Has a prospective employer ever said to you: "We like you but you don't have quite the  experience we're looking for"? Your logical reply might be: "Well, I'd get the experience if you gave me the job!" This dilemma is probably as old as the job market itself. As frustrating as it can be, it's not an unbreakable Catch 22. In this article, we'll help you get some perspective on the problem, and show you a few ways to break out of the "experience paradox."

Understanding the employer's perspective:

Liaison is a growing company. As an employer, we do a lot of recruiting (over 3000 applicants a year), so you might find our perspective helpful. In our recruiting efforts, we come across every type of candidate you can imagine. Some are obviously qualified, some obviously not. Most are in the middle - they are very talented, impressive, and probably capable to perform the job with some modest ramp-up time. But they don't have the exact skills and experience that the position requires.

Employers, of course, are people too. We understand that peoples' careers are at stake. When we review applications, we're constantly working to find the best outcome for our hiring managers, the company, and the new employee (whoever they turn out to be), - and of course we strive to be fair and sensitive to the large number of applicants who we will inevitably not select for a particular position.

Keep in mind that every time we hire someone, we and our client are taking a risk. Experienced recruiters and hiring managers do their best to try to minimize that risk. One of the ways we do this is to hire someone who has a proven track record of performing the exact work we're hiring them for. Sometimes we'll hire someone slightly outside the box if they have stellar references, somewhat similar experience, and a convincing desire to learn the new skills required. But usually, we're able to find a few finalist candidates who've done exactly what we're looking for. That means we have to tell some people "We like you but you don't have quite the experience we're looking for."

So with that in mind, here's what not to do:

Don't rely on a potential employer to take leaps of faith regarding your abilities. Sure, it's possible they might, but you'll be limiting yourself to a small minority of employers, and inviting a lot of  "no". Rather than relying on employers to take a risk, you could be spending your time actually getting the experience.

There are a few strategies for what you can do to address this dilemma. The best option depends on where you are in your career.

Right out of school?

Many of the creative professionals we meet have done an internship in school, and then parlayed that experience into a 1-2 year agency job right out of school. However, not every talented communications or advertising graduate has this opportunity. If you find yourself out of school with a degree but not enough contacts to get your first big break, don't sweat. With a little patience and planning, you can get where you need to be.

First: Get a stay-afloat job. "I need income now" and "I want my dream job" are not compatible goals. Good employers are not attracted to desperation, and the lack of a paycheck can sometimes cloud your judgment. You need something to pay the bills that allows you just enough time and energy to pursue your ultimate goal.

Second: Once you are comfortably away from the brink of starvation, find some non-profit or pro-bono opportunities to expand your skills, enrich your resume, and build your network. If you're truly passionate about your volunteer work, it will eventually yield big dividends. For designers, choosing the best pro-bono projects is important. If you're looking for a job on a more mainstream creative team, it's better to take on more mainstream non-profit projects. Out-there designs or fine art won't help as much.

Here's an example of how this works: We have a good designer friend who had been finding it difficult to get into a better design job. Her previous experience was solid, but it didn't show a strong breadth of design styles. About a year ago, she got involved in a charity, doing some pro-bono design work. This gave her an opportunity to really enrich her portfolio (as well as to show her commitment to design and to the community, which are always a plus!), and the opportunity to make some good contacts who helped the word-of-mouth marketing of her skills. Having those additional work samples and references gave us some great leverage to recommend her services to our clients. We employed her on a number of temp jobs until eventually she was snatched up by one of the better ad agencies in town. Score one for pro-bono work and networking!

Between Jobs?

Being unemployed is a tough spot to be in. For some thoughts on that, see last Winter's issue of SWOOSH. As we said above, if you're trying to find your dream job, unemployment is not the ideal stepping-stone.

The first thing to do, then, is to get that stay-afloat job- a job using skills you know you already have. You're in a somewhat better position than someone right out of school, because you already have some experience. That's like money in the bank. You may not be interested in call center work anymore, but it's better to use your prior experience to get a decent-paying call center job than to go into debt while searching for a better career move.

Then, of course, you'll have the chance to do pro-bono work, network and/or take some classes.

Employers are generally more attracted to someone who has some good real world experience under their belt. As long as you find a way to get the required experience, an eclectic career is usually a selling point. Use that to your advantage.

Currently working, looking for a shift?

This is the best spot to be in. If you're currently working, but you know your job is not something you want to do long-term, chances are good that there are some great opportunities right under your nose. Take on some new responsibilities, broaden your experience, and pad that resume!

It's easier to ask your current employer to trust you to try new things than to ask a potential employer to do the same. It's less of a risk to take a chance on someone you already know is a good employee.

Of course, there's a big distinction between using your employer's intrinsic career development opportunities and the old "bait and switch" scam. Always be honest with employers about where you see your career progressing.

Here's a few examples of how this strategy can work: A good friend of ours has worked in a number of Austin ad agencies. She has no formal creative background, but a strong aptitude and enthusiasm for creative marketing and a good accounting background. She got hired for an accounting job at one of the better ad agencies in town. From there, she developed a rapport with the creative team, and was invited to join their creative brainstorming meetings - all while maintaining her accounting duties. As a result, she contributed key ideas to a number of famous ad campaigns. She's now managing creative staff at a small hip Austin agency, using her broad experience to contribute to marketing creative strategies.

At Liaison, we've had a few opportunities to grow our positions around the individual. Sometimes, we design an administrative position so that it could lead to an account services role. On another occasion, our digital asset manager volunteered to take on some web development responsibilities and after three years, the job was a 50/50 split between the two. One of our print design art directors turns out to have animation skills which we've been able to use to help out our video team.

I like your experience. You're hired!

So as you can see, the classic experience paradox can be a bummer, but it's far from unbeatable. Once you can redefine yourself from "risky hire" to "sure thing", you'll have your pick of great opportunities. Good luck!