How am I suppose to compete with others when I have no experiences

I graduated last year with a BA in social work. It's been so long since I've been out of school that I begin to doubt myself if I am even capable to work in the field if I was so lucky to come across a job opening. I wouldn't even know what to do or where to start. How am I suppose to compete with others who has the experiences and I don't? I've looked for work for this last year but it hasn't worked out for me. I don't have the experiences or the master degree that most employer are looking for in the human service sector. I've occasionally volunteered to get the experiences. It is so overwhelming to think about. I've had 1 job since I graduated that lasted for 6 months where I was a project manager and it was such a difficult job. I was so clueless in that job.

Don't beat yourself up. It's really hard right now because so many people are looking for work and the social services sector has been absolutely GUTTED over the past 25 years, and continues to shrink.

I do have a master's and have been to interviews for jobs that pay $8 per hour with no benefits part-time where I was competing with as many as 20 other applicants, many with degrees from private colleges and with direct experience in the field. I'm in MI, so it's really, really bad here, but still, when I was looking in the 90s I had the exact same experience. Both times I ended up working retail as that's what I could find and it paid the same.

I would say, try to make some connections in the field and get a good list of referrals. I think that matters. Also, a lot of places are downsizing and shifting to what they call 'peer support', which means 'low paid jobs for people with problems who support other people with problems who aren't coping so well.' Many states offer certificate programs in peer support for mental health patients, so that might be worth doing.

I'm back in retail again. It's depressing in a way but I try to remind myself lots of people in this state aren't working at all, so I'm not totally taking it on myself. Good luck! Try not to take it personally--I know it's hard not to but seriously, it's not you. It's the times.