What workarounds did people try for "How to get an entry level job with no experience"?

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Community members documented 170 workarounds:
1. Shotgun blasting resumes and being willing to relocate
2. Obtaining professional certifications like the CPA
3. completing unpaid internships
4. relying on family money to afford entering the field
5. starting in unrelated entry-level maintenance or support roles and applying internally
6. leveraging school work-study experience
7. Reorganizing sections so education and professional experience appear first
8. Removing objective statements and substituting them with projects or expanded points
9. Moving honors and awards to the bottom of the page
10. Getting any office job in accounts payable or bookkeeping
11. Passing the CPA exams before applying
12. Pursuing a master's degree
13. Reaching out to alumni and applying to small firms
14. Looking for volunteer work to add experience to the resume
15. taking community college classes and saving the money
16. working for someone locally
17. Volunteering or offering free services
18. Studying for certifications like the CCNA
19. Applying to managed service providers
20. Reaching out directly to higher-ed IT departments or campus helpdesks
21. Looking for remote or relocation jobs in remote areas
22. Volunteering for VITA (volunteer tax preparation programs)
23. Changing positions within an existing company
24. Applying to local government positions and small firms
25. Shifting focus to industry roles like staff accountant, AR, or AP
26. Using employment agencies like Robert Half for temporary placement
27. cold emailing accounting firms and companies directly instead of only applying to posted jobs
28. enrolling in online degree programs or schools
29. looking for rare entry-level or AP/AR positions
30. Returning to school to earn a different technical degree
31. Switching career fields entirely
32. Altering and tailoring resumes for every application
33. Seeking feedback on resume formatting and structure
34. Exaggerating experience or pay on resumes and during interviews
35. Emphasizing a willingness to learn and work ethic rather than claiming to be an expert
36. Doing volunteer work and homelabbing to build experience
37. Considering working at an MSP handling helpdesk tickets
38. Searching through standard job sites like LinkedIn or Indeed
39. applying to bank teller jobs
40. taking unrelated service jobs like waiter or takeout phone roles
41. studying for professional exams using college textbooks independently without paying for formal prep courses
