How to sell yourself in an interview with no experience

If you’re just out of college or embarking on a new career path, probably the most intimidating aspect of finding a job is coming up with relevant experience—because you don’t have any.

The bad news is, I can’t magically create experience to help you pad your resume and cover letter. But the good news is, you don’t need magic—you just need to be creative. Follow these three tips to help beef up your application without making it sound like a bunch of bull.

1. Embrace Your Inexperience

I’ll let you in on a little secret: When you’re applying for an entry-level position, the hiring manager already knows you have little to no experience. So, why beat yourself up trying to manufacture something?

Instead, I suggest embracing your inexperience and leveraging that as motivation to learn. For instance, if you’re applying to a PR firm, you might highlight how you became the star student in writing class when you self-motivated yourself from someone who couldn’t finish a book report to writing a 50-page thesis. Sure, the experience itself isn’t perfectly connected to the PR industry, but this accomplishment perfectly illustrates your dedication, curiosity, and commitment to learn and grow (not to mention your now-killer writing skills). And guess what? That’s exactly what hiring managers are looking for from recent grads.

2. Get Personal

We’ve already established you haven’t exactly been around the block yet, as far as work goes, but what you do have is life experience. So, don’t be afraid to share some personal anecdotes that taught you a lesson or two that you carry with you now.

For example, maybe you studied abroad, and the experience opened your eyes to the amazing cultural differences across the globe. That personal experience shows maturity and understanding any hiring manager would want in an employee. Find those moments in your life that have changed you, write a brief description on your resume or in your cover letter, then use them as talking points when you land the interview. Pro tip: Keep it classy—skip the full moon parties and stick to life lessons that can translate into good work ethics.

3. Find a Link

This one takes a bit more effort and must be customized for each application, but I promise you, you’ll be glad you took the time.

If you’re applying for a gig, even though you may not have specific experience in a particular field, chances are you’re interested in the role and company for a reason, right? Do some research on the company, and find a way to tie your life and educational experiences in with something awesome it has done. For example, if you’re applying to a movie studio, mention how you became obsessed with its films as a child in your cover letter. Perhaps you saved all your old DVDs and posters or once camped outside of a theater so you’d be sure to get opening day tickets—whatever it was, find a way to connect your passions and life experiences with the company, then explain how that will translate into you hitting the ground running once you’re hired. You’ll find that link is exactly the kind of experience employers are looking for from recent grads.

Whether you’re applying for a job with a tech firm, fashion studio, or record label, chances are you won’t have loads of direct experience to highlight on your resume right after school. But, remember, employers know you’re just starting out, which means they’ll be much more impressed with your interpretation of “experience” and how you use the lessons you’ve learned in life as a solid foundation to get started. Keep it professional, and keep it honest, and you’ll fill your resume with real, valuable experience—without sounding like you’re full of it.

Photo of man with blank slate courtesy of Shutterstock.

Nationally-recognized career coach, Ryan Kahn has helped hundreds of thousands of job seekers over the years. Kahn is founder of The Hired Group, star of MTV's Hired and is a best-selling author and international speaker. Book one-on-one coaching sessions with Ryan on The Muse's Coach Connect.

More from Ryan Kahn

Hello, my name is Richard McMunn, and in this blog I will be showing you the best method for answering interview questions with no experience.

At some point in our lives, we all have to go for that ‘first interview’. Everyone has to start from somewhere; but if you have no experience then it can be hard to get your foot in the door. However, even if you have no experience then that doesn’t mean you can’t get the job. There are lots of ways to show that you are still the right person for the role, and in this blog I am going to show them to you. So, let’s get started!

Tell me about yourself and why you are suited to this role

This will be the first interview question, and in my opinion, is the easiest one for answering with no experience. Use strong keywords and phrases that are attractive to the employer who is interviewing you. Make sure you study the job description carefully and pick out specific elements from that description that you can use in your interview response.

Answer this question by focusing on the strength of your personality, your enthusiasm for the role, and what has attracted you to their company.

Sample Response

I am an enthusiastic, professional, loyal and hard-working person who has been working towards applying for this post for many months now.

