How to Get Experience When You Have No Experience [INFOGRAPHIC]

If you've been on the hunt for an entry-level position at any point in the last few years, I'm sure you've seen those job listings that can best be described as supremely frustrating: those that are listed as entry level, but the first qualifications bullet point reads "two years experience required."

I know. Deep breath. It's mindbogglingly frustrating because that's not what "entry level" even means. It's right there in the name—an entry-level job is for someone just entering the field. "Internships preferred" is one thing, but two years of industry experience isn't something that most recent grads are going to have. In fact, some companies require more years of experience in something than may reasonably exist. A tweet from software developer Sebastián Ramírez sums this up beautifully: in it, he states that he saw a job posting requiring 4+ years experience with the software he created—less than two years previously. So it's always a good idea to take experience requirements with a big grain of salt, particularly when it comes to newer technologies.

But the reality is that, as competition between recent grads increases, experience is the thing that employers look to that sets the perfect candidate apart. But the question remains—how does one go about getting the experience required to get a job if all the jobs out there require experience? Take a look at this infographic from Trainwest—it can walk you through breaking this vicious cycle and getting the valuable experience you need to land that job.

This graphic was kindly provided by Trainwest, a company offering training resources for workplaces.