What is an entry level job?

If you’ve got no professional experience in a particular industry, getting your foot in the door is often the most difficult part. Employers tend to hire people with experience – but how do you get experience if nobody will hire you!? Well, that’s where entry level jobs come into play. If you’re feeling deflated with your job hunt because you’re lacking experience, fear not. It may just be that you need a change in your job search approach!

What is an entry level job?

Entry level jobs are those that don’t require any experience. It’s a time when employers are looking to hire new talent based on your potential rather than your past experience. As a result, employers will provide all the training you need on the job. Some entry level jobs are for graduates or seek certain qualifications, whereas others won’t ask for any at all. It all depends on the type of role.

Benefits

Here are just a few of the reasons why you’d want to take on an entry level job:

• Allows you to change industries with no experience. You don’t need to feel stuck in a job you hate. With entry level roles, you have the opportunity to start a new chapter.
• Build your skills in a new area. Entry level roles are a great way to start gaining experience in a new area. This will help to build your CV and secure better roles later down the line.
• Get full training. The great thing about entry level jobs is that the employer doesn’t expect you to know much, and is willing to provide you with full training, allowing you to develop your skills.

How to find an entry level role

List your transferable skills

Although you might not have professional experience in this particular area, you’ll still have skills to offer. Take time to think about all the transferable soft and hard skills you can put on your CV. These are the skills you’ve developed elsewhere, but will be able to use in the new job. Really think about what you’re good at, or where you’ve excelled in school or in life.

Examples of hard skills

• Filing
• Data analytics
• Maths
• IT
• English

Examples of soft skills

• Communication
• Time management
• Organisation
• Team work
• Prioritisation

Build a CV

Once you’ve brainstormed all your skills, it’s time to add these skills to your CV. If you’ve got work experience in different industries, make sure you only highlight the parts of those jobs that relate to the job you’re applying for.

Equally, if you don’t have any professional experience, just give examples of different times when you’ve demonstrated your core skills. This could be at school/university, as part of a sport’s team, doing some volunteer work, or even just caring for another family member.

Example

Project leader, March 2021, Leeds University

Task: To design and create packaging using recycled materials

• Organising the team and delegating roles
• Creating a timeline using Excel
• Market research using surveys and data analytics
• Brand design using Adobe

Use job boards wisely

Job boards will become your best friend during your job search. The UK has some great job search websites to choose from, but you also need to make sure you use them properly to get the most out of them. Here are some of the filters you can use to make sure you find the right entry level jobs:

• Salary
• Qualifications
• Search for ‘entry level’ or ‘junior’
• Industry

Equally, SonicJobs is home to thousands of entry level jobs in London and across the UK, where you don’t need any experience. So be sure to use our app too!

Practise interviewing

At some point you’ll be invited into an interview – and you want to be ready and raring to go! But don’t wait for an invitation before you start preparing for your interview. You want to start practising your answers to interview questions well in advance. The earlier you start, the more confident you’ll be, the quicker you’ll find a job!

Entry level jobs for the win!

Entry level roles provide a fantastic opportunity for you to get your foot in the door of a particular industry or in the working world at large. So if you’re ready to start something new but don’t have the experience to begin, this could be the perfect solution for your fresh start!

To find an entry level job near you, hop onto the SonicJobs app and browse our latest vacancies.