“At least 1 year of relevant experience” in a vacancy for a working student is a discouraging sentence when you're still studying. Many working-student roles are meant as a first step into a field, not as the step after experience you can't have yet. Here's how to get in without a CV full of it.
Can you become a working student with no relevant experience?
Yes, and for many working-student roles that's the intention. According to our website, the VOIDS talent pool is meant for students and starters who are still looking for their first relevant experience [1]. Companies then mainly look for someone who learns fast and can work independently, not necessarily someone who already knows the job.
What do companies mean by “experience preferred”?
Often less specific than it sounds: not literal work experience in the exact same role, but a signal that you've already done something that shows how you work. Responsibility in a student association, a project you built from scratch or a side job where you solved problems independently can count just as much.
What can you show if you haven't had a relevant internship or job?
- Responsibilities within a student association, committee or sports club
- A project you set up independently, even a small one
- Volunteer work that involved people or deadlines
- Concrete situations where you solved a problem, even outside a work context
How do you write a match profile if you don't have much to show yet?
Focus on who you are and how you work, not on a list of roles you haven't had. Two or three concrete situations that show how you handle responsibility, setbacks or a deadline say more than a CV full of empty lines.
Should you skip every vacancy that asks for experience?
No: apply anyway. A vacancy often describes an ideal and not a hard requirement. In your application, show what motivates you and how you work, and ask yourself which experience really matters.
Why VOIDS doesn't select on CV checkboxes alone
At VOIDS we look at motivation and working style, not only at who happened to already have an internship at a well-known company [2]. So: no CV full of experience? Sharpen your profile and sign up.
Sources
- VOIDS: Talent: community, jobboard en talentpool, accessed 11 October 2026.
- VOIDS: Werving & selectie (incl. cases), accessed 11 October 2026.
Transparency: VOIDS connects working students with organisations and therefore has an interest in this topic. We back up facts with sources and connect research and trends to our own experience from practice.
