writing your first resume no job experience

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• Resume Help
• How to Make a Resume With No Experience: Examples & Tips

How to Make a Resume With No Experience: Examples & Tips

Our customers have been hired by:

Reading job ads can leave you feeling frustrated, especially if you're writing a resume with no experience. It’s like all employers want candidates under 25 years old with 10+ years of experience! How’s that even possible?!

We’ll show you how to make an impressive resume with no job experience. Whether you need a high-school student resume with no work experience or a first-job resume after switching careers—you’ll learn how to build a resume with no experience soon!

This guide will show you:

• First job resume example better than 9 out of 10 resumes out there.
• How to make a resume for the first job if you have no work experience. 
• What to put on a resume with no work experience to show professionalism.
• Skills for a resume with no work experience & examples of how to highlight them.

Want to save time and have your resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, you’ll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here .

Create your resume now

Sample resume made with our builder— See more resume samples here .

No matter where you are with your studies, we have covered it for you:

• Teen Resume Examples
• High School Student Resume
• High School Graduate Resume
• Student Resume Examples
• Undergraduate Resume
• College Freshman Resume
• Current College Student Resume
• College Graduate Resume
• Internship Resume for College Students
• Entry-Level Resume

Resume with No Experience: Example

A. Peter Medina Marketing Consultant +1-23-456-78900 [email protected] linkedin/in/apmedina

A motivated and personable student pursuing a BA in Media Studies at the University of California Berkeley (GPA 3.89). Eager to join ABC Inc. as Marketing Consultant to help establish quick and long-lasting relationships with customers and assist in developing and implementing marketing materials. Strong theoretical background in consumer behavior, skilled at organizing events and copywriting (incl. 20+ reviews, brochures, and others).

2018—present University of California Berkeley Media Studies GPA: 3.89

Relevant coursework:

• Consumer Behavior
• Sociology of Culture
• Science, Narrative, Image
• Virtual Communities/Social Media

Extracurricular activities and achievements:

• Dean’s List all semesters

2018 George Washington High School, Los Angeles, CA High School Diploma GPA 3.90 Combined SAT score: 1450 (Math: 650, Evidence-Based Reading and Writing: 800) Activities:

• Member of Basketball Team, Grade 10-12

2017— Freelancing & Volunteering Los Angeles, CA

• Helped local community develop marketing materials to promote a series of garage sales events by designing posters and setting up a Facebook group.
• Wrote promotional texts and 20+ professional product reviews for a local technology website.
• Turned a friend into an Apple customer by effectively communicating the advantages of iOS over Android for his purposes.
• Created a fan site for a musical band, as well as built and managed a team of two regular news and content contributors. The website was mentioned in a Loudwire article.
• Organized and led games and activities for groups of 10+ school children.
• Completed a training course on the principles of effective marking on Udemy.
• Analytical skills
• Creative thinking
• Interpersonal skills
• Oral and written communication
• Organizational skills
• Presentation skills
• Spanish (Advanced)
• French (Conversational)

Certifications

• Marketing 101—Udemy Certification

Hobbies and Interests

• Coffee culture (Certified Barista)

That's a great resume with no job experience example. Continue reading to find the bulletproof formula for your  resume  with detailed instructions. You'll also get a first job resume sample!

1. Choose the Right Structure  for a Resume With No Experience

You’re about to write a resume with no job experience, which suggests… you haven’t had much experience writing a resume at all. But don’t worry—it’s much easier than you think. You simply need to follow the steps to create each section of your job application.

Here’s what to put on your resume  for the first job:

• Resume header that includes your contact details .
• Resume profile , such as a career objective  summarizing your skills.
• Education , where you add info on the schools you attended as well as your academic performance.
• Relevant experience section. Paradoxical? Yes. But it may come in handy. You’ll see.
• Skills section, where you list your key abilities.

Apart from these, your resume will surely benefit from additional information as languages, hobbies, certifications, etc. Anything that you can do that’s relevant to the job you’re pursuing should end up on your resume with no work experience.

Would you like to add something more to your resume? Head straight to our guide: Resume Sections & Categories (with Tips on Order & Titles)

Now let’s move on to actually writing something. 

2. Add Education to a Resume with No Experience

Maybe you’re writing a resume for a high school student with no work experience. Or you’re in college and you’re looking for a part-time job so you can stop asking your parents for money. Or perhaps you're writing a resume for a first job. No matter the case, listing education could be your resume's key strength on a resume with no experience. 

This is what you should include in the education section:

• Name and location of the school/college/university
• Years of education
• Information on your major
• GPA that’s high enough to put on a resume
• Relevant coursework
• Dean’s list
• Extracurricular projects
• Honors, such as cum laude on a resume
• Study abroad programs you participated in

But beware—don’t fall into the trap of listing everything you can. Stick to the things that matter in the context of the job offer. For instance, only list your minor on your resume if it has something to do with the job for which you’re applying. 

Also, if you’re a college student who hasn’t graduated, don’t worry—here’s how to put college on a resume if you haven't graduated yet .

Here’s what the education section on a resume with no experience for a college student can look like: 

Resume with No Experience—Examples of Education Section 

This example shows off high academic results because the job offer states that the role will require absorbing daily training sessions on product knowledge and strategy. Also, the candidate’s field of study is related to the job—that’s why listing relevant coursework makes perfect sense.

Here’s an example of a high school student resume with no work experience:

Sample Resume for High School Students with No Work Experience—Education Section

This teenager doesn’t have work experience, but we can guess they already have some useful skills! 

If you still need more information on how to make the most of the education section on your resume with no experience, read our guide: How to Put Education on a Resume

3. Include Relevant Experience in a First-Job Resume

Recruiters only want one thing: hire the candidate who can do the job better than the rest. And the best way to see what candidates can do? Check what they did in the past!

This is where your relevant experience comes in. Don’t worry: it doesn’t have to be work experience. You can pick up valuable skills in plenty of settings, not just through employment. 

The first step to identifying your relevant experience is to look at the job ad closely. Then, think of what you’ve done while at school, during freelance work, while volunteering, helping out family members, or by pursuing your hobbies, that matches the job requirements.

Here’s how to do add relevant experience to a first-time resume:

• Read the job advertisement and take note of what exactly the role you’re pursuing involves.
• Think about all the things you’ve done that are related to the skills and duties the employer put on the job ad.
• Note those tasks down , for example: “wrote product reviews for a local tech-oriented website.” or “created a website for my favorite band and got mentioned in a Loudwire article.”
• Match your experience with the right resume keywords .
• Start each bullet point with a resume action verb such as collaborated, designed, improved.
• Use numbers to quantify your achievements wherever you can.

These guidelines are pretty clear. But the question is— where did you get your experience?

Here are your options:

Mention Volunteering

This is one of the best ways to gain serious life experience—and volunteer work looks great on a resume  for the first job. There are literally thousands of charities and NGOs you can support, and they all offer different opportunities. For example:

• Fundraising: many charities need fundraisers to contact various businesses and organizations and look for additional funding. This role helps you improve your communication and negotiation skills. It also helps to set realistic goals and find ways to achieve them.
• Tutoring: NGOs that support children and teens often need tutors of various subjects. By tutoring others, you can develop your soft skills, learn how to give clear instructions, and provide feedback.
• Organizing events: organizations often need volunteers to help prepare special events, such as charitable auctions, fundraising festivals, etc. It’s a great opportunity to boost organizational skills, learn about budgeting, and work on project coordination.
• Manual work: NGOs also need people for basic labor, such as renovating classrooms, setting up a community garden, helping out at a soup kitchen. These experiences might come handy—for example, if you apply for a restaurant job, having kitchen experience at a children’s shelter can make you stand out.

Highlight Internships

Pretty obvious, right? 

Internships provide an opportunity to learn the fundamentals of a job while working alongside professionals. It’s best to start looking for internship positions while at college—the sooner you learn, the better your chances of getting good jobs after graduation.

You can add internship to the work experience section, or make a separate internships section in your resume with no job experience.

When listing your internship experience on a resume , always mention:

• Name of the position, such as Accounting Intern
• Company name, location, and duration of the internship
• Your roles, responsibilities, and achievements

List Extracurricular Activities

Your free time at school or college doesn’t have to be all spent on partying.

Shocking, I know. But sometimes it’s worth spending your free time on activities that can benefit you in the future. Think of students’ associations you could join. Consider going to conferences. Write articles for a students’ magazine. Join research projects. All these things will look great on a resume with no experience.

Here are some examples of cool things you can do while at school:

• Set up a Facebook page for memes about your school, and learn the basics of social media marketing in the process.
• Organize a mock Academy Awards night with students from the Film Club, and learn how to promote events while doing it.
• Make interviews with local small business owners and get journalistic experience while writing article about succeeding in business.

See? You can gain useful experience at any occasion.

Remember that while describing your experience in a resume, you should use resume keywords. But hold on—do you know what exactly resume keywords are?

Many companies use the ATS (Applicant Tracking System) software to speed up recruitment. ATSs look for keywords on candidates’ resumes to decide if the candidate has relevant experience. Thanks to this initial screening, recruiters have fewer documents to look at.

This type of screening requires you to write an ATS-friendly resume . In other words: If you want to make your experience count, you have to use the wording of the job offer itself.

Here’s what it could look like:

Resume with No Work Experience—Example

Yep, the highlighted phrases include very common keywords. Using this kind of lingo to describe your experiences will help you to get past ATS screening and get noticed by recruiters.

See the difference? This example talks about the same tasks but using different words. It’s far less impressive, isn’t it?

The examples above will work regardless of your education level. You can use the same approach when making a college or high school student resume with no experience.  

If you’re not sure how to describe your experience effectively, read our guide: Make the Best Work Experience Section for a Resume

When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check . Start building a professional resume template here for free .

When you’re done, our easy resume builder will score your resume and our resume checker will tell you exactly how to make it better.

4. Pick the Key Skills to Put on a Resume With No Experience

You need to convince the recruiter you have what it takes to be successful in the role you’re pursuing. Since you have little (or no) work experience, you must give your skills as much prominence as possible.

Go through the job offer carefully and make a list of all the skills you see there.

Examples of Skills for a Resume with No Experience

• Active listening
• Creative thinking skills
• Collaboration skills
• Leadership skills
• Management skills
• Marketing skills
• Microsoft Office skills
• Oral and written communication skills
• People skills
• Personal skills
• Physical fitness
• Soft skills
• Strong work ethics
• Teamwork skills
• Time management
• Transferable skills

Take a good look at the list you end up with, pick the ones that you have and can prove. If you decide to put a skill like leadership on your first-job resume, make sure there’s an achievement or activity that testifies to this. In our sample resume with no experience, the candidate’s organizational skills are reflected in the bullet point that says the candidate organized activities for children, for example. 

Don’t be tempted to lie on your resume because if you make it to the interview, all the lies will come out. And once they do, you’ll end up in a very uncomfortable situation.

Last but not least, remember to sprinkle your skills throughout your resume for the first job. Include some in the experience and education sections, as well as in your resume objective. 

Not sure how to make the most of your skills on a resume? Read our guide: 99 Key Skills for a Resume (Best List of Examples for All Jobs)

5. Add Extra Sections to Your First-Job Resume for Maximum Impact

When your first-time resume’s work experience section isn’t great, you must jump on every opportunity to make up for it elsewhere.

If you have language skills to show off, do it by all means. If you want to put certifications on a resume —list them as long as they’re relevant. If your hobbies and interests on a resume prove you’re a cultural fit, don’t hesitate to mention them.

Everything that’s relevant to the job should make its way to your resume—that’s how you can make a resume with no experience stand out. 

Here’s a couple of examples of extra resume sections to give you some ideas:

First Job Resume Example: Additional Sections

6. write a compelling resume objective.

At this point, your resume with no experience has all it needs… except for the beginning.

And no, it’s not a joke. The best moment to write the opening paragraph of your “starter” resume is when everything else is in place.

You need to highlight the best parts of your resume … which is only possible once the entire document is ready. Then, write your resume objective statement . It’s a short introductory paragraph showing who you are and what skills you have that the company could benefit from.

