# How to get a job with no experience Source: https://glide.work/guides/how-to-get-a-job-with-no-experience Published: 2026-11-15 Updated: 2026-11-15 [Guides](https://glide.work/guides) # How to get a job with no experience By [Shubhankar Kahali](https://glide.work/company) Reviewed 15 November 2026 5 min read The short answer To get a job with no experience, redefine what experience is, then prove it. Internships, projects, volunteering, part-time work and coursework all count if you describe what you did and what came of it. Add something an employer can look at, apply to roles that ask for little, apply early, and write directly to the person hiring. Employers want experience, and you need a job to get it. That loop is real, and it has got tighter: our [guide to entry-level hiring](https://glide.work/guides/why-is-it-hard-to-get-an-entry-level-job) explains why. The way out is to stop thinking of experience as a job title and to show what you can already do. ## You have more experience than you think Most people with no job history have done real work somewhere else. Go through this list and write down everything that applies: - Internships, placements and work experience - Part-time and seasonal jobs, even unrelated ones - Volunteering and community roles - Freelance or one-off paid work - University or school projects, including group projects - Clubs, societies and teams where you took responsibility - Personal projects: something you built, wrote, designed or organised - Caring and family responsibilities that involved planning, money or communication For each item, note what you did, how you did it and what happened as a result. A retail job taught you to deal with difficult customers under pressure. A society treasurer role taught you to manage a budget. ## Build proof Employers hiring someone untested want evidence. The strongest evidence is something they can open: Field | Proof you can make Software and data | A public project, a repository with a clear readme Design and media | A small portfolio of finished pieces Writing and marketing | Samples, or a small campaign you ran for a club or friend Operations and admin | A process you improved, described with before and after Sales and service | A short write-up of how you handled a real customer problem Two or three good pieces beat ten weak ones. Put the link at the top of your resume. ## Write the resume around what you can do A resume with no job history is built differently: - **Lead with a short summary** naming the role you want and your two strongest relevant skills. - **Put projects and relevant experience above education,** unless education is your strongest point. - **Write each item as an action and a result,** not a duty. "Organised a charity event for a local charity" is better than "responsible for events". - **Mirror the posting's language** for skills you really have. Screening software and recruiters both look for it. See [Does an ATS reject resumes automatically?](https://glide.work/guides/does-ats-reject-resumes) - **Keep it to one page.** ## Choose roles that fit - **Apply to roles that ask for little,** such as assistant, associate, coordinator, trainee or apprentice positions. - **Do not rule yourself out on requirements.** If you meet most of a posting's list, apply. Many requirements are a wish list. - **Consider smaller companies,** which often get fewer applicants and are readier to train. - **Look at adjacent routes in:** temporary work, internships, apprenticeships and contract roles, which can lead to permanent offers. ## Apply early and write to a person The first days of a posting matter, because that is when applications are read. Beyond that, a short message to a recruiter or team lead often does more than the application itself: > Hi [name], I applied for the [role] this week. I have not held a job in this field yet, but I built [project] and [result], which used the same skills the role asks for: [skill] and [skill]. I would welcome a chance to talk, and I am happy to show you the work. Be honest about where you are. Hiring managers respond to clarity and evidence far better than to inflated claims. ## What not to do - **Do not invent experience.** It is checked, and it ends the process when found. - **Do not apologise for it.** State what you have done and what you can do. - **Do not send the same resume everywhere.** Tailor it for each role, even lightly. - **Do not apply only to the most crowded roles.** Remote and well-known employers draw the largest piles. - **Do not wait to feel ready.** Some of the learning only happens on the job. ## Where Glide helps A first search is the one where you know least about which roles fit and who will answer. [Glide](https://glide.work/) scores each role against your profile, researches the company behind it, tailors your resume to the posting and finds the person to write to. It will not invent experience you do not have. It helps make sure what you do have is seen. ## Common questions ### What jobs can I get with no experience? Entry-level, trainee and apprentice roles in most fields, plus temporary and seasonal work in hospitality, retail, logistics, customer service and administration. Many lead on to better roles within a year or two. ### How do I write a resume with no experience? Lead with a summary and your most relevant projects, then education. Describe every item as an action and a result, and mirror the language in the posting for skills you really have. ### Does volunteering count as experience? Yes. Describe it the way you would a paid job: what you were responsible for, what you did and what changed because of it. ### Should I take an unpaid internship? That is your decision and depends on your circumstances. Check what you will learn and who you will meet, and ask whether it has led to paid roles before. Do not accept work you cannot afford to do. ## Keep reading [Why is it so hard to get an entry-level job? Entry-level roles now ask for experience, draw hundreds of applicants and are thinning as AI takes junior tasks. Here is what the data shows and what works. 4 min read](https://glide.work/guides/why-is-it-hard-to-get-an-entry-level-job)[How to follow up on a job application (with examples) When to follow up on a job application, who to write to and what to say, with short messages you can copy for each stage of the process. 3 min read](https://glide.work/guides/how-to-follow-up-on-a-job-application)[Does an ATS reject resumes automatically? Applicant tracking systems parse, rank and route resumes. What an ATS really does, where candidates get filtered out, and how to write for one. 4 min read](https://glide.work/guides/does-ats-reject-resumes) Glide is the agent on your side of hiring. See [what it does](https://glide.work/), [how it compares](https://glide.work/compare) and [the research behind it](https://glide.work/research/the-2026-labour-market). Join in ## Your invitation is waiting to be written. An invitation Glide, by invitation only You are invited. To whoever is looking for work, Every piece of hiring software was built for the company doing the hiring. Glide is the other side: an agent that works for you, from finding the role to handling what comes back. We let people in a few hundred at a time, every Friday. Leave your email and we will write the moment your spot opens. Your agent starts the same day. Shubhankar Kahali Founder of Glide Admits One person You, and the agent that works for you. Opens On a Friday New spots open every week. Begins The same day Your agent starts as soon as you are in. Costs you One email To get in line. No card, no form. RSVP Already on the list? [Sign in](https://glide.work/login)