The frustration when time after time your applications for work are turned down because employers are seeking someone with experience, can easily make a jobseeker despondent. At StaffMatters we often see how candidates (especially junior candidates with limited work experience) continue to apply for more and more positions, getting more rejected, and more dejected. What we suggest for such candidates is to focus on how they can gain work experience and re-write that CV.

How? First: identify what experience is lacking on your CV, then find alternative ways to get exactly that experience. Do not believe that only official employment can give you the necessary experience, when there is a wealth of experience to be gained from many other endeavours, such as part-time jobs or single projects. A few examples:

Waiting tables: You may think that your future career plans would definitely not include any skills gained as a waiter/waitress, or that it cannot be considered as ‘real’ experience. But it is a valuable training ground in the skills of customer service, public relations and communication.

Data-capturing: a whole range of businesses need data-capturing; from retailers that need to input credit applications from consumers wanting to open accounts to schools that need to enter pupils' details on computer. Data-capturing gives you an opportunity to work with computers and possibly learn how different databases work. Skills that you can pick up include basic computer skills, accuracy, working according to schedules and deadlines and dealing with confidential or technical information. Offer to help your school or college at registration time - the institution will appreciate a helping hand while you can add the experience to your CV.

Organising or helping at functions and events, the possibilities in this field are endless. There are PR companies that run events, retailers that have special promotions, educational institutions that have open days for prospective learners and parents, not to mention sports events and personal events such as weddings. Helping to organise or to help out on such days can provide experience in dealing with people, finding solutions for an unforeseen glitch, how to order products (food, beverages etc), managing a project.

Volunteering - there are many organisations that require help with, among others, answering phone calls, taking care of correspondence, dealing with queries, welcoming visitors, doing filing and helping people to fill in forms correctly. You can offer your services to charity organisations, educational institutions and government departments, for example.

You will realise opportunities are aplenty once you start compiling a list. Try as many as you can until you have a reasonable record of experience that you can mention in your CV.

Be prepared to carry out the work for no pay - what you are aiming at is to get work experience that can be added to your CV. Try to make financial needs a second priority.

The secret is to point out in your CV the relevance of your past experience to the position you are applying for. It is essential to specify in your CV what skills you acquired with each project or job that you carried out, mentioning the work done, place and dates and then focus on what you can do as a result of the experience. In particular, point out the relevance of the experience to the job you are applying for.

If uncertain, the experts at StaffMatters Recruitment Specialists are looking forward to help you draw up a CV that will sell you as good employee material.