Here is how a good resume would nail it:

• Read your resume with no experience resume closely and find up to 3 things you’d like to show off.
• Start with your strong character traits ( motivated , personable ). It’s best to take a look at the job ad to see what the employer needs rather than put random stuff here.
• Say who you are ( student pursuing a BA in… ) You can mention your academic achievements here (high GPA for instance).
• Mention the company you’re applying to by name to personalize your first-job resume.
• Say what you want to do for the company. You can take a look at the job ad to see what tasks are listed.
• Say what your strengths are. You’re welcome to plug in a couple of your biggest accomplishments here as well.

Once you have more relevant work experience, you’ll be writing a resume summary —a condensed version of your best professional achievements. At this stage, however, an objective will be perfectly fine. 

Here’s what a first-job resume objective can look like:

Sample Resume Objective with No Experience 

The good example follows a simple formula: who you are, what you want, what you can give back to the company. This is all you need to communicate in this section of your resume with no job experience.

The bad example has nothing of the above. It just expresses what the candidate wants, not what they can give to the company or what they want to do. Plus, it’s generic enough to fit any role at any company—and this is how you can quickly tell a poorly-written resume objective from a great one.

Not sure how to write a captivating opening of your resume? Head to our guide on How to Write a Professional Resume Profile—Examples, Statements & Tips

7. Format Your First-Time Resume for Readability

Your resume with no work experience is almost done. The only thing you need to do now is format it properly.

How to format a resume with no experience:

• Follow the reverse-chronological order (i.e. put the most recent info up top).
• Add section headings to make your first-job resume easier to navigate.
• Use professional-looking fonts that are easy on the recruiter’s eyes.
• Stick to the 11–12pt size range for regular text. Make the headings up to 4pt larger.
• Set the resume margins to 1-inch all around.
• Use single line spacing.
• Save your resume as a PDF file (unless you’re asked for a different file type).

This is it! Your resume with no experience is ready to be sent out to the recruiter.

Want to learn more about resume formats? Read our guide: Resume Formats—Find the Best One for Your Needs

8. Write a Cover Letter to Boost Your Chances

Here’s the thing—About 50% of candidates send a cover letter along with their job application. Since your first-time resume doesn’t exactly abound in professional experience, you can boost your chances of landing an interview by writing a great cover letter.

This is how to write a great cover letter with no work experience:

• Make sure your cover letter format follows all the formal correspondence formatting rules.
• Write a captivating cover letter intro that introduces you to the reader and encourages them to read on.
• Say what skills you have, and they can be of benefit to the company.
• Explain why you’re a great cultural fit.
• Always end your cover letter with a call to action.

Also, make sure your cover letter has the right length .

Remember—

A cover letter shouldn’t repeat the content from your first-job resume. Use it to tell the recruiter about your motivations, fill in the gaps on your resume, and convince them you’re the best candidate hands down.

Here’s a guide that will show you how to write a cover letter in several simple steps: How to Write a Cover Letter in No Time

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here.  Here's what it may look like:

See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Key Takeaway

Now, let’s sum up the tips from this article. Here's how to make a resume with no experience:

• Structure your document properly. Use the right formatting and elements.
• Present your relevant experience. Come up with as many examples as possible.
• Use the right keywords. They can make or break a resume with no experience.
• Add information on your education. Focus on relevant aspects (e.g. GPA, honors)
• List your key skills. Focus on those relevant to the position.
• Add extra resume sections. They will boost your chances.
• Write a compelling objective. Highlight your selling points.
• Compose a matching cover letter. Tell the recruiter your story. 

About Zety’s Editorial Process

This article has been reviewed by our editorial team to make sure it follows Zety's editorial guidelines . We’re committed to sharing our expertise and giving you trustworthy career advice tailored to your needs. High-quality content is what brings over 40 million readers to our site every year. But we don't stop there. Our team conducts original research to understand the job market better, and we pride ourselves on being quoted by top universities and prime media outlets from around the world.

• https://www.jobvite.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/2018_Job_Seeker_Nation_Study.pdf

  Frequently Asked Questions about Resume with No Work Experience

Should i use resume templates to apply for my first job.

Yes, you should. Recruiters go through thousands of resumes every day, so a professional template is a great way to make your resume stand out from those of other candidates. A sleek resume design will go a long way towards making a good first impression. Wondering what your resume should look like ? Choose one of Zety’s resume templates , designed to help you easily organize your resume format . Meanwhile, if you’re short on inspiration for what to write, have a look at our entry-level resume examples and student resume examples , written by our team. You can tailor this expert-made content to your needs and be ready to apply in no time.

What do I put in the resume summary if I have never worked before?

Even if you are a fresh graduate, you can still create a successful resume profile . While it’s not exactly possible to write a summary for a resume with no experience, what you can do instead is write a resume objective—the profile of choice for fresh grads and career-changers. Write two or three sentences with examples of your accomplishments and academic projects you led, mention your motivation for applying to this particular company, and add some information about your key skills . Finish off with a closing statement that will catch recruiters’ attention and make them want to invite you to a job interview.

Check out these professional resume objective examples to find out more.

How do I list my degree on a resume?

If you’re writing a resume with no experience, your academic history is likely to be your strongest asset. In order to properly list your degree on your resume , take the following steps:

• Create an education section in your resume .
• If you have no experience at all, you’ll be skipping the work experience section anyway. If you have a bit of professional experience, though, put the education section before the work experience section. Once you gain experience, your work history will go first.
• List only the highest level of education you’ve attained. If you need to mention more than one (e.g. because you’re still studying for your degree), list your levels of education in the reverse-chronological order (read more about resume order of jobs and experience ).
• Add your degree, e.g. BA in Psychology , followed by the name of the institution, e.g. University of Massachusetts .
• Include your years of attendance, e.g. 2010–2014 . If you’re still studying, specify your expected graduation year.
• Consider adding extra information about your degree in your resume (e.g. extracurricular activities , Latin honors, relevant coursework , projects, achievements, scholarships, Dean’s list , etc.). Only add your GPA to your resume if it was at least 3.5.
• Use consistent formatting for every entry.

If you haven’t completed your degree yet, read our guide about writing an undergraduate college student resume and see how to put unfinished college education on a resume .

Which skills should I include in my resume at the beginning of my career?

Having no job experience does not mean you don’t have any skills at all. Focus on the abilities you have acquired so far, be it at the university or during internships—these are your transferable skills. Mention both hard skills and soft skills , alongside any technical skills that you have, like software proficiencies. Have a look at skills examples that you can include in your resume:

• Cross-functional collaboration skills
• MS Office skills
• Quick learning

In order to decide which ones should be put in your resume, go through the job offer carefully and make a list of all the skills you can see there—these are the potential resume keywords to use in your application. Then pick the ones that you think you have and include them in your resume. Tailoring your resume in this way helps to ensure that your application will pass ATS tests and actually reach a recruiter.

You can read more about this in our articles about key skills in a resume and making an ATS-friendly resume .

Do I need a cover letter for my resume if I have no job experience?

Definitely, yes. Even though you don’t have a lot of work experience, a well-written cover letter sets the right tone for your resume and shows that you’ve put in some extra effort in the recruitment process. What do you write in your entry-level cover letter ? Since you don’t have any specific professional achievements, explain how your transferable skills can benefit the employer and demonstrate your motivation to join the company. Do not forget to pick a cover letter template matching your resume, and you’re all set!

If you still don’t know what to write, see our cover letter examples for more inspiration.

What are the best jobs for teens?

If you’re still at school and want to earn some cash, you may want to think about taking a summer or a part-time job. Here are some ideas for jobs suitable for teenagers:

• Yard worker
• House cleaner
• Grocery stocker
• Restaurant host
• Escape room attendant
• Box office ticket seller

Want to know more about this? Read our guide on best jobs for teens and see some resume examples for teens if you don’t know how to start writing your CV.

How do I explain my lack of experience in a job interview?

Attending a job interview when you have no prior job experience can be stressful. Don’t worry, though, as you can discuss things shown below and still nail it:

• In the absence of relevant job experience , lean on the other jobs or internships that you had up to that point and discuss transferable skills that could be useful in the position you are applying for, e.g. communication skills or teamwork skills .
• If you have no professional experience whatsoever, focus on the skills gathered in university projects, volunteering experience , or extracurricular activities. Give relevant details about your contribution to the project or team. Describe how your skills helped you excel in an unfamiliar situation.
• Use behavioral questions (i.e. those dealing with your experience, such as “Describe a time you had to resolve a conflict”) as an opportunity to demonstrate your abilities. Remember to use the STAR method to explain how you navigated difficult situations. Keep in mind that your answers have to be in line with the company's goals and values.
• For more impact, explain your motivation to join the company and show the recruiters that you’re there for a reason: that you’ve conducted thorough research and made a conscious decision to apply for this particular position.

To better prepare yourself for your first job interview, read about best job interview tips and tricks and top interview questions and answers .

Thanks for reading my guide! Now I’d love to hear from you:

• What are the biggest challenges of writing a resume with no work experience? 
• What part do you struggle with the most? 
• Let me know. Let’s get the discussion started!

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How to Make a Resume With No Experience (+Examples)

Yes—it is possible to write a great resume with no experience. And this guide will use resume examples for first jobs to show you how. Buy the ticket and take the ride.

Applying for the first job ever can feel overwhelming. All these rules you’ve got to follow, and all these ads that ask for miracles from entry-level applicants. When each requires experience, how can you demonstrate it if you haven’t had a proper job before?

Hey, don’t worry—your resume with no experience is bound to succeed as long as you follow my guide.

In this article, you’ll find:

• A resume example with no experience better than most.
• How to make a resume with no experience for your first job.
• What to put in a resume for first jobs, so it’s full of relevant info instead of blank spaces.
• How to write a resume with no experience so good that you’ll get immediate phone calls.

Save hours of work and get a job-winning resume like this. Try our resume builder with 20+ resume templates and create your resume now.

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I had an interview yesterday and the first thing they said on the phone was: “Wow! I love your resume.” Patrick I love the variety of templates. Good job guys, keep up the good work! Dylan  My previous resume was really weak and I used to spend hours adjusting it in Word. Now, I can introduce any changes within minutes. Absolutely wonderful! George

Want some other first-time resume without experience? See our guides:

• College Student Resume
• Graduate School Resume
• High School Graduate Resume
• High School Resume
• Recent College Graduate Resume
• Resume for College Application
• Resume for Grad School Application
• Student Resume
• Teen Resume
• Undergraduate College Resume

Haven't found what you're looking for? Check all our resume examples for over 280 applications.

Sample Resume With No Experience

Avery Waters

High-School Graduate

(123) 456-7890

[email protected]

linkedin.com/in/avery.waters

instagram.com/avery.loves.beauty

Personable high-school graduate with a passion for the beauty industry seeking a retail assistant position. Knowledgeable about leading makeup brands and a keen tester of new cosmetic products. Eager to educate customers at Lovely Organic about the product selection, plant-based ingredients, and benefits of organic skincare. Gained cashier experience while volunteering at a bake sale in 2021. Runs an Instagram account dedicated to cosmetology since 2019.

High School Diploma

Salem High School, Salem, MA

September 2018–June 2022

Academic Accomplishments:

• Participated in the Massachusetts State Science Exhibition in 2021 with a demonstration focused on harmful substances in everyday cosmetics.
• Selected as the sole participant in the 2022 U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad.
• President of the Applied Chemistry Club in 2021–2022.

Personal Projects

Makeup Artist

June 2019–Present

• Applied makeup for 20+ customers for a variety of events, including birthdays, prom, and weddings.
• Designed wedding makeup for the bride, bridesmaids, and mothers of the bride and groom that matched the color palette of wedding decorations.
• Educated clients about proper makeup application, skincare, and makeup brush selection.

Volunteer Experience

Salvation Army, Salem, MA

August 2020–Present

• Performed cashier duties at a holiday bake sale in December 2021.
• Helped sort donated items to select goods for the thrift store displays.
• Positive attitude
• Verbal communication
• Time management
• Interpersonal skills
• English—Native
• Spanish—Intermediate
• French—Intermediate
• Testing new cosmetic products and recording product reviews as stories for Instagram and TikTok accounts.
• Learning about cosmetology and plant-based cosmetic ingredients from books and independent blogs.

Enjoyed this first-job resume sample? Continue reading to learn how to write a resume with no experience similar to the one above. 

And because you’ll be making your resume for your first job, you can click these links to read about certain steps of the process, with examples.

