A degree on its own no longer opens doors. When companies can take their pick from a pool of experienced applicants, graduates without relevant work experience can find the cards stacked up against them. One of the traditional ways to gain experience — through an internship — isn't always a practical or financial option, and applying for low-paid or unskilled jobs is disheartening if you've spent the last few years amassing student debt in order to widen your career possibilities.
An alternative to applying for an internship or a job with few or no prospects is to create your own experience. You don't need to consider yourself a typical entrepreneur to do this, but you do need to work out where your skills lie, and how you might be able to apply these to solve someone else's problem or respond to current market needs. A recession is a good time to start something new: while larger companies may be struggling and focussing on finding ways to cut costs, freelancers and small start-ups can move quickly to identify and exploit opportunities.
Someone with social media skills may be able to help companies discover the benefits of using Twitter or Facebook to increase visibility and sales. If you've got a marketing degree, offer your knowledge to help a local company with their campaigns. Can you use your degree in modern languages to take people abroad, or help local businesses offer their products and services to overseas customers? Or perhaps you can spot an opportunity that's too good to pass up. For example, if you have logistics skills, you could take advantage of the current postal disputes to offer a cheaper and more reliable inter-company delivery service in your area.
For your first projects, consider asking for commission or reduced fees. This works well if you can help companies increase their business in ways where they wouldn't ordinarily have the expertise. If a restaurant has never used Twitter before to advertise special menus or offers of the day, any new custom brought in this way is an extra bonus.
Making your own experience through starting a small business or consultancy pays off in more ways than being able to make some money while filling an experience gap. Spotting market opportunities and learning how and where profits can be made are skills that all employers relate to. You make yourself more marketable in the long-term by demonstrating initiative and tenacity in starting and running your own business, no matter how small. When the job market picks up again, you'll have relevant experience, sharpened business skills and a clear idea of where you can bring value: an appealing combination to employers.
