How to change my career to a new industry without prior experience?

Hi Career Doctor,

After reading your insightful replies to different posts, it really initiate me to create this post, as your questions raised in different posts really hit the main point of different situation! Hope that I can also get the advice from your expertise in career planning!

Let me introduce my background. I am 28 with BSc graduated from a local university. After my graduation, I worked in a MNC as sales executive for the sales of medical laboratory equipment for 7 months. After that, I joined a non-profit organization as an executive officer until now (3.5 years).

Having a few years working experience, comparing my current job with my previous one, and researching the job nature of business-related job (Sales and Marketing, Business Analyst/Research), I found that my preferred career is in business field, especially Sales and Marketing, Business Analyst/Research. I am working so hard to try to change my job to business-related, sending many job applications but got very few responses. Although I was being invited to attend the interview for a market research position offered by a MNC in FMCG, finally I was failed.

As my background, both academic and working experience, are not really relating to Marketing/Business Research, is there anything I can do to sharpen my competitive edge when applying job in Marketing/Business Research?

I had read through the posts which has similar situation as me (e.g. like to change career to a different industry), and I would like to answer the same questions which you may ask me:

My enthusiasm in Marketing/Business Research:
I can 100% sure to tell you that I am extremely eager to work in Marketing/Business Research. I have spent much effort to advance my knowledge in this field, e.g. reading related business news, magazine, books, journals and any related articles in the internet. Even for the interview of market research position offered by a MNC in FMCG I mentioned before, I read the book about the development and history of that company. I am also thinking to study MSc in Marketing/Econ or not. After reading numerous comments from your previous post, I understand even I am a MSc in Marketing holder, it cannot guarantee me a job in marketing. However, as my background (both academic and working experience) is not related to Marketing/Business Research, is it worth for me to take the MSc