless of whether or not you change fields.
We’re moving to a creative age, where those repetitive tasks and tactics will be outsourced or computerized.
The way you think can’t be replicated.
The jumps that you take based on experience and education are what sets you apart. You’re already behind and set to lose your job if you’re content doing what’s been done before, if you don’t challenge beliefs and push to move forward.
As a newcomer into an industry you are in the best position to capitalize upon that creative skill set and set yourself apart for the rest of your career in that industry because you dared to go against the norm.
For a great example of how creative thinking made me $12,000/month working only 4-hours on Friday nights, watch this video.
3. Because Others Have Done It – And It Worked!
In a former life I was a boxing promoter and publicist, so I knew how to make an athlete stand out. But I wanted to get into the racing world and had no direct experience there.
My first client hired me because he knew I’d bring new angles to his promotion.
I pitched a driver’s column to ESPN that had nothing to do with the actual race and everything to do with what racers did in their lives outside of the race. ESPN loved the idea and I was soon writing columns for their website talking about my client’s life off the track.
If I had been entrenched in the racing world well before working with this client, I probably wouldn’t have thought of that particular angle.
I relied on my experience and knowledge of a parallel field to inform my choices.
If you don’t know what’s impossible or even implausible, it’s easier to do; you don’t have that conditioned fear of difference that some cultivate after years in a particular industry.
It’s that drawing on different experiences that makes coming into a completely new field so valuable.
You’re not inexperienced and uniformed, but bring a different perspective in the way you think.
As a new set of eyes, your assets are your soft skills – your critical thinking, understanding of strategy and people, and your creativity.
Use them and make them work for you in ways that the industry probably hasn’t seen before.
Constantly be open to innovation and new views and you will always find a way to succeed.
To learn more about different ways in which having no experience is actually an asset, click here.
About the author
Alex Simon is a career reinvention coach and speaker. Often referred to as “a master at breaking into sexy and exciting careers”, he has promoted world title fights, managed Indy 500 race car drivers, worked for a Wall Street giant, and is the subject of Starsuckers, an award-winning documentary on the pursuit of fame. Check out his website, follow him on Twitter, or add him on LinkedIn!
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
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