Working for free to gather experience?

Mark2229

Hey guys,
I was just wondering what you all think about offering to work for free for a period of time to gather some experience?

I have been looking for work for the last few months with no luck and in that time I'v had 4 interviews. The feedback from the interviewers has all been good with them claiming that I'm a friendly, likeable guy but my lack of experience is something that is holding me back and they must go with somebody with the relevant experience for the job.

I'm currently in full time 3rd level education studying music and as it stands I have roughly 11- 12 hours of classes a week so I am hugely flexible. Up until last Summer I also worked for a local paper man for 11 years so I am really confident around people and to me that is relevant customer experience but to many employers that doesn't always seem the case.

Would it be a good idea to offer to work for free in a local cafe or shop for a couple of weeks to gather experience or will I just keep handing CV's out, making calls and hope for the best?

I understand the competition is huge but I'm going crazy over it so any help would be appreciated!

Hi Mark,
I am in a v.similar situation as yourself but today I went to a coffee shop and offered to work for free for a week and then they could make their decision.The feedback I got was positive and they agreed to take me on for a trial run for a week and I should find out then. They might think i'm terrible after the week and not take me on,but I am in a better position than I was yesterday! Goodluck with the jobhunting!

Mark2229

_ratm wrote: »

Hi Mark,
I am in a v.similar situation as yourself but today I went to a coffee shop and offered to work for free for a week and then they could make their decision.The feedback I got was positive and they agreed to take me on for a trial run for a week and I should find out then. They might think i'm terrible after the week and not take me on,but I am in a better position than I was yesterday! Goodluck with the jobhunting!

Hi _ratm,
Glad to hear you got something and good luck with the trial!
I have on my cover letters that I have no problem working a weeks free trial to prove I'm capable so we'll see what becomes of it but I think I might do what you did and go into a shop and speak to someone in person. Thanks for the advice!

Wanderer78

personally wouldnt do it myself op but best of luck with it

irishgirl19

Would insurance come into play in this? Just thinking an employer may refuse on those grounds

dubaicentral

Hi Op,

Couple of things to add. I had a similar situation a few years ago and the insurance issue came up with a few employers. Had no experience but was highly motivated and knew I would be valuable to almost any employer however as the same as yourself just didn't have the experience.

It may be a little controversial but in the end I ended up doing a jobridge internship and it payed off. After 3 or 4 months I was getting 1 or 2 interviews a month and after my initial 6 months was up I decided to extend it by 3 months(not too sure if your looking for a few months or weeks experience)

If I could take anything from the internship it was the confidence that it gave me and my ability to talk in interviews with confidence and give examples etc of work I had done. I've since been employed on a permanent basis for 3 years at my current company and believe it was the best thing that I could of done for my job prospects/career.

Obviously it is not for everyone and there is some companies only looking for cheap labor in dead end jobs but if you approach a company looking to work for experience it might not be a bad idea to ask them to get you in under the Jobridge scheme as you get to keep your benefits and get valuable experience.

As I said not for everyone but working for free/jobridge etc shows a strong desire and a general good attitude to succeed and can provide you with valuable experience.

Mark2229

irishgirl19 wrote: »

Would insurance come into play in this? Just thinking an employer may refuse on those grounds

I never even thought about insurance. Would you reckon that would deter many employers?

dubaicentral wrote: »

Hi Op,

Couple of things to add. I had a similar situation a few years ago and the insurance issue came up with a few employers. Had no experience but was highly motivated and knew I would be valuable to almost any employer however as the same as yourself just didn't have the experience.

It may be a little controversial but in the end I ended up doing a jobridge internship and it payed off. After 3 or 4 months I was getting 1 or 2 interviews a month and after my initial 6 months was up I decided to extend it by 3 months(not too sure if your looking for a few months or weeks experience)

If I could take anything from the internship it was the confidence that it gave me and my ability to talk in interviews with confidence and give examples etc of work I had done. I've since been employed on a permanent basis for 3 years at my current company and believe it was the best thing that I could of done for my job prospects/career.

Obviously it is not for everyone and there is some companies only looking for cheap labor in dead end jobs but if you approach a company looking to work for experience it might not be a bad idea to ask them to get you in under the Jobridge scheme as you get to keep your benefits and get valuable experience.

As I said not for everyone but working for free/jobridge etc shows a strong desire and a general good attitude to succeed and can provide you with valuable experience.

Hi DubaiCentral,
Thanks for the post and advice. I actually wouldn't mind doing a job bridge scheme to help with my employment chances but as far as I know you must be in receipt of social welfare for a certain amount of time to be eligible. As I'm in full time 3rd level education I don't qualify. Just feels that I'm stuck in the cycle of can't get a job without experience and can't get experience without a job, hence why I would just work for free for a while!

Mrs OBumble

You're studying music, does that mean you plan to be a musician? If so, are you busking or gigging anywhere?

Working for free makes sense if you are getting experience that is relevant to your career. And a one day trial make sense in service jobs. But working for free in them for a month is just undercutting other workers.

Old Perry

Insurance will more than likely be a problem. i gave this a shot for different reasons and in some cases insurance was mentioned and in others i was just looked at with 3 heads and had to take the hint i was being fobbed off, some people wont say no but wont say yes either, was quite disheartning tbf.

give it a go though after considering all options, i found family owned bbusinesses to be more receptive but even then in pub i wanted kitchen experience but was ownly allowed customer service, it sucks but tis also fair enough.