Question: What's the best way to get a job when you don't have all the experience or background a company is seeking?

问题：当你不具备公司想要的一切工作经验或背景时，怎样才能获得一份工作？

Answer: For many job seekers, a simple job-description statement is the kiss of death: "Three years of relevant experience required."

回答：在许多求职者看来，一项简单的职位描述成了他们的“死亡通知书”：“需要三年相关经验”。

If you want to change careers, you feel doomed¹ by the frustration² of not having the relevant experience. If you happen to be a student or recent graduate, it's a catch-22. How are you supposed to get experience when you don't have the experience to get a job?

如果你想转行，没有相关经验会让你感到注定会失败。如果你刚好是个学生或应届毕业生，这就成了一个让你两难的困境。你没有工作要求的相关工作经验、不能得到工作，那相关经验又从何而来呢？

When faced with this conundrum³, there are three things to keep in mind as you go about the job search.

求职中当你面临“相关经验”的难题时，记住这三条：

2. Think outside the job.

考虑带薪工作之外的经验

Often, job seekers limit the experience section on their resume to paid jobs. That can be a big mistake, especially if you're looking to switch careers. Volunteer work, boards and affiliations⁴, and -- for college students -- leadership roles, can be tremendous opportunities to show off your relevant experience.

求职者经常把简历的“工作经验”部分局限于带薪工作。这往往是一个大错，尤其在当你打算转行时。志愿工作、委员会及附属组织——对在校生来说，这些领导角色都是你展示相关经验的绝好机会。

Here's an example. I worked once with a teacher who was looking to get into sales. Now we all know you have to do a bit of "selling" to the 5th graders, but it's not really all that relevant for a sales job. She lamented⁵ her lack of experience until she told me that she was one of the top fund-raisers for a charity that she worked with on the weekends and over the summer. She had sold more than $150,000 worth of pledges and donations!

例如：我曾经和一个希望从事销售的老师一起共事。我们知道，五年级学生的老师工作中也需要一点“自我销售”，但这对于获得一份销售工作来说实在不算什么相关经验。这位老师一直慨叹自己没经验，直到后来她告诉我她曾利用周末和暑假时间，在某慈善机构工作，她是那里最棒的筹款人之一。她曾经售出价值超过15万美元的义卖品！

We moved that to the top of her resume, and lo and behold⁶ she landed a sales job. A great tip for all of you looking to switch fields or start something new is to get some experience outside the job, and then add it to your resume.

我们将这个内容放到了她简历的开头部分，一眨眼的功夫，她就找到了一份销售工作。对于想转行或开始一个新领域的人们有一条忠告：在工作之外去获得经验，然后加在你的简历内。

3. Be realistic.

要现实

Switching careers or getting that first job is tough. You should approach the market with reasonable expectations. It's one thing to parlay your college job promoting campus activities into a great entry-level PR job. It's quite another to try to turn that same experience into a role as director of corporate⁷ communications at Yahoo!.

转行或找第一份工作都不容易。你应当带着合理的期望进入就业市场。将校园活动的宣传工作转变为入门级公共关系工作是一回事；而将同样的经验变成雅虎公司企业沟通主任（的工作经验）却完全是另一回事。

If you are switching professions mid-career, be prepared to take a pay cut, to start out at the ground level, or to work for a boss who's 10 years younger. Sure, it's not the best scenario⁸, but if you realize what you're up against, it can help ease the disappointment.

如果你想中途转行，做好薪水降低、从零开始或者为比自己小10岁的老板打工的心理准备。当然，这不是理想情况，但如果你了解到自己会面临什么情况，你就不至于太失望。