As a recent graduate with a B.A in psychology, I’m trying to pursue a career in HR. Unfortunately, for particular companies that I want to work for, two of the qualifications include having a working knowledge of SAP and Microsoft Vizio, two platforms by which I have absolutely no knowledge in. I’ve tried the self teaching method but found that it’s going to be quite a while before I understand even a fraction of how to operate what seems to be a very advance and complex program.

In this day and age, it’s getting harder and harder to find a willing company to take you under their wing and put you into an internship like program where you can learn SAP from the people within the company. These positions are rare at least in my experience of job-searching these past few months, and when their is an opening, it is highly competitive. It just seems to me, they are more willing to hire those who have the working knowledge and experience already as oppose to someone who has little to no experience. Just for reference, I’m in the U.S. and more specifically Southern California, so I can only speak to how the job market and opportunity is out here.

Do you have any advice on how exactly I can go about getting some type of experience with this program and on a beginner’s level?

This is indeed a rotten economy around the world, except for maybe Australia (I think I read some news where they’re expecting a budget surplus or something). There are lots of people with SAP experience who have been laid off from their jobs and are in the same position as you. You may hold a small advantage in that you are willing to take entry level positions, while many of those who have been laid off are unable to reset their careers back to entry level since they have houses and other financial obligations that require them to make larger salaries.

But the unfortunate fact is that most countries are experiencing relatively high levels of unemployment.

The only answer I can give at this time is to be persistent and possibly get creative. I’ve heard of some job seekers trying some very creative things to gain the attention of perspective employers. One guy created a website demonstrating his skills in marketing just for a specific job opportunity at a specific company.

So, how might you get creative in the SAP space? Well, it depends on what skills you have. If you can program and you could make an iPhone app that did something cool like connecting to SAP and showing some workflow alerts, that could be something you could show a potential employer (I do realize that you most likely don’t have access to an SAP system to do something like this…I’m just trying to think outside the box for a moment).

If you’re not a programmer, there are some essential skills that you could demonstrate on the web: 1) communication skills…there are tons of ways you could demonstrate this…blog posts, answer/participating in SDN forum conversations, etc.; 2) writing a tutorial on something you’re good at would be something you could point to…it shows you can communicate, organize your thoughts, and have a willingness to help others; 3) networking…building a network (not necessarily a Ashton Kutcher-esque Twitter following) demonstrates your ability to connect with other people (today’s world relies on relationships, and some of these might lead to a job) 4) collaborating in a project.

Of course, just being persistent and paying attention to details as you apply for jobs will make you stand out as well. Companies will continue to need good employees, so you need to be that person, even if you’re not an employee yet.

Never lose heart. Believe in yourself and your ability to learn and it will be contagious. You will get where you want to go, no matter what walls you may find. I leave you with this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

Best regards and best wishes,
Byron

I am an MBA and an SAP Functional consultant with no prior experience in the field, I came to UK to find a future growth but I was unfortunate that when I came in the country Market was really crahed. I completed my certification in MM back in 2008 and I still haven’t got any opening in SAP. I don’t know who to consult where to apply, I am ready to work for free to gain experience. I even intend to enter any organization having SAP implemented on any level and any role. I have not lost my hopes, I have my firm belief that eventually I am going to be an experienced SAP consultant. Then we have another problem, we can’t get a job in any field unless you have strong references in that particular organization.

Please guide me what should I do.
Cheers.

Lester,
Great story, thanks for sharing! Hopefully Jerry has read your story, since yours started someplace other than where you wanted to end up.

Adil,
Thanks for writing in! Hopefully the people you are assisting are smart and willing to share. They can be your best resource. The best advice that I know to offer you is:

1) If you don’t understand something, ask someone. Don’t be afraid to look like you don’t know it. DO BE AFRAID to look like you’re not interested in knowing it. Be eager to learn! If you learn something, write it down. Don’t have to ask about the same thing continually.

2) If you are asked to do something by one of your bosses, get it done quickly, get it done right! Bosses love people who they don’t have to keep checking in on to see if they’re getting the job done.

Basically, be curious, be eager to get the job done, be sure you did it right (test, test, test), have new ideas and float them (you’ll learn a lot from understanding why your ideas won’t work). Be the kind of employee you want to be managing one day.

Be the right guy, and the opportunities will open up and you’ll learn what you need to know.

Cheers to all,
Byron

Liked you article so thought about leaving a comment(although the post is too old and you might never look at it)

I graduated in July 2009 with a BSc in Accounting & Finance from a University in Lahore, Pakistan. I was not sure where to go since I had a lot of interest in technology and somehow ended up doing Accounting & Finance. I decided that something like information management would be ideal for me(since it involves both these areas)

Fortunately, i heard about a local company going through an SAP implementation. They already implemented ERP some 2 years back and now want to implement the Industry Solution for Utilities. I joined them as an assistant for this implementation project.

I was initially happy since i had landed for a job that matched the job i wanted. However, I am finding it really difficult to learn since I dont have any knowledge of SAP IS-U(not even ERP) and there is no training program here. All i have are the manuals and i sit all day reading them to try and get an idea of SAP. However, i guess that i should be able to get control of things after sometime.

Your suggestions would be highly appreciated

Sometimes things just work out right. This company definitely would never have hired me for what I am doing if they had interviewed me for the position. But sometimes you can start at the bottom and still get there. (This process took less than 3 years.)

Thanks for this useful tips. Its really great to know new idea to get into sap. About me, I am dinesh chaudhary did sap hr training course a year back and since than trying to get into sap field. but same
experience thing is coming in a way.
please reply to me at dinesh_7702@yahoo.co.in need advise to get into sap hr for first job.
thanks

Dinesh

Jerry