You have all been there. Sat in an interview where you nail 90% of it. You are the right person. You are the right temperament. You have the right ideas and the right work ethic. “We’ll be in touch!” they say as they shake your hand, only for the dreaded email to land in your inbox with the opening line “Sorry but…” My top excuse? I didn’t have enough “experience” for the role (though who knows how to get that without a job…)
So the option becomes doing unpaid (or minimally paid work) to gain some kind of experience. It might be a work experience placement, maybe an internship – anything to boost up that CV and push you into the category where they need to find another excuse not to employ you. These programmes are often extremely beneficial to you, but also to the people offering you this quick burst of employment, so while you might think they’re doing you a favour, don’t forget the contributions you’re making too.