Any tips on entering the job market with no fancy qualification or 20+ years of experience?
Companies seem to want an out of the box solution and going back to college full time for me isn't an option.
I did this.<p>Start with getting some work, any work, with small / mom & pop type businesses, updating their website, fixing their printer, whatever they need. Possibly freelance, part-time, after hours, etc.<p>The next job could be something like a full-time (maybe in the "I.T department") of a small, privately owned, local company of 50-100 people.<p>After that, move up to a bigger company of maybe 1000+ people, multiple locations.<p>After a few years there... you can now be taken seriously as a candidate for BigCo.<p>It is true, companies do want an out of the box solution to hiring and are very risk averse, so a series of small steps, each one only a small stretch from the previous, is one way to get there.
That's a tricky one. Maybe there are some ways in that are less logical and more realistically-available depending on the org, though.<p>For one, you could look at tech-savvy organizations and look for excited interviewers who prefer to teach rather than listen. Show & tell them that you are listening and learning during the interviewing process.<p>There are a LOT of hiring stakeholders out there who are like this. They really look forward to some form of mentoring gig, but in the meantime they try to do it at work with new hires. So this is one way in which your position could turn into a benefit if you're unqualified but clearly seeking to get qualified. You had the guts to apply? Of course you did--you're passionate about learning, etc.<p>There are also organizations that want to be able to say that they are covering bases by filling seats. Not necessarily the best gigs, but they are out there. And what often really makes these jobs not suck is just the vibe--how the team works together and gets along. It's a dice roll, again which can work in your benefit.<p>Still, I'd be sure to identify and cover all the needed label-check-boxes to the degree you can. Get some basic experience down. Join associated organizations to indicate at the very least that you're interested in growth. See if you can contribute some basic _something_ to relevant community projects.<p>This is coming from a career coach who has seen some AMAZINGLY unqualified people get hired recently. Like native-language speakers who could hardly speak a word when that aspect of their new job finally came around. Office- and Word-veterans who couldn't find the Print feature. Accounting pros who thumbs-up every team proposal and get called out on the budgeting carpet every year. (Way above minimum wage hires here)<p>How do they get the job? Was it<p>A) They lie about their qualifications<p>or<p>B) They can demonstrate in one way or another that the wording on the job requirements is in fact the standard that they meet?<p>Many onlookers would say "A, and they should be fired", but when "B" also fits, the hiring party generally blames the hiring org or understands that this kind of situation just happens. This is generally more common in organizations that brand themselves as working on/with the human factor, though.<p>You also mentioned "out of the box" and I would add that there is a lot of pressure on companies to write job descriptions as if that's what they are looking for, when in fact it's not exactly what they want, when it comes down to it.<p>Finally: There are usually people out there who will help you get hired as you are. That's really all that needs to be said. It's not everybody, but they are often out there to find, usually in your local community. There are probably ways to find them if they are around.<p>Just some anecdotes and possible ideas. It's sometimes really lame to give advice when somebody's hurting, too, so hopefully this is appropriate to the spirit of your post.<p>And most of all--good luck to you in your search.