42. taking unpaid or low-pay government jobs to build initial experience
43. Getting bookkeeping certifications
44. Doing simple bookkeeping contract jobs
45. Working for tax preparation chains like H&R Block
46. Doing volunteer tax work
47. Considering employment with the IRS
48. planning to get a bachelors degree later
49. networking through local community colleges and linkedin
50. looking into clerical positions or small tax firms
51. taking time to breathe and decompress
52. applying for unemployment
53. updating the resume and starting to apply
54. using staffing agencies as resources
55. looking at smaller companies that care less about credentials
56. Highlighting general people skills, marketing experience, and computer familiarity on the resume
57. Emphasizing readiness to learn and a bubbly, positive attitude during interviews
58. Showing up to companies in person
59. Studying on YouTube and open book sources to keep up knowledge
60. Leveraging related extracurricular activities, networking, and relevant work experience or internships
61. Applying to smaller or mid-sized firms and industry roles that have lower GPA cutoffs
62. Applying to volunteer tax programs
63. Reaching out to connections for referrals
64. Asking for tips and advice via direct messages
65. Cold emailing firms to ask for unpaid volunteer work
66. Leveraging personal connections and friends at big 4 firms for referrals
67. Relying on a pay guarantee for the first 40 hours regardless of flagged hours
68. Planning to expand toolsets using discounts at harbor freight
69. Falling back to a previous position if things do not work out
70. Highlighting high GPA from community college
71. Joining a union to get placed in a job and learn on the job
72. Researching the refrigeration cycle, superheat, subcooling, and major components beforehand
73. Applying for manufacturer apprenticeships through supply houses like Carrier, Trane, or Lennox
74. Taking temporary or lower-level admin/AP roles
75. Working through temp agencies
76. Networking and looking for part-time work at nonprofits for experience
77. Accepting non-ideal office environments when remote work is unavailable
78. Building a homelab and tackling projects listed in community wikis
79. Using free trials of cloud platforms like Azure to poke around and test environments
80. Applying directly to companies that prefer green hires willing to learn over experienced workers with bad habits
81. Teaching oneself through trial and error
82. Keeping an open mind and focusing on being teachable
83. Asking questions despite the fear of looking inexperienced
84. Juggling full-time work with night classes
85. Leaning on prior work history and operational experience in interviews
86. Targeting government pathways programs designed for recent graduates
87. considering freelance work
88. trying to network with experienced professionals
89. Taking lower-level clerk roles for private companies to build up experience
90. Starting with basic bookkeeping, accounts payable, accounts receivable, or cash roles
91. Walking into offices directly to ask for a job
92. Studying for and sitting for the CPA exam
93. Applying through Handshake, company sites, and LinkedIn
94. Considering relocation outside of the NYC area
95. Starting with small, low-risk independent jobs to gain experience before looking for an apprenticeship
96. Making a comprehensive spreadsheet of local plumbing companies and cold-calling or visiting them in person
97. Contacting local one-man bands and offering to work as a laborer
98. Tracking down corporate foundation arms to see if they have open positions
99. Setting up coffee chats and attending job fairs
100. Reaching out to people on LinkedIn and talking to recruiters
101. Looking for temp gigs or bookkeeping roles at small local firms to build experience
102. Working in retail or fast food jobs to pay for school out of pocket
103. Taking reception or administrative assistant positions to build initial administrative and clerical experience
104. Looking for clerical jobs in government or healthcare sectors
105. Gaining preliminary experience as an AC helper
106. Pursuing open board and distance education degrees while looking for work
107. Looking into government positions such as DCAA
108. Working full-time while going to school
109. Reading company 10-K reports prior to the interview to understand operations
110. Asking experienced professionals for advice and pointers on whether to study beforehand
111. Learning gradually on the job
112. Realizing that feeling lost after a few days is normal and accepting time to adjust
113. Focusing heavily on passing professional exams like the CPA to offset poor academic performance.
114. Transfer internally or move to another large firm
115. Apply for industry roles better suited for partnership tax like PE, VC, real estate, or fund accounting
116. Upskill in the required subject and stretch or caveat experience during interviews
117. Applying for entry-level Property Administrator roles
118. Tracking big companies and applying directly via their job websites
119. Contacting staffing companies and recruiters specializing in property management
120. Going through temp-to-perm staffing agency routes
121. returning to school for a Master's degree
122. networking and attending schools with strong recruiting opportunities
123. lying on a resume about years of experience
124. moving to different locations where jobs are more available
125. obtaining vocational school certifications
126. studying for professional credentials like the CPA
127. Working for a supply house first as a helper or laborer to get a foot in the door.
128. Applying through a local union and taking their aptitude tests instead of targeting small companies directly.
129. Taking an entry-level role as a drain technician to log hours that count toward an apprenticeship.
130. Volunteering, doing club executive work, or taking summer seasonal work to build a resume.
131. Skipping the internship part entirely and applying directly for entry-level bookkeeping or administrative jobs.
132. Volunteering for unpaid programs to build a resume
133. Working low-paying seasonal jobs to get a foot in the door
134. Prioritizing internships while in school
135. Finding an employer that pays for schooling
136. Working full-time in unrelated industries like food service to pay for rent and school
137. Seeking alternative career routes that can utilize the degree
138. highlighting unrelated full-time work experience
139. getting resume reviews from campus career services and student societies
140. clearly stating CPA eligibility dates
141. emphasizing extracurricular club and team lead experience
142. Starting in an entry-level help desk position and working up
143. Leaning on transferable skills like following procedures and staying calm under pressure
144. Being honest about knowledge gaps while showing a willingness to learn
145. Using search engines to learn terminology on the fly if hired
146. Working with recruitment agencies for temporary contract positions
147. Taking free tax courses (like H&R Block or Intuit) to work a tax season and pursue an Enrolled Agent license
148. Applying to non-accounting roles where the degree offers marginal value, such as blue-collar supervisor, grocery manager, or federal agent positions
149. Leveraging personal/network connections and targeting non-profits, universities, local government, or hospitals
150. Stopping the cycle of preparing for more exams just to justify past effort.
151. Targeting a practical field and building specific skills that employers are looking for.
152. Accepting a less-than-perfect first job just to start building a resume with real work experience.
153. Asking on online forums for recommendations of companies hiring inexperienced graduates.
154. Asking online communities for resume critiques
155. Seeking advice from experienced professionals on how they started
156. Leveraging veteran status and security clearances for government contracting roles
157. Applying to federal Pathways programs or recent grad postings
158. Translating unrelated past work into quantifiable, industry-relevant resume bullet points
159. Applying for internships 8-12 months in advance while still in school
160. Attending every campus recruiting event to network directly with firm staff
161. Taking on club officer roles to build a resume
162. Leaning into networking and social skills to make connections with peers before they graduate
163. Targeting smaller, local firms for a first job rather than highly competitive top-tier firms
164. Showing up physically at offices in a business suit with printed resumes to ask for the managing partner.
165. Searching for local firms on Google and calling them on the phone instead of sending emails.
166. Reaching out just before their busy season begins so they are not already overwhelmed.
167. Applying anyway under the assumption that job requirements are just a wish list
168. Writing a good cover letter to explicitly address the experience gap
169. Highlighting related coursework, part-time jobs, and software exposure on the resume
170. Searching for lower-tier titles like clerk or assistant instead

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