It may be a bit of extra work, but you can definitely gain experience without being employed full-time in a particular field. You can consider these options:
1. Volunteering or freelance
You can consider volunteering with non-profits or taking on freelance assignments to gain experience in a particular area. Sometimes, volunteer gigs may even turn into paid jobs. The projects that you’ve completed can be included in your resume to demonstrate your experience. Finally, making more connections outside of your job never hurts, since there’s a chance you may be offered a job through them.
2. Never stop learning
In the ever changing IT industry, it’s sometimes hard to keep your skills relevant. Nevertheless, putting in a few hours each week to learn a new skill or understand a new technology goes a long way. There are many online platforms that offer free or low-cost courses. We have published a list of these Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) here.
3. Embrace open source
Use Open Source to gain the chance to work on projects and make a real impact in platforms that people actually use. For those projects, you will also get to tap on a supportive community of tech professionals to build and improve your skills. You’ll also acquire collaboration skills, a soft skill that is extremely important in today’s job market. Additionally, you will be able to list these projects in your resume to give your credentials a boost.
Have a burning question for an IT Recruiter? Send it to marketing@evolutionjobs.sg and get your questions answered.
Genevieve Seah was a civil engineer before joining Evolution in 2016. Even though she did not have prior experience in the recruitment industry, she learnt fast and her outstanding work performance led to her promotion to a Client Solutions Consultant in 2017. She loves having the opportunity to meet many different and interesting people through her recruiting career.
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