• Use the Best Format for a Resume With No Experience
• Start by Adding a Resume Header
• Choose Between a Career Objective or a Summary
• Supercharge Your Education With Achievements and Extracurriculars
• Mention Relevant Experience in a First-Job Resume
• Highlight Skills in a Resume With No Experience
• Add Even More Value With Extra Sections  

Let me guide you through each point now:

1. Use the Best Format for a Resume With No Experience

You might’ve heard about various resume formats . Which one should you choose for your resume with no experience? 

Go with the reverse-chronological resume . It’s preferred by recruiters and easily adjustable for any candidate, no matter their level of experience. It's also what career experts like me suggest most of the time.

Then, keep in mind these rules:

• Make a professional resume layout that’s scannable, or browse through free resume templates to find the one you like most.
• Select a good resume font , such as Times New Roman, Calibri, or Georgia, and set the font size to 11–12 pts for the contents and 13–14 pts for the headings.
• Set resume margins to 1 inch on all sides to maintain the balance between the text and white space.
• Create a resume outline with the sections you’re going to use. They are resume profile, education, experience, skills, and a few extra sections like languages or volunteer work.
• Limit the length of your resume to just one page—there’s no need to go beyond that in a resume with no experience.
• Save your resume in a DOC or PDF : first, check if the job ad mentions the preferred format. If not, go with a PDF, as this format best preserves the formatting the way you want.

If formatting documents in Word or Google Docs is not your strong suit, go with pre-made resume templates instead. You can easily find them online, or you can save some time and try our collection of Word resume templates or Google Docs resume templates to see if they match your taste.

2. Start by Adding a Resume Header to Your Resume With No Experience

The hiring manager’s gaze will first land at the top of your resume. That’s the place where your resume header must appear. It’s not only a space to put your name in—it’s also the best section to display your contact information on a resume with no experience.

Here’s what you should put in a resume header:

• Your full name and desired job title or your major
• Phone number
• Email address
• Professional social media links

What does the term professional social media mean, exactly? From my experience, LinkedIn is your best choice, as it’s a network designed specifically for business purposes. But if you run an Instagram or Facebook account related to your profession, that’s a good option, too. For example, if you’re an aspiring graphic designer, an Instagram page showcasing your work is perfect.

Expert Hint: Make sure your email address sounds serious. An unprofessional email address is one of the most popular mistakes made on resumes when applying for jobs. Consider creating a new account for work, and keep it separate from your personal email.

3. Choose Between a Career Objective or a Summary For Your No Experience Resume

A good resume starts with a powerful profile. In a resume with no experience, the introduction must immediately convince the reader that you have serious worth. How? By highlighting your qualifications for the job.

Two types of resume profiles work best:

• Resume summary , which highlights professional achievements and experience
• Resume objective , which highlights skills and knowledge and specifies what the candidate can do for the employer

So, which one of these two is the best choice for you? 

Go with a resume objective . This type of profile focuses on what you can achieve while working in your position. Use it to mention relevant skills and knowledge to help you succeed professionally. You might also say a few words about your relevant experience from part-time jobs, volunteer work, or university.

If you prefer to write a resume summary , it’s also possible, even for a candidate with no experience. A classic resume summary highlights professional achievements . And they don’t have to be work-related. You can name achievements from internships, extracurricular activities, academic activities, volunteer work, or anything else that connects well to your desired job.

You’ll see examples of resume objectives and summaries in a minute. But first:

Here’s a job-winning formula for a good resume profile :

• Start with a personality trait that says you’re a great employee, such as “dedicated,” “goal-oriented,” “personable,” etc.
• Follow with the desired job title, field of study, or education level , e.g., “third-year BBA student” or “personal assistant.”
• Mention your professional knowledge and relevant skills . You can do it this way: “...specializing in microbiology”, “proficient in Java and Python,” or “...with strong interpersonal and communication skills”.
• Specify how you can help the company achieve its goals . Try something like that: “Eager to utilize knowledge about English literature and use mentoring skills to support learners and improve their academic performance while working as a tutor at Sunshine Quality Education.”
• Recall any relevant experience —it can be a professional, academic, freelance, volunteer, or even extracurricular, as long as it matches the position you want. For example: “Developed interpersonal and organizational skills while volunteering at the student community center in 2022–2023.”

Now, enough theory. I'll show you some examples:

Resume Example With No Work Experience: Objective

This example includes all the elements I’ve mentioned: the candidate’s knowledge, the goal they want to achieve for the business, useful skills, and relevant experience. It also expresses their keen interest in the job.

Hard-working student looking for a cashier job. I hope to gain customer service experience while working at Blue Fan Groceries. I’m a friendly person, and I easily get along with everyone.

The candidate above could be a good fit for the job, but they don’t know how to express it. Statements like “I’m friendly” don’t sound professional. Also, the employer doesn’t care much about what the applicants want to gain from the job—they want to know what the business will gain.

Now, let’s move on to an example of a resume summary:

Summary for a Resume With No Experience (Example)

Detail-oriented software engineering student specializing in machine learning. Eager to join CodApply as a junior data analyst and use my knowledge of Python to assist with developing computer vision models. Completed a 3-month data engineering internship in 2022. Created a fake news detection application in Python as part of my bachelor’s thesis project.

This fresher resume summary includes all the important elements: relevant knowledge and skills, a specific goal, and relevant achievement. Even though this person has no work experience, their knowledge and academic background make them a valuable candidate.

Expert hint: Remember that you don’t have to write your resume profile immediately. In fact, it’s better to complete the other sections of your resume and then combine the best bits into your resume objective or summary!

4. Supercharge Your Education With Achievements and Extracurriculars

A resume with no experience should boast about education. Even though not all well-paid jobs require a college degree , getting one still matters, and it’s one of the easiest steps to improve career outlooks. Ergo, your education section must mention much more than just the name of the school you attended.

Here’s how to make a strong education section in your first-job resume:

• List your highest degree first. If you haven’t graduated from college or university yet, mention your current credits and add your secondary education, too, in reverse-chronological order.
• Include the school name and years of study.
• Add your GPA if it’s above 3.5.
• Note the most relevant coursework to the job you’re after.
• Show off academic achievements such as scholarships, awards, and honors.
• Throw in extracurricular activities, such as membership in student organizations, participation in conferences, organizing charity events, sports competitions, and any other activities that can prove relevant to the job you want. Doing more than just studying while at school can be really beneficial. Your time at college can not only get you a degree but also provide a chance to start networking as a student .

Once clear, check the sample no-experience resume below:

Resume Example for the First Job: Education

Pretty impressive for a high-school student, right?

Brooklyn High School, New York City, NY

Graduated in 2021

Joined the track and field team

That second candidate didn’t list any info that could help win a recruiter over.

In order to make the education section of your resume worth reading, add details showing achievements and actions on your part. A good way to do that is to use active verbs in your resume , such as “organized,” “demonstrated,” “completed,” etc. Give it a try—you’ll see an immediate difference in how your resume presents itself.

5. Mention Relevant Experience in a First-Job Resume

OK, I told you about relevant academic achievements and coursework, so now let’s talk about experience relevant to the job. What does that mean ?

It means that even if you have no work experience , you can list experiences that helped you develop key skills and qualifications for the job you want.

Here are the types of experiences you can talk about in your no-experience resume:

• Internships: If you’ve completed one, mention what you’ve learned and what you excelled at.
• Freelancing: Doing odd jobs in the neighborhood, like mowing lawns, babysitting, and delivering groceries for the elderly, can teach you a thing or two about being dependable and organized.
• Personal projects: For example, if you want a job at a restaurant, having a blog where you post regular restaurant reviews and share recipes can be a thing worth mentioning.
• Volunteering experience : It not only shows that you care about others but also allows you to prove your professionalism. Helping in a pet shelter, supporting a community organization, participating in fundraisers, and doing other volunteer activities can teach you skills to transfer between careers.

Check the sample below to put the theory into practice:

Resume Example for the First Job: Relevant Experience

This candidate knows how to show they’re not green behind the ears. They started each statement with power words for a resume to make a good impression, and the candidate provided specific information about their skill set.

Freelance Work

• Designing business cards
• Creating website graphics
• Retouching photos for the school basketball team

The candidate above might be quite skillful. The problem is—they don’t know how to show it. Listing experiences that way isn’t convincing and doesn’t show if you’re successful in any of the tasks.

When describing your experience, use resume keywords that match the job advertisement. They are individual words and phrases that both hiring managers and automated scans look out for. They signal that your qualifications match the job requirements. For example, if the job ad says: “Looking for a people person with strong interpersonal skills,” your resume needs to include interpersonal and people skills. 

Using keywords in a resume with no experience will help you create an ATS-friendly resume that will pass through ATS screening systems and has a better chance of getting noticed.

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6. Highlight Skills in a Resume With No Experience

“It’s true that I don’t have work experience. But that doesn’t mean I can’t do anything!”

You’re right. But you must convince the hiring manager that this is true. And the best way to do it in a resume with no experience is by stuffing it with relevant skills. After all, you’ve learned a thing or two throughout your life, and if you’re a university student or graduate, you also picked up some expert knowledge.

But how to put it all together on a resume? Let me tell you. Start by making a spreadsheet with two columns: soft skills and hard skills.

• Soft skills are personality traits that help you interact with others and approach different situations effectively. They’re often called people or interpersonal skills. While at school, there’s a good chance you developed such soft skills as teamwork, communication, time management, or problem-solving.
• Hard skills refer to job-specific knowledge and abilities needed to complete specific tasks. You can gain them through education, courses, or on-the-job training. For example, if you studied software engineering, you gained hard skills such as programming, software testing, and data structures.

So, in your spreadsheet, fill the soft and hard skills columns with relevant skills you’ve mastered. It’s OK if the soft skill list is longer than the other. Why? Because soft skills are also transferable, meaning that they apply to a variety of professions.

When your list is ready, take a look at the job advertisement. The job requirements specify what kind of skills and knowledge are expected from you. Compare them with your lists of skills, and pick only the ones that match. 

The skills picked for a resume should appear in different sections. You should sprinkle them in your resume profile, education, and when describing relevant experiences. For example, if the job ad calls for someone who excels in time management, mention how you completed all assignments within deadlines and handled a hectic schedule at college. But also remember to make a separate skill list for your resume.

How to make a skill list for a no-experience resume:

• Make a list of all the skills you’ve got, including hard and soft skills.
• Read the job advertisement carefully and note the key requirements.
• Select 6–10 skills matching the job requirements from your list.

Check the list below to see the most popular skills for a resume with no experience:

List of Skills for a First-Job Resume

• Time management skills
• Organizational skills
• Creative thinking
• Critical thinking
• Problem-solving skills
• Effective communication
• Presentation skills
• Teamwork skills
• Leadership skills
• Computer skills

The list above can inspire you for the skill section of your first-job resume. But don’t copy-paste it onto your application! The point of the skill list in a resume is to show the most relevant skills for the job, so you have to be selective.

Here’s a job ad for a retail assistant position:

Seeking a part-time retail assistant to perform store functions, including greeting customers, taking orders over the phone, and entering them into a Word document in a timely manner. Must be good at communication and teamwork and have a friendly attitude. 

And below, you can see a matching skill list for a resume:

Sample Resume With No Experience: Skills

This candidate was applying for a retail job, and their skills match this type of work perfectly.

Leadership, IT skills, marketing, Excel

In the example above, the candidate wrote whatever came to their mind. Even if they really possess those skills, it’s not likely that they match what was outlined in the job advertisement.

7. Add Even More Value to Your No Experience Resume

You’ve done a lot of work, but it’s not the end yet. There’s still more information you can add to a resume with no experience to make it more effective. Additional sections are great for highlighting achievements, qualifications, and skills that you haven’t mentioned before. 

Choose from the following resume sections:

• Certifications and licenses : Doing certification courses is a great way to gain new skills and later prove your knowledge to recruiters. You can find lots of online courses, and many are free of charge!
• Language skills: Learning a language not only broadens your horizons and makes international travel easier, but it can also bring more work opportunities. Many overseas companies prefer hiring candidates who can communicate in several languages.
• Hobbies and interests : Your personal interests can show that you’re truly passionate about your desired profession. For example, if you want to apply for an entry-level graphic designer job, mention your interest in visual arts.
• Memberships and associations: Want a job at your local library? Why not say being a member of a book club? Being an active member of any association can help you develop organizational and leadership skills as well as create a valuable network of like-minded people.

