The circle is discouraging, but there is a way out of it. The trick is understanding that "experience" does not have to mean a salaried job.
All of these are real experience you can write down:
- A university project you ran from start to finish.
- Volunteering with an organisation or a neighbourhood initiative.
- Helping in a shop or the family business. That is experience with customers and accounts — write it that way.
- Something you did for yourself: selling online, designing for people, repairing devices, teaching someone.
- An online course you finished with something concrete to show for it.
How to write it: instead of "student", say what you did. "Organised an event for 200 people with a team of six" is a stronger line than many people with two years behind them can write.
Then:
- Apply for adverts marked entry level or internship first. Less competition, and designed for you.
- Do not wait until you match the advert perfectly. If you match 60%, apply. Most people who get hired did not tick every box.
- Use your short message with the application to say why this company in particular interests you. Real enthusiasm makes up for some of the missing experience, especially at smaller firms.
- Talk to people. More than half of jobs are filled through somebody who knew somebody. Tell everyone you know that you are looking and what for. Nobody can help with something they do not know you need.
Most important: a rejection says nothing about you. Apply to twenty, not two, and treat every interview as practice for the next one.