I am someone who believes their personality will be a big asset to an employer, not least because of my dedication to my work, my willingness to go above and beyond what is required, and also my hunger for learning and developing new skills.

I am particularly attracted to your company because I want to work for someone who is ambitious, innovative and who gives their employees the opportunity to thrive.

Why should we hire you?

Make your lack of experience work in your favour. Use this as a strength and tell the panel you are fresh, enthusiastic, hungry and ready to get started!

You want the panel to hire you because of your passion for this job and how much you are attracted to their company. You therefore need to have a ‘point of interest’ relevant to their company to talk about, when answering interview questions with no experience.

Sample Response

I am the best person for the job because I have a great passion for this type of role, and the skills to work to a high standard. I believe job satisfaction comes from two things: firstly, it comes from working in a role your skills are most compatible with, and secondly, it comes from working for a caring, enthusiastic and forward-thinking employer like yourself.

Whilst researching your company, I kept coming across your innovative and exciting plans for the future, and I very much want to be a part of them. For example, whilst reading your website I found out that one of your recent new product launches has been a great success with your customers. I believe I would get a great sense of pride from working as part of the team that delivers excellent customer service whilst striving to meet your company objectives time and again.

Tell me about a time when you worked as part of a team to achieve a difficult task?

In line with the previous point, it’s important that your CV is full of positive words and phrases, showing that you are an attractive and highly-employable candidate. The types of words you should include within your CV are:

• Professional
• Loyal and hardworking
• Enthusiastic
• Committed
• Customer-focused
• Innovative
• Trustworthy
• Flexible

If you include the above keywords and phrases when writing your CV, it is sure to resonate positively with the employer or recruiting manager. Your CV is essentially a chance to sell yourself to the employer. You aren’t just selling your skills, but you are selling your personal qualities too. Ultimately having the right skills means nothing if you don’t have the personal qualities to use these skills, or if you don’t know how to write a brilliant CV. So, make sure you sell yourself!

Explain a time when you delivered excellent customer service?

If you have no experience, these types of behavioural interview question can be harder to answer. However, when answering questions of this nature, focus on 3 things:

• Your understanding
• Your skills
• Your observations

Tell the panel about the times you have seen excellent customer service and how you would replicate what you witnessed.

Sample Response

I am someone who understands the importance of excellent customer service and I realise your business will not survive or develop if your employees don’t deliver it.

During my life so far, I have been an enthusiastic observer of people who work in customer service roles and have witnessed both brilliant customer service and also poor customer service.

Based on the good elements I have witnessed, I would always make the customer feel welcomed, be polite and courteous at all times, listen to their concerns and requirements and go out of my way to deliver the best service possible. I would always focus on making their experience so good that they would come back to your business time and time again.

What are your strengths?

This is your opportunity to showcase the strengths you have that will be a benefit to their organisation. When answering interview questions with no experience, make sure you sell yourself!

My advice is to list the 7 key strengths that are appealing to ANY employer. Here they are…

Throughout my life, I have consistently demonstrated 7 key strengths. These are an ability to work hard to complete any task, a desire and passion to do everything to the highest standards possible, a desire to work as part of a team to complete difficult tasks, a willingness to learn & develop continuously, understanding the importance of and being open to change, a positive attitude to everything i do and a loyal, trustworthy and honest approach to work. I believe if you hire me, you will be impressed by my work ethic and my professional approach to everything I do.

What are your weaknesses?

In my opinion, this is one of the easiest questions to answer if you have no experience. However, use a weaknesses that is not a match for the job description. For example, if you are required to work with others as part of a team, don’t say you prefer to work alone.

Give a weakness that could be construed as a strength. Here’s a GREAT ANSWER!

Sample Response

My weakness is that I sometimes take on too much, and I find it hard to say no to people. On occasions, this approach hasn’t helped me as I simply can’t let people down. I then end up putting too much pressure on myself to do things for others. However, I am learning to say no when the time is right.

From a work perspective, I actually think this will be a strength, as I will always work hard for you as my employer, I will be honest at all times and I will do everything to the best of my abilities.

For more advice on answering interview questions with no experience, and pro tips on every element that you’ll need to succeed during your interview, check out our fantastic resource. 

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