Have a look at my examples below:

Additional Sections Examples on a No-Experience Resume

Don’t be afraid to describe your activities in more detail, just like the candidate above. It’ll help recruiters to see how they match your desired position.

• Languages: English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese
• Certification: Project Management certificate
• Interests: Basketball, coding, travel

That’s not how professionals write a no-experience resume. You must provide specific information. For example, when you mention your language skills on a resume, add information about your proficiency level. And when listing certifications, mention the organization that awarded them and when.

Expert Hint: After completing your resume, take a well-deserved break and start writing a cover letter. Yes—you can write a professional cover letter with no experience , and it can really boost your chances of landing a job.

Double your impact with a matching resume and cover letter combo. Use our cover letter generator and make your application documents pop out.

CREATE YOUR COVER LETTER NOW

Want to try a different look? There's 21 more. A single click will give your document a total makeover. Pick a cover letter template here .

Here’s how to make a resume with no experience: 

• Use the no-experience resume template that you saw up top. It can help to stop the “can’t get a job without experience” cycle.
• Focus on relevant life experiences and accomplishments. Put them in your objective, education, and additional resume sections.
• Add the skills they need, not the ones you have. They’re your best keywords, and you can easily find them in the online job ad.
• Include a cover letter. Give evidence you’re a good fit despite a lack of work experience.

Got questions on how to write a resume with no work experience? Maybe you don’t know where to start writing your resume for the first job? Leave a comment. I’ll be happy to reply!

About ResumeLab’s Editorial Process

At ResumeLab, quality is at the crux of our values, supporting our commitment to delivering top-notch career resources. The editorial team of career experts carefully reviews every article in accordance with editorial guidelines , ensuring the high quality and reliability of our content. We actively conduct original research, shedding light on the job market's intricacies and earning recognition from numerous influential news outlets . Our dedication to delivering expert career advice attracts millions of readers to our blog each year.

Roma Kończak is a career expert and a Certified Professional Résumé Writer with a background in education and humanities. She’s passionate about personal development and helping others advance in their careers. She writes guides that simplify complex HR terminology based on thorough research and factual information.

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How to Write a Resume With No Work Experience in 2024 (+Examples)

• December 5, 2023
• In Resumes & Cover Letters

Writing your resume with no work experience can be tricky. You need to impress the hiring manager even if you have no relevant experience. When creating your first resume, focus on skills that are unique and valuable. Appropriate experience may include causal jobs, volunteering, or school activities.

Creating your first resume or applying to jobs without experience can be scary. How do you write a resume with no work experience? It may even be your first time having to write a resume, put eye-catching resume objectives, list your job skills , or choose a resume format. But at the end of the day, there is a first for everything, and hiring managers know it.

Do you want to save time and create your resume in just a few minutes? Try our premade Microsoft Word resume templates that will help you save time on designing and formatting so you can focus on highlighting your skills and expertise.

How to write a resume with no experience (with examples)

1. identify your goals for writing a resume with no experience, 2. choose a suitable resume format for a no-experience resume, 3. write a strong resume objective.

• > The objective for the resume with no experience examples:
• > Resume Objective for Students with No Experience

4. Create your education section 

5. list your relevant experience , 6. highlight your skills on a resume with no work experience, 7. include your volunteer work .

• > Volunteer work on resume with no experience examples:

8. Tailor your resume for each position even with no experience 

9. write and attach a strong cover letter , sample resume with no work experience.

There are several steps you should take before starting to write your resume . One of the most important ones is identifying your career objectives and finding the positions and industries you want to apply for. This is crucial to success because it will help you determine what aspects of your skillset and experience to focus on and what to highlight.

No matter how good of a fit you might be, you won’t see much success if your resume doesn’t stand out. So, remember that your resume should show that you can bring value to the company and are knowledgeable about the position. To achieve this, it’s vital to find out what your potential employer is seeking in an employee in two easy steps:

• Begin researching the job listings that align with your career goals and interests.
• Take note of and write down the keywords that appear repeatedly. These may be requirements, certifications, or skills that most of the job descriptions mention. You will want to include these throughout your resume to truly stand out.

Writing a resume with no work experience can be nerve-wracking, especially if it’s the first time writing a resume altogether. To get started, remember that a resume should always include the following five sections:

• A header with your name, job title, and contact details
• A resume summary/objective that presents your skills and achievements in a short paragraph
• An education section with the degree(s) or diploma(s) you have earned
• Your work experience, which can include even volunteering or similar experiences
• A skills section that summarizes all of your best abilities and talents that are relevant to the job

For a resume with no experience, you can also include extra sections for your hobbies, language skills, or academic projects.

But what’s the best way to organize these sections? That depends on the resume format you choose. There are three popular resume formats: functional, chronological, and hybrid. The functional format highlights skills and achievements and focuses less on work experience. On the other hand, a chronological resume format lists the work experience in reverse chronological order.

Finally, a hybrid format combines the other two, illustrating work experience and skills. While many employers prefer a chronological format, the other two are often better for resumes with no work experience. This way, hiring managers will see your achievements and skills immediately. Whichever format you decide to use, make sure to stick with it throughout your resume.

Read more:  “What’s the Best Resume Format for 2024? [Pros vs Cons]

A resume objective is a brief introductory statement that describes your professional goals. Unlike a resume summary , a resume objective is suitable for a resume with no experience because it focuses on the value you could bring in the future. On the other hand, a resume summary presents existing achievements and expertise.

Most of the time, the recruiting manager is flooded with resumes. Thus, they only have a few seconds to scan each one. This paragraph is your opportunity to grab their attention and convey your abilities.

A resume objective should be no longer than three to four sentences and include the following information:

• Your field of study and highest education
• The skills and experiences that are relevant to the position
• Your motivation for applying to this particular position

Just like with contact information, you don’t need to give your resume objective a separate heading. Instead, you can place it under your header.

Example #1: Resume objective for freshers:

Example #2: resume objective for students with no experience.

Read more:  “Resume Objective Examples for 2024 [+How-to Guide]

In your education section, show the degrees, training, and certifications that align with your professional goals without appearing over-or under-educated.

To do this, begin by documenting your educational and training background. This should be just an outline of what you’ve collected, so don’t stress about it not being amazing yet.

What should your education section include?

• Degrees and certifications earned
• Name of the degree
• Name of the college, university, or training school
• Years attended
• Optionally, you may also include:
• GPA if it is 3.40 or above
• Specific relevant coursework
• Exchange studies
• Extracurricular interests and online education/training

Creating your experience section may seem daunting since you most likely lack formal work experience. However, you still have much to include in this resume section, even with no work experience. Depending on your background, you can include:

• Academic projects –  The easiest experience to include is academic projects. Whether it’s software you made in a programming class, a marketing campaign, or a website you created, they’re all experiences that show you have the skills to succeed. Overall, this is an excellent opportunity to add value to your resume without experience if you are a high school or college student. You can also include interests and hobbies if they relate to the work and have provided you with transferable skills. Extracurricular activities prove you’re dedicated and driven, so don’t be afraid to include them!
• Internships –  Next, paid and unpaid college internships are one of the best weapons you have against the phrase “experience necessary.” They provide real-world work experience and help you network and develop contacts that may lead to a career later. So if you’re a college student writing a resume with no experience, include any internships you have undertaken.

To include an internship on your resume, first, write the title and function of your internship. Instead of simply “Intern,” use “Sales Intern” if your internship was in the sales department. Then, write down the name of the firm, the location, and the length of the internship – in that order. After that, provide a bulleted outline of your intern tasks and achievements. Finally, tailor your duties and accomplishments to the position you’re applying for.

Work experience example:

Marketing Internship YXPic, LLC. Miami, FL 2017 – 2019

• Managed firm social media accounts.
• Analyzing different social media outlets for viral content. 
• Posted engaging content on the company’s Facebook page, which resulted in a 25% increase in customer interaction. 

Lawn mowing and trimming Miami, FL 2015 – 2017

• From early spring until mid-fall, mow, edge, and trim lawns. 
• Maintained seven lawns weekly throughout the season. 
• Developed customer service skills to earn referrals and get more clients.
• In six months, I went from having 2 to having 10 clients. 
• On lawn service, I earned and kept a five-star-rated page on Facebook  

When creating your skills section, it’s crucial to focus on relevant, transferrable skills. The first step is to go through the job description and list the key required skills and qualifications you can meet. Employers value both soft and hard skills, so keep that in mind.

Team leadership, verbal communication, and self-management are soft skills that apply to every role. Hard skills , such as industry-related software or a foreign language, are gained through specialized education or training.

Because soft skills are harder to teach, most businesses focus on them when recruiting for entry-level employment. It’s okay if you haven’t yet developed all the hard skills required for a job. Nowadays, most companies will recognize your worth as a possible new employee if you prove to be a fast learner.

Still, make sure that you only include skills that are relevant to the position. For example, if you’re applying for an administrative assistant position, coding or trade skills won’t be very helpful.

Hard skills, soft skills examples:

Hard skills: Microsoft Excel ,  Cloud Computing ,  CRM Systems ,  Email management ,  POS Software ,  Programming Languages ,  Customer service ,  SEO

Soft skills:  Interpersonal Skills ,  Collaboration ,  Problem-solving ,  Communication ,  Time management ,  Adaptability ,  Organizational skills ,  Active listening

Read more:  30 Top Skills for a Resume (With Examples)

Volunteering demonstrates your commitment and desire to put your skills to use. And nothing makes a recruiter happier than a dedicated employee. You may include it on your resume whether you volunteered at a soup kitchen or helped gather rubbish in the countryside. Most employers consider volunteer experience alongside paid professional experience. Thus, you should always aim to include volunteer work that displays your abilities or where you learned a new relevant skill on your resume.

Volunteer work should be stated in the same way as your employment experience section on your resume. So mention the organization’s name, location, the time you worked there, and a bulleted description of your responsibilities.

Volunteer work on resume  with no experience examples:

Freelancing & Volunteering Phoenix, AZ 2017 – 2019

• Designed posters and created a Facebook page to assist a local community in promoting a series of garage sales events. 
• Wrote promotional pieces and 20+ professional product evaluations for a small technology website.
• Converted a family member into an Apple customer by convincing him of the benefits of iOS over Android-based on his needs. 
• Supervised a team of two regular news and content writers for a musical band’s fan site mentioned in a local newspaper. 
• Planned and led games and activities for groups of elementary school students. 
• Completed a course on the basics of efficient marketing on Udemy.

Nursing Volunteering Experience American Pulmonary Disease Association 2018 – 2018

• Provided patient education to 8 patients weekly.
• Performed an average of 13 health checks per week.
• Received praise from facility management for outstanding patient contact.
• Oversaw physical therapy sessions for 5 patients bi-weekly.

Customizing your resume for each position you apply for is the last and most essential aspect of developing a strong resume. If you lack experience, your greatest chance of landing an interview is to tailor your resume to the position you seek. Examine their job description to determine the skills they require. Then, take the skills you possess from the list and add them to your skills area. Different job advertisements will include different keywords, work responsibilities, etc. Adapting your application to each employer’s demands and job requirements is the best way to get your application noticed.

Most businesses utilize an applicant tracking system (ATS) to screen and organize resumes. So, when applying for any job, you must include a list of keywords on your resume to combat this. The best place to find these is in the job listing itself or in advertisements for related positions.

About half of applicants include a cover letter with their job application. So even with the lack of professional experience on your resume, you can increase your chances of success by preparing a strong cover letter.

A cover letter is a one-page letter sent with your resume as part of your application. Essentially, your resume describes your experiences, while your cover letter explains how they relate to the position. Here are the steps you need to take to compose an outstanding cover letter:

• Ensure that the format of your cover letter adheres to all professional correspondence formatting requirements.
• Create an engaging introduction to your cover letter that presents you to the readers and motivates them to continue reading.
• Describe your skills and how they may assist the organization.
• Explain why your cultural fit is exceptional.
• Always include a call to action at the end of your cover letter.

Also, ensure that your cover letter is the appropriate length. As with the rest of your resume, your cover letter should be relevant, simple, and brief.

Read more:  How to Write a Great Cover Letter in 6 Steps

Example of a resume with no work experience 

Sarah Brown 58 South St, Phoenix, AR [email protected] (123) 456-7890

An independent and driven business administration student with demonstrable proficiency in business, procurement, sales, and marketing. I am eager to use my theoretical knowledge and introduce the most current industry standards to the company.

