There is a common notion that you can’t get a job without experience and you can’t get experience without a job. How do you solve this paradox? By working without pay in the short term with internships, community service or volunteer experience, the job seeker can gradually transition into other fields where they lack the necessary skills, education or relevant experience.

For example, I once counseled someone with 15 years of technical experience at IBM. She desperately wanted to change fields into non-profit fundraising. However, quitting her job and applying for positions in a brand new career field for which she was not qualified was, to say the least, risky. I advised her to volunteer a few hours each month. By the end of nine months she had developed new skills and valuable contacts on a part-time basis with a local agency. She repackaged her resume with this relevant experience and broke into a full-time job at another non-profit organization.

Volunteering facilitated the shift from one career to another, which was radically different. Keep the following points in mind as you use this strategy to reinvent your work life.

1. Define Your Career Interests
First, know what you want. What goals are you trying to achieve by volunteering? What field are you trying to enter? Have you conducted enough self-assessment? What are you willing to sacrifice and for how long?

2. Identify 3 to 5 Employers of Interest
Once you know your objectives, the next step is to research the organizations in that field. Use the phone book, public library, chamber of commerce, networking, and the Internet to find places where you hope to gain valuable short-term experience. Prestige pays off. For example, if you are trying to become a career counselor, an internship at Harvard or any other elite school would bolster your resume. If your career interests is in financial services, try a brand name company like Bank of America, Prudential or some other reputable firm.

3. Send Resume & Cover Letter
Be sure that your resume and cover letter are tailored and targeted to a specific person at the company. Clearly explain what you are trying to achieve and what you have to offer them. Be sure to have a professional critique it for both style and substance before you send it.

4. Follow Up
Don’t be surprised if the organization doesn’t call you. Even though you are asking to work without pay, remember that someone at the organization needs to take time out of their day to train and supervise you. Contact them within a reasonable amount of time and request an interview to discuss your ideas in more detail.

5. Establish Guidelines
Be sure that the expectations about the job you and the employer set are clear. Develop a reasonable time frame for your volunteering experience and how many hours a week or month you can commit to it. Create a job description for your duties. Ask for a regular meeting with your supervisor for feedback and mentoring.

6. Gain Experience
One goal should be to gain the necessary experience to move into another career field. Be sure you are not stuck filing and photocopying. Request to have specific projects and take the initiative as much as possible. Demonstrate your work ethic. Keep track of what you accomplish and begin to update your resume.

7. Explore Your Options
Volunteering allows you to test out new or related occupations on a trial basis. During your service, you may discover that you love the field and want to make a career change, or you may learn that the field is not what you expected after all. Volunteering will expose you to a career you have long desired and help you determine if the field is just a hobby or a true calling. By volunteering you have taken a low and calculated risk.

8. Obtain Letters of Recommendation
Take care of the organization and it will take care of you. Don’t forget to ask for a letter of recommendation BEFORE you leave the company, so that a positive impression of you is fresh in their mind. Give your direct supervisor, the CEO or a colleague plenty of time to write the recommendation on company letterhead. Letters of recommendation can sometimes tip the balance of job searching in your favor.

9. Network into a Permanent Position
Congratulations! By volunteering you have broken an employment barrier and have become an insider. View the colleagues around you as coaches who can guide you and teach you about the business. Tap into the networks of the people around you. Take note of the other types of organizations that they work with and compete against. Be aware of individuals that might be leaving the company as areas of possible opportunity.

10. Understand the Benefits
Employers are often impressed with volunteer experience on a resume that shows hard work and determination. In addition, volunteering builds character and is often the sign of a good, responsible employee. By working for free you can turn internships into interviews and build relevant experience for smoother career transitioning.