Getting a job with minimal experience/qualifications?

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I've never worked full-time. Not really even part-time. I don't really have any qualifications past the final year of high school and I haven't developed much confidence. I don't have my own transport and I don't see that changing. All I have experience doing is co-hosting trivia 1-2 nights a week (been doing it for 4 years now) which I would imagine looks significantly better on my resume than nothing would.

Right now I'm just looking to get into the workforce and start earning some money, hopefully get some real world experience and figure out an ultimate career goal after getting some savings. I'm not too picky about the kind of job I'm looking for, though I'd prefer something where the expectations of me don't change a lot/I don't have to be too flexible or versatile. Customer service is something I'd rather avoid but I'd do a job like that if it was available and if I was a good fit. I'm also growing my beard long so I'd need to find an employer who is accepting of that.

So does anyone have any tips or advice to offer?

I'd check if there are any employment service companies in your area. I am currently working for a temp-agency that gives me benefits and they do all the work of finding a job for me. I just had to make my resume and tell them what I'd be interested and willing to do for work. Then they gave me a few jobs to apply for.

I am with an employment agency and they've put me forward for a few things but for some reason or another they never end up panning out. To be fair I haven't been as proactive with applying for jobs as I could have been, but I've had issues that have gotten in the way. At this point though I'm feeling quite ready to get employed so I'll be trying to get some kind of more effective course of action sorted out on my job appointment on Friday.

It's not impossible since that's how most people get their first jobs (usually cleaning, being a waitress or a cashier etc.), but since you're not a teenager the lack of experience and the lack of proper education is going to be a problem. Of course the job culture might be very different in where you're from, but I'm pretty sure that it works like that everywhere.

Then again you do have four years of experience in one thing, so if it has always been in the same place it will tell about commitment and the will to work, that you have been doing something instead of just staying at home waiting for others to do things for you. So I suppose your situation isn't as bad as it could be.

As for advice... do you have any hobbies that would be usefull for certain kinds of jobs or have you ever done any voluntary work? Or is there simply something that you're good at that could be relevant for some jobs? For example, if you have some sport as a hobby you should certainly mention that if you apply for a job in a store that sells sports equipment since that'll tell them that you probably know some terms, that the job might actually interest you instead of being just a source of income and would tell your possible future coworkers something about you as a person. If you like animals and are good with them or have done some voluntary work with them then your chances of getting a cleaning job from a pet shop or the like will be slightly higher if you mention it in your CV.
If you've done voluntary work, mentioning it will always be a plus even if it isn't related to the job you're trying to get, but don't mention hobbies unless you think it could help you with the job since people don't like it when there's unrelated extra information.

What do you mean by "real world experience" by the way? Learning to do things on your own without your parents supporting you or something like that?

With the trivia, I do admittedly work for my mum, but I have worked at different venues over the 4 years as well, and my attendance has been very good. I've even taken over running the trivia a few times when my mum wasn't available. At one point we were doing 2 venues a week but we're at 1 at the moment. I do have plenty I can sell myself on through trivia though. I set up the computer to the projector, operate the excel spreadsheet and make changes to the template where necessary, as well as marking and collecting answer sheets. I get on the mic and announce the standings at the end of the night and I sometimes explain the rules to new teams. We used to have a raffle so I have some experience with cash handling too. I even create picture and sound rounds sometimes using powerpoint, so all in all I have been able to gain some experience in a few different areas. I could reasonably say that my attention to detail is strong and I have some experience even with customer service.

I don't have many hobbies that would relate to jobs. I do play guitar and drums, so maybe a music store, but I'm not all that confident in my abilities and knowledge. I could probably feasibly sell myself for an admin role having experience with excel and being quite diligent about learning how to do things I'm not sure how to do on powerpoint, excel and word. I think getting into an accounts clerk kind of job would probably be suitable, as my most marketable quality is probably attention to detail, and I'd be quite happy in a job where I had my set responsibilities and I just did them as opposed to the expectations of me changing a lot depending on the requirements of other people.

When I say 'real world experience', I more or less mean living the adult lifestyle. Being out in the world and working to receive money that I can then spend and save, eventually moving out after I've saved a bit, that kind of thing.

I have done volunteering for a festival and I would be willing to volunteer if I thought the chances of getting a job after were significantly higher. What I don't want to do is give up my time for a matter of hours and be no closer to getting a job at the end of it. Honestly I'm not all that keen on volunteering because I'd really like to start earning money ASAP, but I'd still be willing to do it if it were to lead to a job.

Any job requires people skills so I would focus on building your communications and social skills before applying for work

Factory work is probably ideal place to start as the work is monotonous and after initial training you can be self-sufficient
Cleaning/gardening type work is probably next level up but requires dealing with clients

I wouldn't say my communication and social skills are terrible, my preference is just a job where I don't have to rely on them as much. I have been able to improve my communication skills with patrons through trivia so I'm not without a foundation.

Do you prefer outdoors or indoors?

Indoors

Start with a factory job, minimal communication/feedback required. Either packing or assemby.