Raw beginner taken in hand at the outset (5)
I believe the answer is:
first
'at the outset' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'raw beginner taken in hand' is the wordplay.
'beginner' indicates taking the first letters.
'taken in' indicates putting letters inside.
'hand' becomes 'fist' (hand curled into a fist).
The first letter of 'raw' is 'r'.
'r' going into 'fist' is 'FIRST'.
(Other definitions for first that I've seen before include "second to none" , "Rifts of supreme sort" , "Leading" , "Original" , "Method used in elections" .)