No Related Experience? No Problem! How to Show You Can Still Do the Job

"1-3 years experience in sales preferred, but not essential."

"Prior experience with Adobe Photoshop a must."

If a job listing sounds great to you until you come across such examples of prior experience required, you may panic when you read this. "I don't have experience!" you think. "Surely someone more qualified will get the job, so why bother applying?"

Before you give up on a job listing just because you don't meet every qualification, you can still apply and possibly be hired by showing your experience in other ways.

First of all, are these skills required or preferred? Employers may give you some consideration if you have strong skills in one area, but not the preferred ones. As long as you meet a majority of the other requirements, you may just need some training to bring you up to the level you need to be. If you lack something that is required, you may want to take some classes or teach yourself a program before applying for similar jobs.

Don't stress your lack of experience. By mentioning that you don't have any right off the bat, you're already turning off a potential employer. They will immediately look for someone more qualified. Mention instead how you have researched the industry and are willing to do whatever it takes to succeed. However, only say this if you have honestly learned about the field, what kinds of jobs are available, and what kinds of people they are looking for. Don't lie just to get into an interview.

Draw on transferable skills and personality traits. In my field of interest, professional sports ticket sales, most positions prefer prior sales experience even for entry level ticket sales positions. However, if you learned skills in other positions, such as dealing with difficult people in a retail or restaurant job; or have research skills from a public relations or media profession; you can sell this to a prospective employer as long as you have solid examples of how you used them.