Passion or experience: What matters more when you’re job hunting?

If you’re new to the workforce or pivoting to a different industry, finding a ‘first’ role when you have little-to-no experience can be challenging. Most job ads list a minimum amount of experience in their selection criteria – but you can’t gain experience without first having a job. It’s a frustrating catch-22 for many job seekers. 

However, your enthusiasm can make up for a lack of experience.

Research for SEEK found that 61% of employers are likely to hire a candidate who demonstrated passion for the role but didn’t have the required years of experience. Encouragingly, 43% also said they’d hire someone with more passion than actual skills.

To shed more light on the topic, we spoke to some recruitment experts on how job seekers can highlight passion and enthusiasm in an application, to offset any lack of skills or experience.

Passion, experience and skills explained

First, it’s important to understand what passion, experience and skills mean relative to applying for jobs. Sam Bowring, Senior Consultant at Iterate Recruitment, explains the key differences between the three:

• Skills: specific abilities or expertise that can range from niche technical skills to soft, transferable skills like teamwork and communication.
• Experience: practical knowledge and previous work in similar roles or industries. Experience often backs up technical skills by providing evidence of your abilities.
• Passion: a person’s genuine interest, enthusiasm and dedication to a particular job or industry.

Demonstrating passion when you lack experience or skills

Showing experience and skills in a job application is easier than demonstrating passion, but there are certain things you can do to convey how keen you are. Here’s how you can show that your enthusiasm and drive make you a good fit for the role.  

During the application process:

To tackle the initial challenge of getting your application noticed and shortlisted, experts suggest you do the following things.

• Provide relevant examples of times you’ve pursued your passion.
  ⁠Nicole How, Recruitment Consultant at Brightbox, advise you mention any examples of side hustles, courses or volunteering that relate to your chosen industry.
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  ⁠“Ideally, your passion should have manifested in some tangible way,” she says. “Being able to demonstrate that you've engaged with your passion and have a level of commitment to it through time is important. 
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  ⁠Including these examples will help with an application. To simply say you have a passion without any evidence to support it likely won't cut through during a recruitment process.” 

• Let enthusiasm bridge the gaps.
  ⁠In addition to showing tangible examples of passion projects you’ve completed, How says you should include “examples of how your passion bridges the gap between your experience and skills.”
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  ⁠Bowring shares an anecdote where he saw this in action, and the impact that it made.
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  ⁠“Recently, a candidate sent me a video outlining why they would be a good fit for a particular position,” he says. “Based on their resumé alone, I wouldn’t have progressed their application as their experience didn’t align with the client's expectations. 
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  ⁠However, through the video, I was able to see how they could potentially compensate for the gaps in skills and experience through passion and being a good cultural fit for the client.”

• Use your cover letter to do the heavy lifting.
  ⁠If there’s not a lot of experience on your resumé, use your cover letter as an opportunity to tell more of your story. Bowring says it’s wise to invest time into this aspect of your application.  
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  ⁠“Write a compelling cover letter explaining why you are passionate about the role and how it aligns with your career goals,” he advises.
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  ⁠Check out our tips on writing cover letters to help yours stand out.

• Include testimonials and references.
  ⁠Beefing up your application with personal recommendations can help further demonstrate your passion and boost your credibility.
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  ⁠Bowring explains that these endorsements don’t necessarily have to be industry relevant.“You can include testimonials or references from mentors, professors or previous employers that attest to your enthusiasm and dedication,” he says.

During the interview process:

If your application was strong enough to get you a callback for an interview, it’s important to maintain the same level of enthusiasm and dedication in person. 

• Build on the examples you gave in your application.
  ⁠An interview is your chance to provide more context and detail about the times you’ve pursued your passion, as mentioned in your application. You can also bring up instances you might not have had space to include in your cover letter.

• Be honest and open.
  ⁠If you’ve progressed to the interview stage, the recruiter or hiring manager sees something in you beyond your experience and skills. How says to remember this in the interview process and not feel tempted to overstate your capabilities.
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  ⁠“Be prepared to answer questions openly and honestly,” she says. “That includes acknowledging you don't have the skills and experience upfront. 
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  ⁠Then, you can quickly pivot to emphasise how your passion is relevant, which you’ve already laid the groundwork for in your application.”

• Let your passion shine through.
  ⁠The way you communicate in an interview is equally as important as what you say. While you might not have the skills and experience, Bowring says you can still convey you’re a good fit through how you present yourself.
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  ⁠“Try your best to show enthusiasm and energy during the conversation,” he advises. “This will make it clear that you are genuinely excited about the opportunity, which goes a long way.”

• Prepare questions of your own.
  ⁠When getting ready for an interview, it’s easy to focus on the questions you’ll be asked and forget about the questions you have for them.
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  ⁠However, Bowring says that what you ask is incredibly important, because it  shows the hiring manager or recruiter a lot about your level of passion for the role.
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  ⁠“Ask insightful questions about the role and company, demonstrating your interest and commitment to learning about the specific industry,” he suggests.

What’s important to employers

When considering someone for a role who has more passion than experience, experts say hiring managers and recruiters look for the following traits.

• Self-awareness: ⁠How says, “I look for candidates who acknowledge they lack necessary skills but also have a growth mindset or openness to be coached or trained.”
• Transferable skills: ⁠Transferable skills are those that can be applied across different roles or industries, like computer literacy, critical thinking or being able to drive a car. Both How and Bowring agree on the importance of transferable skills, with Bowring adding that “soft skills are generally more transferable, but technical skills can be as well.”
• Potential: ⁠Bowring says that when it comes to potential, he looks for “indicators that the candidate can learn quickly and acquire the necessary skills for the role.” This could mean displaying your aptitude for picking up skills, with examples of how you’ve done so in the past, or talking about any relevant hobbies you have. 

• Cultural fit: ⁠While skills can be taught, fitting into a team or organisation’s culture is not as straightforward. Therefore, Bowring keeps a keen eye on “how the candidate’s values, work ethic and personality align with the company culture.” 
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  ⁠“A positive attitude, resilience, a strong work ethic and eagerness can make up for a lack of experience,” he adds.
• Strong communication skills: ⁠How believes that confident, persuasive communication is important in demonstrating your passion. 
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  ⁠“The applicants that can ‘sell’ themselves in an interview are the ones who stand out, even if they lack experience.” Someone who presents well and can make a convincing case for themselves is guaranteed to make an impact. 

Although it can feel daunting job hunting with no relevant experience or skills, there are plenty of opportunities out there for enthusiastic entry-level employees. By showing examples of passion projects, having transferable skills, and being positive and energetic, you could be on your way to landing your next great role.

Independent research conducted by Nature of behalf of SEEK, interviewing 4800 Australians annually. Published August 2024.