EDUCATION Phoenix High School Phoenix, AR Class of 2020 (3.9 GPA)

EXPERIENCE Sales Intern ABC Company 2021-Present

• Assisted the sales regional sales manager in ad hoc tasks.
• Took notes and shared them with attendees at weekly team meetings.
• Prepared monthly reports for 7 international clients.
• Uncovered a bookkeeping error, saving the department 5% of yearly expenses.

Soup Kitchen Volunteer Phoenix, AR 2020 – 2021

• Acted as weekend/holiday volunteer manager at a local soup kitchen.
• Organized volunteer shifts and monitored the input of donated food.
• Aided with preparing and delivering meals on Sundays and major holidays, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter.

Pet Sitter Phoenix, AR 2018-2020

• Established and operated a profitable pet sitting service.
• Offered services including dog walking, feeding, and yard maintenance to locals in a 5-mile radius.
• Acquired and maintained 13 clients, arranged and attended visits, coordinated appointments, and managed client relationships.
• Collaboration
• Bookkeeping
• Attention to detail
• Microsoft Office

AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS

• National BA Honor Society
• Volunteer Club President and Treasurer of the Phoenix High Cheerleading team

Writing your first resume can be daunting, especially if you have no work experience. So, get ready to edit and tweak your resume until you get the desired results. Using these simple tips, you will create a resume demonstrating your strengths and getting you noticed. This is your chance to show prospective employers how you’ve prepared for the job and why employing you would benefit their company.

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How to Make a Resume With No Experience in 2024 [+ Examples]

by Don Sjoerdsma, CPRW | Career Advice Expert

Last Updated: January 24, 2024

Table of contents

1. Choose the best format for a beginner

2. select an appropriate template, 3. add contact info to the header, 4. craft a great resume objective, 5. add sections to replace work experience, 6. highlight your top transferable skills, 7. list your education and credentials, 8. consider optional sections, 9. proofread your resume and download it as a pdf, 5 no work experience resume examples, add a cover letter, how to write a resume with no experience: key takeaways.

Feeling a bit anxious about your job search because you don’t have work experience?

Don’t worry! You can still land the job.

We’ll show you how to make a resume with no experience in this comprehensive step-by-step guide. By the end, you’ll feel confident turning your lack of experience into an opportunity to showcase your enthusiasm and potential.

This guide will show you how to:

• Choose the best format.
• Select a resume template.
• Add contact info to the header.
• Write a compelling resume objective.
• Describe your relevant experience.
• Highlight your top transferable skills.
• List your education and credentials.
• Add optional sections.
• Proofread your resume and download it as a PDF.
• Use resume examples with no experience.
• Add a cover letter.
• Key takeaways.

If you need your resume now, skip this guide and go directly to our Resume Maker . You will get free resume tips and auto-suggested text to fill every section of your resume to make a marketable document in minutes.

Create Your Resume

Related Guides & Tips

• Entry Level Management Resume Writing Tips
• How Can I Get a Job with No Experience or References?
• What if I Don’t Have Professional References?

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• Entry-level Resume: Examples, Templates + Tips

While there are a handful of sections that must be included on every resume — professional summary, work history, skills and education — how you organize the sections is very important, especially when you have no experience .

The order of your sections is based on your choice of resume format .

The three most common formats are:

• Chronological : Focuses on work history, recounting your jobs in reverse-chronological order.
• Functional : Elevates relevant skills and abilities above work history.
• Combination : Gives equal weight to skills and work experience sections.

For job seekers who have no experience, a functional resume is a safe bet.

Why? The functional resume details your skills and qualifications instead of your work history. Here’s how a functional resume is organized:

For tips on handling margins, resume font and more, our resume-formatting guide offers guidance. For even more insight, you can browse hundreds of resume examples for all different types of jobs and industries.

Examples can also help you with the next step in the process: picking a template.

Even with no experience, your resume template can make a huge difference in landing a job. Appropriate, well-organized templates use design and the right layout to emphasize the qualifications that make you a great fit for the job.

We offer more than 20 unique styles to choose from.

Here’s an example of how you can use a template to bolster your resume:

When you write a resume without experience, your mission is to get an employer’s attention and get called for an interview. That makes your contact info extremely important and something you should highlight at the top of your document in the header.

But please note — you want your header to be clutter-free , so only include the critical info.

Your resume header should mention:

• Phone number
• Professional email address

Some candidates — particularly those in marketing or creative fields — may also want to feature their:

• Personal website or portfolio
• Social media channels

You should never include:

• Salutations
• Zodiac sign

At the top of your resume, you’ll need a professional profile. There are two types of profiles — resume summary and resume objective .

For job seekers without experience, a resume objective is clearly the best option.

Resume objectives are two- to three-sentence introductions that explain who you are and why you want to work for the employer . They are great for job seekers with no experience because they focus more on your goals and potential to contribute to the company than on your previous work experience.

Here’s an objective for a resume with no experience:

Recent graduate seeking a retail position where I can apply my exceptional customer service and communication skills, and passion for the industry, to contribute to the growth and success of the company. As a quick learner and team player, I am eager to gain valuable retail experience and contribute to creating a positive shopping environment for customers.

Pro tip: To make a good impression, use action verbs and power words. If you aren’t sure which ones to use, examine the job listing. Write down the keywords the employer uses so you can use them in your objective statement.

Work experience will always be an important part of your resume, even if your job history is thin. Employers look at your track record to decide whether you can deliver on your promises.

Now, when you have no experience, what should you put in this section? You should list the full spectrum of roles you’ve had — full-time jobs aren’t the only game in town.

Before we check out the other experiences, here are a few tips for writing an excellent work history section:

• Use bullet points to make your work history easier to scan.
• Describe your experiences in terms of impact, rather than simply listing your duties.
• Don’t be afraid to include experiences you’ve picked up in school, like coursework and extracurricular activities, or outside the workplace, such as volunteer work.

OK, let’s dive deeper into the last bullet point — what experiences might qualify for your work history section when you have no formal experience?

Volunteering

Volunteering isn’t only a way to support your community — those experiences look great on your resume.

Common volunteer work includes tutoring, mentoring, fundraising, manual labor (like working at a soup kitchen) and event organizing. That said, there are literally thousands of NGOs, each one offering opportunities to build your resume.

Let’s see an example of what volunteer experience might look like:

TCB After-school Support, Tampa, FL – Jan. 2022 – May 2024

• Provided one-on-one support to students in grades K-12, offering academic guidance and mentorship.
• Created individualized lesson plans based on each student’s learning style.
• Fostered a positive student learning environment and shared regular progress updates with parents.

Notice how the bullet points are just as compelling as what you’d find for a full-time position?

Now, let’s do the same rundown for what is often a job seeker’s entry point into the workplace: internships.

Internships

Internships are about more than just fetching coffee. They’re real opportunities to grow your skills and make connections that can jumpstart your career.

Internships are absolutely appropriate for a work experience section. Here’s how to package an internship role on your resume when you have no experience:

Marketing Intern

Green Planet, Los Angeles, CA – June 2022 – April 2024

• Helped post 50+ research and analysis articles about environmental issues on the company website.
• Assisted with creating materials for environmental education programs to use in outreach events.
• Oversaw data entry using Microsoft Excel and other software programs.

Just as you would with professional jobs, when it comes to internships, start by listing your most recent experience and working backward. That said, we’d suggest capping the number of internships at two or three. Unless you’re a recent graduate or are going to graduate soon, the employer may wonder why you haven’t found a more permanent solution.

Pro tip: Support your bullet points with quantifiable achievements. Hiring managers love seeing metrics that highlight the impact your work has had, even if it’s something as simple as the number of sales calls made in a given month.

Extracurricular activities

There’s more to college than parties and tests.

You can have more fun — and bolster your resume — by joining clubs, exploring your interests and participating in the local community via extracurricular activities.

Here are some common extracurricular activities that look great on a resume with no experience:

• Student government
• Leadership programs
• Arts organizations (for example, drama club, dance teams)
• Cultural clubs (for example, African-American Student Union)
• Publications, like the student newspaper
• Athletics, including roles on the sideline

Employers want to know you’d be a valuable member of the team and a good fit for the company. Extracurricular activities do that by showing them your talents, ambition and level of engagement.

Next, we’ll reveal how you can package these experiences in a way that will clearly transfer into the workplace.

Transferable skills are abilities you can take from job to job. They’re particularly useful when you don’t have any experience in your career path of choice.

You may be wondering — how do you know which transferable skills to highlight?

That’s easy. Follow this step-by-step process:

• Read the job description closely.
• Highlight the skills you find peppered throughout the listing.
• Write down any tasks you’ve done before.
• Add those bullet points to your resume skills section , using the exact language in the job description.

Make sure to look for a mix of soft skills (like teamwork, communication, problem-solving and time management) as well as hard skills and technical skills (like knowing how to operate a computer program). There are transferable skills in every category.

Pro tip: Skills are more powerful when you share specific examples. If you cite instances of using a transferable skill, employers will have a better understanding of how you’ve used them in previous roles and how those skills might benefit their company.

If you’re making a resume with no experience, chances are you’re in school or recently graduated, which means your education section will be more important than it is for a seasoned professional.

First, you should always list your degrees , including those you’re still working on, beginning with the most recent one and working backward. Here’s what that would look like:

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration ABC University, Albuquerque, NM Expected Graduation: May 2024

Relevant coursework: operations management, corporate finance, entrepreneurship

Additionally, your education section offers another opportunity to emphasize relevant experience. For example, special projects could showcase your skills and capabilities in a positive light.

Here’s an excellent example of how a student with no professional experience can make their resume much more attractive by including a special project:

Master of Science in Computer Science TK University, Bridgeville, IN Expected Graduation: May 2024

Coursework:

• Artificial intelligence
• Machine learning
• Computer programming
• Software engineering

Special project: Successfully implemented a machine learning project that predicted fraudulent insurance claims with 70% accuracy. Concepts used include clustering, decision trees and neural networks.

Before we wrap up, there’s one more thing you might want to add to your resume — optional sections.

Optional sections are anything that would enhance your resume that isn’t strictly necessary.

Maybe you volunteered at your local animal shelter or learned a foreign language in your spare time. Perhaps you joined a community organization or completed a professional certification you’d been pursuing.

Any of the above would belong on your resume — but where exactly?

Start with a resume outline. Then, create section headers for any points that don’t fit into the main sections. But remember — they should be relevant to the job you’re targeting . For example, HR doesn’t need to know about your favorite computer games unless you’re applying for a role like game developer, game designer or another relevant role.

Now it’s time to finish up your resume so it’s ready to download and submit.

Don’t jeopardize your chances of getting hired by turning in a sloppy resume. Recruiters have been known to toss a resume over a single typo. So, proofread your resume thoroughly before you submit it!

And don’t proofread it once — read it two, three or four times to ensure there are no mistakes. Then, send it to a trusted friend for a final review.

What should you look for? Misspellings, typos, inconsistencies, poor formatting, inappropriate fonts and significant oversights. Any of these can cost you the job, even if you’re highly qualified.

Ultimately, when you’re ready to submit your resume, download it as a PDF. Make sure to examine the job listing to see if the employer requested a specific file type first. If they don’t specify one, then PDF is a safe bet because it’s become the industry standard (and it’s the best at retaining your formatting).

As always, you can write your resume in Microsoft Word or Google Docs — as long as you can download a PDF version.

For more specific, tailored advice, check out our other resume guides:

• Entry-level resume
• Student resume
• High school resume
• Teen resume
• Internship resume

If you need more examples of resumes with no job experience, we’ve pulled together five common types.

After reviewing these closely, you’ll know how to create a resume with no experience more confidently.

By the way, if you’re looking for a CV rather than a resume , check out our guide on Curriculum Vitaes (CVs) .

OK, onto the examples.

Resume for nursing student with no job experience

Internship resume for a beginner, resume for a teenager with no work experience, resume for a student looking for first job, medical assistant resume with no experience.

When you finish your resume, it can be tempting to submit your application — but hold on for just a second. You need to write a cover letter , too.

Cover letters help set you apart. In fact, 83% of hiring managers, recruiters and HR staff say they would interview a candidate with a great cover letter even if their resume isn’t outstanding. Plus, 72% of recruiters admit they expect a cover letter even when their job listing says it’s optional.

