If you must have a job before you can get experience, and you must
have experience to get a job, then how can you ever get your foot in
the door?

Hi ecorliss,
	Your question is definitely not silly, it’s a question that job
seekers have been asking themselves for years. Luckily, there are ways
to get your foot in the door. I don’t know if you are new to the
working world, or are just trying to change careers, so I’m giving you
a mix of resources that apply to both situations.
	As a person who has been in your shoes, I can tell you from personal
experience that researching the job you want, appearing professional,
being serious about the work, persistence and a great attitude will
get you very far. All you need is one person to take a chance on you.
Even if you don’t have the specific experience the job calls for, if
you are creative and confident enough to be able to parlay previous
learning and life experience into your job search, you will have great
luck.

Here are some resources for you:
	
Careerbuilder.com Job Seeker Resources:
This web site offers the job seeker not only a comprehensive job
search, but also an amazing library of articles on job seeking, from
the initial idea of the job to the eventual raise and promotion
negotiations.
 http://www.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/CareerBytes/Index.htm

Campus.workopolis.com:
Scroll to the last heading titled, “And you can’t get work without
work experience…” A short overview of what most of the career articles
will tell you: try internship and volunteering.
http://campus.workopolis.com/servlet/Content/wcresarchive/20010000/jobhunt?gateway=campusen

Monster.com: 
A good article on what to do when you need experience to get a job,
but can’t get experience without a previous job. In short, try an
internship, part-time work, volunteering and/or a temp position.
http://content.monstertrak.monster.com/resources/archive/jobhunt/postgraduate/

Also, check out the rest of their archived articles for help on
getting that internship, volunteer work, or temp position::
http://content.monstertrak.monster.com/resources/archive/jobhunt/

These should give you the boost you need to get out there and start
doing what you want to do.

Google Search: 
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=get+experience+without+a+job&spell=1
Search terms: get job without experience


Good luck!
-bluesky

When you say "All you need is one person to take a chance on you"
you're violating the second clause, which is "you must have experience
to get a job."  I've given you some stars for effort though.

In my opinion, personality plays a huge role. When employers ask for
experience, then that's kinda what they really want at the end of the
day. But if you've got a polite manner, and they see you are
authentic, with upbringing, skills, charisma, adaptibility, alertness,
and have a will to learn the ropes, without being a "show-off", then i
would say you already have a foot in the door.  You may not have the
level of experience they want from the ideal candidate, but you can
still make the right impression, and that will count for something.
The ideal canditate may have something that comes up, and you may be
the next choice. Just a thought!

Volunteer!!