If you’re a recent graduate or you’re trying to switch to a new career, you likely won’t have much industry work experience under your belt just yet. That’s why writing a cover letter with no experience can be extra challenging: you need to convince the hiring manager to give you a chance by showing off your skills, education, and passion for the job.
A cover letter helps you prove your competency and showcase your talents, experiences, and accomplishments to an employer. It explains why an employer should hire you and what unique skills and qualities you possess that will add value to the company if given the opportunity.
Cover letters are often seen as an afterthought by many job seekers, but they are an essential part of the application process. Even if it's not required, writing a cover letter will make your application stand out from the crowd and give you a better chance of being hired.
To make a powerful first impression, you need to write a strong cover letter. But how do you write a cover letter when you don’t have any relevant experience? Don’t lose hope. In this article, we’ll guide you step-by-step through the process of writing a cover letter with no experience to help you land your dream job in no time.
Take some time to research the company and find out about their mission, values, goals, and products or services.
Look up information on the company's website and social media pages, as well as news articles about their employees or business practices.
What industry does it operate in? What are its goals for the next few years? Who are its competitors? How does it promote itself online? What do customers think of its products or services?
This will help you write a more effective cover letter in which you can explain how your skills and qualifications align with what they're looking for in an applicant.
For instance, if you're applying for an entry-level marketing position at a tech company, talk about your studies in computer science and explain how it prepared you for this role. This helps show that you've done your research on their company and understand what they need from new hires—which is always impressive!
Look back on previous internships or jobs where there was room for growth and development (even if they weren’t paid) and use these experiences to highlight what you achieved during them – whether it was completing training courses or being asked to take on additional responsibilities above and beyond those expected of an intern/apprentice/trainee etc.
When you don't have any work experience, you need to show that you're qualified for the position by highlighting relevant skills and knowledge. For example, if you're applying for a sales position that requires cold calling, mention that you've had experience making cold calls in college.
Another option is to talk about your accomplishments outside of work or school. For example, if you've participated in extracurricular activities or volunteered at an organization, include this information in the cover letter and describe how it relates to the job opening.
If your main focus is learning new skills, then include them in your cover letter. For example, if you're learning how to code or taking classes on entrepreneurship, then include those in your cover letter. It shows the hiring manager that you're serious about building a career and are willing to put in the time to learn new skills.
Emphasize transferable skills and abilities. Transferable skills include time management, problem-solving, and teamwork — skills that are important in any job, regardless of whether it's in the same field as your last job. If possible, highlight specific examples from your past jobs that show how these skills can be applied to this new position you're applying for as well.
Focus on selling yourself as someone who is eager to learn and eager to contribute right away.
If you have no experience, but you do have a college degree, then this is the perfect opportunity to talk about how you are passionate about learning and developing new skills. It’s important to emphasize that you are eager to learn and grow as a professional in whatever field you choose.
If you don’t have a degree, then be sure to mention that you are willing to learn on the job. If possible, include some examples from your past work history that show that you are willing to learn new things quickly and apply them effectively in the workplace. For example, if you worked in a customer service position at Target or Best Buy and learned how to use Point of Sale systems or other software programs during training, highlight those experiences as proof of your ability to adapt quickly to unfamiliar situations.
If you don't have any experience yet, but you've done some volunteer work or internships, then definitely mention those experiences too, because they will show potential employers how passionate you are about their industry and how hardworking you are.
What if there's no way to show that you have relevant skills? Try asking if there are any internships or volunteer opportunities available at the company where you're applying. Even if they're not specifically looking for interns or volunteers right now, they may still be willing to let you come in and shadow someone who does similar work (maybe even someone who works in HR).
When writing a cover letter without experience, it’s important to go the extra mile to show the hiring manager that you understand what they’re looking for in an ideal candidate. And demonstrate that your academic background, your experience from outside of work, and your work in internship and volunteer roles have equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and experience that’ll help you succeed in this new job position.
Ready to
land your next job? Use the FREE Job finder Pro search engine to search and apply for your dream job with a few clicks from thousands of job openings across different industries, experience levels,and locations.