For job seekers who don’t have much experience, this is great news — write a strong cover letter and you just might surpass applicants with more qualifications than you do.

Here’s how a strong cover letter would read if you have no experience:

Let’s touch on a few key points one last time.

Choose a resume format that’s well-suited to candidates with no experience

Functional resumes are best because they focus on skills rather than your professional history.

Consider a wider range of experiences

Full-time jobs aren’t the only valuable types of experience. Volunteering, internships and extracurricular activities are all great additions to your resume.

Use optional sections to highlight your skills

There are many sections considered optional — foreign languages, volunteer work, professional certificates — that give the candidate a chance to list skills.

Emphasize what you accomplished in school

Mention special projects and coursework that show the employer your reliability, commitment, ambition and engagement.

Was this information helpful? Let us know!

Don Sjoerdsma, CPRW

Don is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) with more than 10 years’ experience creating digital content, including four years helping job seekers develop their careers. He holds an M.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University.

Read more articles by Don Sjoerdsma, CPRW

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Guide to Writing a Great Resume with No Work Experience

16 min read · Updated on February 13, 2024

No work experience? No problem.

The ol' catch-22: you need a job to get experience, but you need experience to get a job. Either way, you need a resume, and what you don't need is to panic. 

Just because you don't have skills that are relevant to the job, or experience in a traditional work setting, doesn't mean you can't craft a convincing first job resume. Whether you're a high school or college student, you may be wondering: how do you write a resume with no work experience? Well, we'll tell you with these expert tips.

1. Choose the best format for a resume with no experience

There are a few dominant resume templates in use today:

Chronological

Hybrid - a blend of the chronological and functional formats

A  chronological resume format  lists a candidate's work experience in reverse-chronological order and a functional resume format focuses on highlighting the candidate's hard and soft skills and achievements, rather than work experience. While the functional and hybrid resume formats can be attractive options for job seekers with little relevant experience, most employers and hiring managers prefer a chronological format.

Aside from hiring managers preferring it, it's best to use a reverse chronological resume for two additional reasons:

It's the most used format in the US, making it easy for hiring managers to review and find the information they're seeking

It's the most liked by employers' applicant tracking systems, or ATS. If an ATS can't read your resume properly, it might not get into the hands of a human reader - even if you're the perfect candidate for the job

The primary sections of a reverse chronological resume are:

The heading (with your contact information)

Resume summary

Work experience (which will be substituted with other sections when you have no work experience)

Education 

2. Incorporate your contact information 

Now that you've chosen the best format for a resume with no experience, it's time to complete each section. The first section of your resume is the header section. This is the section that includes your name and contact information. In this section, you'll provide:

Phone number

Email address

Location and zip code

LinkedIn  or professional website URL (optional)

Your name should sit above your contact information in a larger font size than the rest of the information included in the header. You also want to ensure you use a professional sounding email address. Using something like “[email protected]” or “[email protected]” will likely come across as unprofessional and won't gain you any points for the “yes” pile. A good choice is to use your name (or a combination of your initials and surname), instead. 

Here's an example of how to list your contact information at the top of your resume:

Joseph Smith

555.555.5555 | [email protected] | WV 26250 | linkedin.com/in/jsmith28

3. Include a strong summary statement

The next section of your resume, your Resume Summary, will fall just below your contact information. Your resume summary is not to be mistaken for a resume objective. 

Resume objective statements , where you state exactly what career goals you wish to achieve, have mostly fallen out of fashion. This is largely because you want to focus on what you can do for the employer, not what the employer can do for you. A resume summary statement, on the other hand, sums up who you are professionally at the top of the page in two to five sentences and serves as the first impression you give a hiring manager to entice them to keep reading. 

For a resume with no experience, your resume summary can still pack a punch. Include some of the key skills you have relevant to the job, while emphasizing your major and any type of experience that speaks to your ability to succeed.

Here's an example of a resume summary for a recent grad with a human resources degree:

Human resources graduate with diverse knowledge base in employee relations, benefits design, employment law, and policy design. Avid learner with solid written and verbal communication skills and a strong desire to support all levels within an organization for improved employee morale and productive collaboration. 

4. Substitute the Work Experience section with other types of experience

Writing a resume with no experience can feel like a daunting task. Fortunately, recruiters and hiring managers are seeking candidates that have a robust background, regardless of experience level. Here are some sections you can substitute in lieu of a Work Experience section:

Internships

Graduate assistantships, extracurricular activities.

Volunteer Work

Hobbies and Interests

When you include these additional types of experiences on a resume, you can include them as a standalone section or create a “Relevant Experience” section. Depending on the type of experience you're including, you might find it's best to use a section heading that aligns with the type of experience (“Internships” for internships, “Volunteer Work,” for volunteer work, and so on). 

Landing paid or unpaid college internships  are one of the best weapons you have against "experience required." Not only do they give you some real-world work experience, they also allow you to network and make connections that can put you in a job later. When applying for a job without experience, be sure to list any internships you've completed. 

If you haven't had an internship, consider applying for one as a step before an entry-level job.

Here's an example of how to include an internship on your resume:

Finance Intern

New York Secretary of State Office, New York, NY

Jan 2021 - May 2021

Reconciled budget sheets for quarterly processing

Supported accounting team in year end tax return audits 

Analyzed 15 budget reports over a two-month period to ensure accurate data reporting 

Similar to internships, a graduate assistantship secured during school is also a great way to gain valuable experience to include on a resume. Graduate assistantships are paid opportunities provided to graduate students. They typically involve part-time teaching or research within their field of study. 

Here's an example of how to include an assistantship on your resume:

HR Graduate Assistant

West Virginia University School of Business and Economics, Morgantown, WV

August 2020 - May 2021

Reviewed 100 collective bargaining agreements to identify and document similarities and inconsistencies throughout

Worked with academic Professors to develop research guidelines for future assistants

Volunteer work

When surveyed, the majority of employers say that they take  volunteer experience listed on your resume , such as being a soup kitchen volunteer, into consideration alongside paid work experience. So any volunteer work that highlights your talents or a new skill should be put on your well-prepared resume. 

You'll list volunteer work in a similar way to how you would list internships and actual work experience:

Animal Transport Volunteer

Friends for Life Animal Shelter, Philippi, VA

April 2022 - Present 

Working with local shelters to transport animals to and from shelters and foster homes

Assisting in cleaning kennels and common areas to support sanitation efforts

Spearheading animal supply drive, collecting $10K worth of supplies

Though it might not seem like it at first, extracurricular activities can add a lot of value to your resume in lieu of work experience, if you can relate them to the job you're applying to. For example, if you were an officer for a club during college or a captain of a sports team, these roles speak to leadership ability. 

In general, these types of activities show you have the ability to collaborate with others. It also shows you have the ability to keep up with school work while being involved in other areas outside of school, which speaks to time management and organizational skills. 

Here are some of the top extracurricular activities to include on a resume with no experience, as well of some of the skills they help to highlight:

Artistic endeavors: speaks to creativity, problem solving, perseverance, ability to learn 

Sports: speaks to teamwork, collaboration, hard work, problem solving, conflict resolution

Club leadership roles: speaks to leadership, organization, perseverance, time management

General club membership: speaks to time management, community involvement, prioritizing

Student government: speaks to leadership, public speaking, time management, problem solving, organization

Here's an example of how to list extracurricular activities on a resume with no experience:

Student Council Vice PresidentBelington High SchoolAugust 2020 - May 2021

Spearheaded clothing drive to support the homeless in the state of Virginia

Wrote and delivered 3 speeches to the student body focused on student wellbeing, fundraising events, and life beyond high school

Special Projects

If you completed job-related projects during high school or college, they can be a valuable addition to your resume. Personal projects are also game for a resume with no experience, if they're relevant to the job. 

Here's how you might list a personal project on your resume:

Social Media Campaign

Sparkle and Shine Fundraising Event

February 2022 - Mar 2024

Created social media campaign to support fundraising efforts for local children's shelter, supporting education in underprivileged youth

Increased followers by 25% in two months

Generated leads that converted to $3,000 in donations

Here's how you might list school projects on your resume:

Beaumont University

Masters in Counseling and Development

Career counseling planning design for women with chronic fatigue syndrome

Group counseling proposal for friends and family members of those who have mental health challenges

Behavioral health program design to work with males ages 18 to 30 with adverse childhood experiences

Hobbies and interests

It's more common today than ever before to include hobbies and interests on a resume - they help to provide insights into who you are as a person, to enhance your resume story. Hobbies and interests require soft and hard skills, many of which are required to succeed on the job, and they can especially be useful to fill in gaps when you lack work experience.  

For additional information on how to list hobbies and interests on your resume with no experience, refer to “ How to List Hobbies and Interests on a Resume (With Examples) .”

An award can signal to an employer to take note, since they're a distinction that speaks to your skills, abilities, and accomplishments. Adding an Awards section is an excellent way to showcase your ability to succeed in lieu of work experience. 

When you list an award, include the award and issuing institution. For example:

2023 Science Olympiad Award recipient, Science Olympiad Foundation

Certifications

Acquiring certifications provides an excellent opportunity to add value and fill in gaps in terms of skills and work experience. There are a lot of opportunities to secure certifications for free through sites like LinkedIn Learning, Udemy, and  Grow with Google . Certifications not only highlight your skills but also show that you're focused on personal and professional development, which employers appreciate in candidates.  

You can list certifications in a standalone Certifications list or with your Education section. For more information on how to best include certifications on a resume with no experience, refer to “ How to List Certifications on a Resume (with examples) .” 

5. Include your education 

When you have work experience, it's common to include your Education section after your Work Experience section. However, on a resume with no experience, many opt to list and emphasize their education after the resume summary. This is largely due to the fact that your education is what's most relevant to employers when you're straight out of school. 

Also, in lieu of a Work Experience section, especially if you're running thin on any of the relevant experience options listed above, you can expand and focus on the  education section on your resume  to highlight the marketable skills you've developed. What can you do well that this job requires? What will be useful to the hiring company? What have you done in school and what have you studied that has prepared you for assuming this job?

This is generally a little easier if you're a college graduate with specialized education, but even a high school graduate can talk about their electives and relevant coursework, why they wanted to take them, and what they learned from the class. It's also acceptable to include any awards, scholarships, honors, or any student clubs and committees you participated in. For example, if you were on the Dean's list, include it. 

Many also wonder if they should include their GPA on their resume. The short answer is yes, if it's 3.5 or higher. This level of achievement highlights your potential and the hard work you're willing to put in for success. 

Here's the order to list items in your Education section, with items 5 to 8 being optional:

Degree issued

Issuing institution

City and state of institution 

Graduation date (or expected graduation date, if in progress)

Relevant coursework

Student committees

Here's how your education might look laid out on your resume:

Bachelors of Science - Psychology (3.5 GPA, magna cum laude)Maryland State University

Relevant coursework: human growth and development, assessment, treatment planning, abnormal behavior

6. Emphasize your skills

Even when you don't have actual work experience, you have definitely acquired skills to support you on the job, which can set you apart from the competition. Be sure to highlight both hard and soft skills on your resume. You can do this by including a Skills section near the end, or by adding a Core Competencies section just below your Resume Summary. 

You also might be wondering what the difference is between hard and soft skills. Hard skills are technical skills that are measurable and learned. Softs skills are tangible skills that are difficult to measure. 

Examples of valuable hard skills on a resume include:

Mathematics

Computer skills

Data analysis

Project management

Social media

Language skills

Here are some common soft skills employers seek in their employees:

Communication

Problem solving

Organization

Interpersonal skills

Time management

Working well under stress

7. Add a cover letter

Even if one isn't required, it's generally a good idea to send a short cover letter along with your resume. Cover letters are where your personality comes out and you can use them to make the case for why you're the perfect candidate for this job. 

A standout cover letter can convince an employer to bring you in for an interview, even if your resume itself doesn't have all the things they'd like to see. Your cover letter provides you with the opportunity to show a bit of personality and express why you're interested in the job, as well. Be sure your cover letter uses the same font and style as your resume, for consistency. 

Elements you should never include on a resume

While there are many elements you should consider adding to your resume, career experts say there are a few things you should never include because they waste space, don't tell the employer anything relevant, or could damage your personal brand. This list includes, but is not limited to: 

Employment references

Writing samples

Photos  of yourself

Do not add this information to your resume unless an employer or recruiter asks you to provide it. 

