How do I get experience before work?

Many stand confused in front of the vicious circle associated with experience and work; in order to get a job, you must have sufficient experience, and you cannot gain experience without a suitable job! So what is the solution? Before we discuss the means and methods for gaining experience prior to work, let us first discuss the significance of obtaining such practical experiences:

1- Learn about things that go beyond academic education.

If an academic education alone was enough to arm you with all the information needed to succeed, we wouldn’t see success stories of people who didn’t complete a college education like Steve Jobs or Rachel Ray. Experiential learning outside of the classroom will undoubtedly teach you a lot and provide you with skills that books and curriculum cannot provide.

2- Applying the acquired knowledge

There is a very big difference between learning something and applying it. Practicing for many years in public speaking is no match for the real experience of speaking in front of a real audience. Here comes the role of practical experiences, which represent the stage of practical application of the knowledge gained during the study.

3- Self-development

Many people don’t know that practical experiences contribute greatly to self-development, as they allow you to go through different experiences in the real world and help you discover what you really want and what you enjoy. For example, you may be a student at the Faculty of Languages, and you imagine that after graduation you will work in a teaching position, but what you do not know is that you may not enjoy such a job or you may not have the skills that qualify you for it, and instead, your passion may lie in translation or in writing content. You won’t find out without some pre-work experience.

How do you get pre-work experience?

There are many ways that allow you to gain practical experience before entering the labor market, the most important of which are the following:

1- Practical training programmes

An internship is a form of time-bound work, provided by institutions or organizations, of duration from one week to 12 months, either paid or unpaid, part-time or full-time.
Advantages of practical training:

• Learn about the nature of working life and provide the trainees with a clear understanding of the workflow mechanism within the institutions.
• Introduce the trainees to their job roles that they will perform when entering the labor market.
• Giving the trainees the opportunity to discover their strengths and overcome their weaknesses.
• It is an opportunity to apply the skills gained during the study on the ground.

Among the most important companies that offer local and international practical training opportunities for young people, we find AIESEC and P&G, in addition to the United Nations and others.

2- Voluntary work

Volunteering is defined as an unpaid activity that people do in order to help organizations, non-profit organizations, or individuals.
Advantages of volunteering:

• It is an opportunity that is easy to obtain compared to practical training opportunities.
• Contributes to providing volunteers with skills related to social work and working as part of a team.
• Enhancing communication skills and developing the spirit of giving among volunteers, which will reflect positively on their performance in their jobs in the future.
• It allows volunteers to gain comprehensive knowledge of the extent of existing problems and the needs of the surrounding community, which raises their sense of responsibility and thus motivates them to work hard in order to create appropriate solutions when engaging in the labor market.

3- Freelance

Freelancing is a great way to show your potential, although you may have to do your first job for little or no money. However, with the passage of time and customers getting to know you, you will gain a better income, and you may turn self-employment after a while into a full-time job.

Freelance work periods vary; some last for several days, while others may extend for weeks, months, or even years. It is worth noting that some choose freelance work permanently due to the flexibility and remuneration it provides in some areas such as e-marketing, content writing, or design.

4- Work during the study

One way to gain the experience needed to enter the job market is to work while you study, whether it’s part-time during the semester or full-time in the summer holidays. Among the most important fields of work available to students, we find the following:

• Retail jobs in major clothing stores such as Zara or H&M, etc.
• Restaurants like KFC and McDonalds and coffee shops like Starbucks.
• Tourist resorts and hotels, where job opportunities abound, particularly during the summer.
• Work in the field of coordinating and organizing events such as festivals and sporting events.
• Work on campus, whether in libraries, as a research assistant for teachers, or in other facilities such as restaurants and cafes.

5- Participation in cultural exchange programs

Cultural exchange programs provide an excellent opportunity to travel and gain valuable experience in a variety of fields.These opportunities allow you to learn about new cultures, increase your personal awareness of them, and then transfer this awareness to your own country and community. Among the most important institutions that offer cultural exchange programs for international students, we find:

• A Swiss cultural institution that provides many cultural exchange opportunities for artists.
• Rotary International, which provides numerous opportunities for cultural exchange among young people from around the world,
• The American Fulbright Exchange Program allows students to gain valuable experience in the United States of America.

6- Joining student organizations

If you are in school or university, student-run organizations are a great way to gain experience and network with other students who have similar interests. Want to be a journalist? Join the university newspaper. Interested in graphic design? Look for a graphic design club or join the artistic activities that are held at your university; if you do not find one, you can start your own project and invite your colleagues who have similar tendencies.
Thus, we find that opportunities are available to gain experience and develop practical skills; all you have to do is devote some time and effort to finding what suits you. There is no harm in sacrificing a bit in order to gain experience, as if some work is unpaid or provides a small fee, such as covering transportation costs only, as such an opportunity may allow you to find your dream job in the future.

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