Finding a new job or advancing your career can often require gaining experience. There are many options available to you for gaining experience and learning new skills. Knowing what options you have can help you determine which path to gaining new experience makes the most sense for you. 

In this blog post, we will be showing you seven ways you can acquire work experience in your career.

Interning

An internship is a professional learning experience that offers practical work exposure related to an individual’s career of interest. This provides the opportunity for career exploration, development, and networking. One of the drawbacks to internships is that some are unpaid. However, if you are serious about breaking into a particular field, a couple of months working for free will pay off in the long term. The consideration for job opportunities places emphasis on your experience not on whether you were paid.

Job Shadowing

Job shadowing gives you the opportunity to follow and observe an experienced person for a few hours, a day, or a few days, as they carry out their job activities. Request from your close associates, if you can observe them or if they can link you with people you can observe. Remember to add this experience to your resume.

Volunteering

Many non-profit organizations have volunteer positions where you can gain valuable work experience for your CV and experience advantage. While you may not necessarily be working in the industry of your choosing, it does bring the opportunity to build soft skills, which are highly valued by employers.  Some companies look favourably at volunteer activities, so reach out to organisations that interest you, and don’t forget to add the experience to your resume!

Working in Your Neighborhood

Do you know you can develop valuable work skills when you do small jobs for friends, family, neighbours or your community? For example, if you are a care worker, try yard work, running errands for family and friends, babysitting, taking care of pets, or helping an elderly person with chores. These experiences will add to and build up your CV.

Freelancing

Sometimes you have to prove that you can do the work before you are hired. Freelancing is a great way to show what you can do. To gain experience and positive references, you may have to do your first freelance jobs for free or for low pay. These experiences would add to your portfolio and elevate your prospect when applying for an employee position.

Events, workshops, and conferences

One way to gain knowledge of a particular industry is to attend events, conferences, and workshops led by leaders in a particular field. This will help you build a deeper understanding of the industry, and what employers expect from prospective new starters. There are lots of places where you can find out about upcoming conferences and events, including the LinkedIn Events portal and social media platforms. 

Start a personal project

Personal projects are those you complete for yourself and on your time. Starting such a project can allow you to learn new skills and put them into practice immediately. Such projects can add to your experience and portfolio when applying for a new position.

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