Additional tips for a resume with no work experience 

As you develop your resume with no experience, here are a few more tips to consider. 

Take stock of your achievements and activities

Make a list of absolutely everything you've done that might be useful on a resume. From this list, you'll then need to narrow down what to actually include on your resume. Different things might be relevant to different jobs you apply for, so keep a full list and pick the most relevant things from it to include on your resume when you send it out. This will help you to identify which sections to include in lieu of work experience.

Pay attention to technical details

When editing your resume, make sure there are no punctuation, grammatical, spelling, or other errors that will make your resume look unprofessional. Then, have a friend or family member read it again to catch any mistakes you might have missed — you can't afford a typo or missing word as a candidate with no prior work experience. Also, be sure to vary your language and use action verbs throughout your resume to keep your reader engaged.

Keywords, keywords, keywords!

Most employers use some form of  applicant tracking system (ATS) to scan and sort resumes . This may seem unfair, but it's the reality of modern-day hiring. To combat this, you'll want to come up with, and include, a list of keywords in your resume when applying for any job. The best place to  find these keywords  is in the job post itself, or in ads for similar jobs. One caveat: don't use meaningless "buzzwords," such as "go-getter," "team player," and “detail-oriented." Unfortunately, sometimes these buzzwords are the only keywords listed in the ad. If that's the case, you'll need to sneak them in alongside your detailed accomplishments and academic achievements.

Customize your resume for each job you apply to

The last and most important thing to remember when creating a good resume is to  customize it for every job to which you apply . Different job postings are going to have different keywords, different job duties listed, and so on. Appealing to each individual employer's needs and job requirements is the best strategy for getting your application noticed and hopefully landing your first job.

Relevant experience goes beyond work experience

At the end of the day, the only perfect resume is the one that gets you the interview. Regardless of whether you have work experience or not, it's still possible to stand out by highlighting other types of experience that relate to the role. 

Even once you're comfortably employed, be prepared to tweak and update your resume to get noticed with each job application you submit. In the meantime, use any type of relevant experience to help you shine and land an interview. Sooner or later, you'll land that job - and gain that much-coveted relevant work experience.

Tackling this kind of resume isn't easy. If you've recently graduated or are in an entry-level job search, a  professional resume writer  can prepare you for success.

This blog was originally written by Riya Sand and has been updated by Ronda Suder. 

Recommended reading:

5 Things You Should Always Include on Your Resume

Should You Include Social Media on Your Resume?

How to Be a Great Candidate Even If You're Under-Qualified for the Job

Related Articles:

How to Maximize Your Resume Action Words to Wow the Employer

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7 Ways You Try Too Hard in Job Applications

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How to Write a Resume With No Experience

Don’t let your lack of work experience stop you from getting your desired job. Learn all the best tips to write a resume with no experience for any job!

Build my Resume

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Applying for your first job and don’t know where to start? This step-by-step guide will teach you how to write a resume when you have no work experience by focusing on skills and accomplishments such as internships, school projects, extracurricular activities and more.

Although students struggle with unemployment more than most, you’ll be surprised to learn you have plenty of skills and resources to land a job without work experience. And, we’ll show you how to write a resume that reflects this.

Keep reading to learn how to fill your resume work history with internships, academic experiences, school projects and extra curricular to get the entry-level job you want.

Here’s what you’ll learn to do:

• Pick a resume format for your experience level.
• Write a compelling resume objective.
• Replace work experience with relevant achievements.
• Compensate with a strong skills section.
• Showcase your education.
• Include custom sections for additional accomplishments.

Resume example for first job (Text example)

Copy and paste this free text version of one of our resume examples for a first job on any resume template . Remember to always edit the text version of the resume sample to fit your unique achievements and skill set, and for a fully personalized resume, you can always try our Resume Builder .

• Text Example
• Visual Example

How to write a resume with no experience

When you have no work experience, writing a resume consists of taking non-work-related experiences and accomplishments and framing them as valuable knowledge and skills for a specific job.

Your resume with no experience should consist of the standard sections you can learn about in our complete resume-writing guide .

On this page, however, we’ll go into detail about tailoring each resume section to fit your lack of formal work experience with the help of practical examples.

Let’s get started.

Pick a resume format for your level of experience

Before you write your resume sections, you need to organize the layout of your resume by choosing one of the three established resume formats .

What is the best resume format when you have no experience?

Out of the chronological , functional and combination formats, the functional resume is the best choice for applicants with little to no work experience.

Chronological

Combination.

You can create any of the three resume formats in our Resume Builder by easily adding, renaming and reorganizing resume sections. Plus, our builder automatically organizes your resume’s layout so all your content fits neatly into one page. Ready to get started?

Write a compelling resume objective

The first section of your resume will be the resume objective . This section is where you introduce yourself and your career goals in a short paragraph.

A resume objective should have some, if not all, of the following:

• Your current or desired job title
• Your degree or any certification relevant to the position
• What you hope to achieve in the role
• The skills that qualify you for the position
• A specific achievement that helps you stand out

Let’s visualize it with a college student’s resume objective for an internship position

Resume objective example

Although the resume objective is the strategy that makes the most sense for applicants with little or no experience, the resume summary is a more common approach these days and can work for any type of applicant.

Replace work history with other experiences

If you’re writing a resume to apply for your first job, you don’t need to leave the work history section blank.

You can use non-work-related experiences that demonstrate you have the skills and knowledge to thrive in a particular job.

A few examples of everyday work or volunteering experience where you can develop valuable professional skills are:

• Volunteering at a nonprofit
• Babysitting
• Manual labor (mowing lawns, cleaning pools, etc.)
• Lifeguard duty at your community pool
• Volunteer camp counseling
• Helping out at a family business
• Free lessons (art, crafts, sports)
• Internships

You can list these experiences as you would with any job in a traditional work history section .

Here’s an example of how you could list volunteering experience in your resume:

Work History

Boys & Girls Club of America | New Orleans, LA Tutor Jan 2022 – Current

• Supervised homework completion and assisted in clarifying instructions for over 12 children ages 10-15.
• Imparted math tutoring every Tuesday and Thursday, arrived on time, prepared material beforehand and graded all worksheets.
• Helped all 12 students pass their mathematics class with individual grade point averages of 90 and up.

Compensate with a strong skills section

If your work experiences are lacking, you can keep the work history minimal and focus more on your skills, which is where the functional resume comes in handy.

When you use the functional format, the skills section becomes your resume’s primary source of information.

To build your functional skills section, you will:

• 1 Pick three or more hard and soft skills you have mastered that are either a requirement for the job or highly relevant.
• 2 For each skill, you will add a couple of bulleted phrases describing experiences demonstrating that you have mastered the skill.
• 3 Draw experiences from volunteer work, schoolwork or extracurricular activities. Remember that the focus is on what skills you’ve developed, not where you learned them.

Check out what a functional skills section looks like for a college student applying for a barista job:

Customer service

• Answered phone calls and replied to texts and emails sent to Howard, Gleason Hanes legal office daily.
• Greeted students requesting information and services from college mental health clinic. Treated them with tactfulness and followed established safety procedures.

Coffee-making skills

• Awarded as Best Latte Artist in CoffeLab’s barista graduation showcase among 15 other students.
• Completed certification from CoffeLab’s barista training course with flying colors, excelling in latte art, espresso machine handling, pour-over coffee-making technique, French press and cold brew preparation.
• Led volleyball team to back-to-back state championships during my junior and senior years.
• Organized a mentorship program for computer science students to teach underserved students from minority backgrounds to learn basic computer skills and the essentials of programming.

Showcase your education

When writing a resume with no experience, you’ll want to put more effort into your education section.

You want employers to know that even though you don’t have that real-world savviness just yet, you have all the necessary knowledge and education to excel at your job.

Your education section should, at the very least, include:

• Your highest level of education
• The name of your degree if you possess higher education
• The university name

To make the education section more impactful, you may also add:

• Your minor or concentration
• Distinctions like valedictorian, salutatorian, summa cum laude
• Relevant coursework

Check out this education section sample for a resume with no experience:

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Minor in Public Relations and Advertising University of Nashville – Nashville, TN

• Class of 2022 Valedictorian
• Relevant coursework: Client Consulting Project: Strategic Management

Include custom sections for additional accomplishments

Another way to add value to your job application when you have little or no work experience is by customizing your resume with additional sections that accurately reflect all you have accomplished.

Some common extra sections you can include are

• Volunteer experience
• Extracurricular activities
• Accomplishments
• Certifications

In our Resume Builder , you can easily add any of these custom sections to your resume, and the Builder automatically organizes them all into one page. This way, you don’t have to spend time figuring out the layout or worrying about overlapping sections.

Resumes with no work experience

If you need extra help on how to write a resume with no experience, check out these resume examples for a first job.

Convince employers of your strengths with a cover letter

The cover letter is an underused resource when applying for a job without work experience.

Learn how to explain a lack of experience and showcase your professional strengths with our guide to writing a cover letter for a first job.

If you’re already dreading writing yet another document, don’t worry; we’ve got you covered. Writing a cover letter is easy and quick when you use our Cover Letter Builder .

Draw inspiration from our best cover letter examples for 2023, and get a fully personalized, AI-generated cover letter that’s legit and done in minutes!

Build My Cover Letter

Key points for writing resumes with no work experience

• Choose a resume format that highlights your skills and downplays your lack of experience. Your best option will be the functional resume format.
• Open strong with a clear resume objective about your qualifications and career goals.
• Keep the work history minimal and include alternative work experiences like volunteering and internships.
• Go all out when showcasing your skills and mention accomplishments demonstrating your skill set.
• Maximize your education section by listing your GPA, honors and awards.
• Add as many extra sections as possible to compensate for the limited work experience.

Learn more about resume writing

251 Resume Skills that Score Interviews

How to Write a Resume in 2024

Skills and Strengths College Students May Not Realize They Possess -- and That Employers Love

About the Author

Gabriela Hernandez • CPRW, Career Advice Expert

Gabriela Hernandez is one of LiveCareer's resident writers. She graduated from the University of Puerto Rico with a degree in Journalism. Throughout her career, she has tackled copywriting, blog articles, journalistic writing, academic writing, resume writing, and even prose and verse.

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*The names and logos of the companies referred to in this page are all trademarks of their respective holders. Unless specifically stated otherwise, such references are not intended to imply any affiliation or association with LiveCareer.

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First-Time Resume With No Work Experience Example

Writing Your First Resume

What to include in your resume.

• Tips Preparing Your First Resume

Resume Template and Example

More resume examples and templates.

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Writing your first-ever resume can be a challenge. How do you sell yourself to an employer when you’re a student who doesn’t have any experience in your targeted field?

When writing your first resume with no formal work experience, it's appropriate to include casual jobs like babysitting, pet-sitting, lawn-mowing, and shoveling snow. You can also include volunteering, internships, extracurriculars, and community activities.

All experience counts. The best way you can present yourself, your skills, and your assets to a hiring manager is to provide them with a strong resume that showcases your unique talents.

Here's how to write your first resume, what to include, how to show employers the skills you have, a sample resume to review, and a template you can use to get started writing your resume.

To get started, review information on the  different parts of a resume  and what is included in each element. It's a good idea to review high school resume examples to get an idea of what is appropriate. Even if you've never held a formal job, you still have important life experience that applies to the job search.

Don't forget to look at volunteer work, civic groups, and youth organizations (for example, the Scouts or 4-H). The skills you have developed doing these things have given you valuable experience that will impress employers.

The bottom line is you actually have a lot more experience than you think you have.

Writing your first resume  can seem intimidating, but if you take it step-by-step, you will be able to put together a document that will highlight your abilities and show the hiring manager that you’re worth calling for an interview.

Start by mining your life experience and academic achievements to show you'll be an asset to the company even though you don't have any related job titles to show off at this stage in your career.

For your first resume, take the soft skills (also known as “people skills”) you have and show how they translate into success where you choose to apply them. Include volunteer experience, school achievements, sports, clubs, and organizations you belong to.

Scan the job descriptions for the positions to which you're applying. Look for keywords that indicate what the hiring manager values in a candidate.

For example, the job listing might say, "Successful candidate will be a self-starter who delivers on time and within budget." In that case, although you don't have relevant work experience in the same field, you can get the hiring manager's attention by being sure to include (and emphasize) projects that you've successfully led, such as high school clubs in which you held a leadership role that required you to manage both your time and the team's money.

Other people skills that employers often seek in entry-level job applicants include traits like dependability, good communication, organizational skills, a solid work ethic, and teamwork.

If you start with the job listings instead of a blank page, the hiring manager's keywords will guide you, and help you focus on which of your academic or after-school experiences have prepared you for this first step in your career.

Once you've compiled a list of what you need in your resume, it should include:

• Contact information
• Experience (casual work, volunteering, clubs, youth organizations, and teams)
• Skills (related to the job)
• Awards and Achievements (academic and extracurricular)

Tips for Preparing Your​​ First Resume

• Don't lie.  No matter how tempting it might be to stretch the truth, lying on your resume is always a bad idea. You might make it through this round of interviews and even get the job, but you won't be able to deliver on the promises your resume offered. Plus, you'll potentially be caught—and fired.
• Don't pad.  You don't need to include the line "references upon request," personal information beyond your contact information, or a bunch of unrelated hobbies. In fact, there's a lot of stuff you don't need to put on your resume, even when it's your first one.
• Proofread.  Nothing is less persuasive than a resume full of typos and inconsistencies. Have a trusted friend or family member  proofread your resume  before you submit it.

Download the resume template  (compatible with Google Docs and Word Online) to use as a starting point for your own resume.  

Resume Example (Text Version)

Michelle Washington 18 Sunnyside Boulevard Arlington, NY 16543 mwashington@email.com 111.123.1234

EDUCATION Arlington High School, Arlington, NY CLASS OF 2024 (3.9 GPA)

Pet Sitter — Arlington, NY JUNE 2022 - PRESENT

Established successful pet-sitting business including dog walking, feeding, and yard care. Responsible for obtaining clients, scheduling and attending visits, organizing visits, and maintaining client relationships.

Soup Kitchen Volunteer — Arlington, NY SEPTEMBER 2022 - PRESENT

Act as weekend/holiday volunteer manager at local soup kitchen, scheduling volunteer time slots, managing intake of donated food, and assisting with preparation and distribution of meals on Sundays and holidays including, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter.

Child Care Provider — Arlington, NY JUNE 2020 – JUNE 2022

Provided child care for several families after school, on weekends, and during school vacations.

SKILLS                                                  

Customer service Hospitality Microsoft Office Google Drive

AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS

National Honor Society Honor Roll President of Arlington High School Volunteer Club MVP, Arlington Varsity softball team

Here are more examples that you can use to get ideas for your own resume:

• Entry-Level Resume Example
• High School Student Resume Example
• High School Student Resume Template

Key Takeaways

Think about everything you've done. Incorporate casual jobs, volunteering, internships, extracurriculars, and community activities to showcase your skills and assets, even if you lack formal work experience.

Highlight your transferable skills. Emphasize soft skills like communication, dependability, organizational skills, and teamwork that align with the job requirements.

Tailor your resume to the job. Customize your resume for each application by including relevant keywords from the job description and focusing on experiences that demonstrate your fit for the position.

CareerOneStop. " Get Work Experience ."

CareerOneStop. " Resumes ."

How to Make a Resume With No Experience

You can lean on internships, class projects and extracurricular activities.

Making a resume early in your career feels like a classic catch-22: A good resume highlights relevant work experience, which you don’t get until you land a job.

The truth is you don’t always need professional experience for entry-level jobs. By highlighting your existing skills, coursework and extracurricular activities, you can craft a resume that will impress employers — even without work experience.

Writing a Resume With No Experience

• Start with a professional summary 
• Emphasize your education 
• Include relevant experience like internships and extracurriculars
• Highlight your accomplishments
• Showcase your skills 
• Don’t include a headshot, hobbies and other unnecessary details

Even if you don’t meet all the requirements described in a job description , there are still ways to write a resume that catches a company’s eye. First, you may want to get your hands on a resume template (word processors like Google Docs and Microsoft Word have resume templates to guide you with a general structure). From there, you can fill in the details by following the tips below.

1. Start With a Professional Summary

Career coaches have mixed opinions on including a short professional summary at the top of your resume. Lesa Edwards, founder of  Exclusive Career Coaching and the former director of the career center at  Truman State University , is in favor of a professional summary because it can set the stage and contextualize the experiences that follow. It also allows you to set yourself apart in a large stack of resumes. 

If you decide to include a professional summary, ask yourself: What do I bring to the table? What soft skills could I transfer over to this role? What do I have that other candidates don’t have? If written well, this two-to-three-sentence summary could encourage recruiters and hiring managers to take a closer look at your resume and cover letter.

2. Emphasize Your Education

If you recently graduated from college, put your education experience as one of the first headers on your resume. You should list your major, any academic honors and your GPA (if it is 3.5 or higher). The education section of your resume can also include a subsection for industry-relevant certifications . As your career progresses, you can bump your education section further down the resume to make room for more relevant professional experiences.

3. Include Relevant Experience and Activities 

Instead of focusing on the requirements you don’t meet, think about any transferable skills or experiences you might have gained from internships , extracurricular activities, part-time jobs, volunteering or school projects.

Jill Silman Chapman, director of early talent programs at Insperity , said she favors candidates who have a well-rounded set of experiences. It shows they are able to multitask, work in different types of environments and adapt to changing circumstances.

“In today’s workplace, we’re changing all the time,” she said. “That ability to adapt is critical.”

Internships

Internships are the best way to gain relevant work experience before entering the professional world. They offer an opportunity to apply the lessons you’ve learned in the classroom in real-world situations.

Part-Time Jobs

If you worked in a service industry job and you are seeking your first professional job after college, you could highlight soft skills , like time management skills needed to juggle school and work responsibilities. Customer service is an especially underrated skill, Silman Chapman said, because it translates to customer-facing roles and  interpersonal skills within the workplace.

Extracurricular Activities

This could include student government, fraternities and sororities or any number of campus organizations or community activities. Athletics is also a resume-booster in some industries, especially sales and other professions that tap into a competitive spirit. You might also note if you were an Eagle Scout, helped out at a peer tutoring program or volunteered your time in other ways that show you are engaged in your community.

Class Projects

Projects you worked on as part of a class or online certification program can also be incorporated into your resume. This could include your marketing class working on a semester-long campaign that culminated in a big presentation. If your class partnered with a company on a large project, that could be a relevant real-world experience for your resume.

Online certification programs are also a good way to gain professional experience, and often provide a chance to apply your learnings to a project, which can then be highlighted on your resume, said Karen Scully-Clemmons, assistant director of career services and employer relations at the  University of Texas at Austin . You’ll want to detail what you accomplished, what technologies you used and what you learned . If possible, you should also link to your project on your resume.

Related Reading How to Use the STAR Interview Method to Land a Job

4. Highlight Your Accomplishments

For each experience you list, showcase the results in bullet point format, and look for ways to quantify your results. For example, don’t just rattle off what you did as president of a school organization, highlight how many new members joined during your tenure or how much money you raised while leading fundraising efforts.  

These accomplishments don’t need to be groundbreaking, but you might have to reflect deeply and think creatively to recognize and articulate the value you provided in each role. Just be sure to align these accomplishments with the responsibilities in the job description. 

“Sometimes I think the hardest thing for students is to think of an achievement, because they think it has to be a super big deal,” Edwards said. “So much of it is a shift in mindset of what constitutes an achievement.”

5. Showcase Your Skills

For a skills section, you can include your software proficiencies, as well as soft skills like organization, time management, communication, adaptability to change and the ability to work as part of a team . If you are going to highlight soft skills, though, you should also include evidence of a role or situation in which you demonstrated those skills.

“It may not be numbers, dollars or percentages,” Edwards said, “but maybe you could talk about how you took a leadership role in a class project that was presented to a community organization.”

Related Reading 5 Things New Grads Need to Know About the Job Market

6. Don’t Include These Elements

You only have so much space on your resume, so be sure to leave off these unnecessary details. 

Objective Statement 

Don’t include an “objective” statement that lays out what you are looking for in a job. Instead of talking about what you want, use that space to describe what value you can offer the employer. 

Hobbies and Interests

While you might think a job is related to your hobbies and interests, Edwards said these are of little practical interest to recruiters and hiring managers. Leave them out of your resume.  

A GPA below 3.5 is not likely to win over a company, and a GPA below 3.0 could only hurt your chances. Only include your GPA if it’s above 3.5.   

Headshot or Photo

Recruiters and hiring managers don’t need or want to see what you look like. Unless you are applying for an acting job, don’t attach a picture to your resume because it could be potentially used to discriminate against you. 

Your Full Address

In the electronic age, there is no need to put your address on your resume. Providing your city and state is typically enough, unless an online application requires your full address.  

Graphics  

Don’t employ resume templates with fancy graphics: most companies use applicant tracking systems (ATS) , which can’t read resumes that are decorated with graphics, special fonts, columns and other formatting tools.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can i put on my resume if i have no experience.

In lieu of professional experience, you could highlight your education, skills, internships, extracurricular activities, part-time jobs, volunteering experiences and school projects.

How to write a professional summary for a resume with no experience?

A well-written professional summary will draw upon the experience you’ve gained from school, internships and other extracurricular activities to demonstrate the impact you have made and the value you would bring to your desired role.

How do you say you have no experience but are willing to learn?

Employers are often willing to train entry-level candidates who have shown initiative and a hard work ethic in school, internships and extracurricular activities. You can emphasize your willingness to learn through your professional summary statement on the top of your resume or through the cover letter that accompanies the resume.

Do I need a resume if I don't have experience?

Yes, you need a resume when applying for a job, regardless of your experience. Most word processors, like Google Docs and Microsoft Word, offer free resume templates to get you started.

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How to Make a Resume for Your First Job (+ Template)

Learn how to build your first resume, even with no prior work experience.

If you’re looking for your first job, you may be wondering what to put on your resume. While you may not have any formal job experience yet, you almost certainly have gained skills and other experiences through your education and extracurricular activities. 

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how to write a resume for your first job when you have no experience. Learn how to identify your most marketable skills and experiences, and how to format your resume to show them off.

What is a resume?

A resume is a formal document that presents your background, accomplishments, and skills to potential employers. When you submit a job application, your resume is typically the first thing a recruiter or hiring manager looks at to evaluate whether you’re a good fit for the role.

Did you know?

Outside of the United States and in academic settings, a resume is often referred to as a Curriculum Vitae, or CV for short. The Latin term means “course of life.”

How to write a resume with no work experience

Many job listings ask for relevant experience. But just because you haven’t had a job before, doesn’t mean you don’t have experience. Your experience happens to come from outside the workplace. For a first job, your resume should concentrate on your academic achievements, as well as any informal work, volunteer experience, or extracurricular activities.

Here are some steps you can take to create a resume for your first job.

1. Pick the right layout.

The bulk of many resumes focuses on job experience, listed from latest to oldest. If you don’t have job experience to list, pick a resume format that includes an education section closer to the top.

2. Match your experiences to the job listing.

Writing a solid resume begins with studying the job description for the role you’re applying for. You want your resume to match up with what the company is looking for, so start by making a list of the key terms from the job description. 

Go through the job description, and write down or highlight all the abilities, skills, and values listed within. Pay close attention to those listed as required. 

Now, think about experiences in your own life that match up with the items on the list. If the job listing asks for someone with strong organizational skills, think about times when you’ve had to be particularly organized. Maybe you helped plan a school event or led a group project.

It’s okay if you don’t have something for every item. Keep this list nearby as you begin to fill in your resume template.  

3. Focus on your education.

You may find it helpful to start with the education section of your resume. List your school and dates attended, as well as:

Relevant coursework: Have you taken classes that relate to the job you’re applying for (or from your job description research)? Be sure to list them.

GPA: A strong GPA (typically a 3.5 or higher) can show employers that you have the skills and work ethic to succeed in the job.

Academic achievements: Also include anything else that demonstrates your ability to succeed academically—making the dean’s list or the National Honor Society for example.

Extracurricular activities: Focus on the activities that align with the job listing. Involvement in student council, for example, could demonstrate leadership skills, collaboration, and problem-solving. Playing a team sport shows that you can collaborate and manage your time.

Certifications or online courses: If you’ve taken any training, bootcamps, courses, or certification programs outside of school, include them here if relevant.

If you’re still enrolled in a program, list it as “in progress” with your anticipated graduation date.

Read more: How to List Education on a Resume

4. Highlight volunteer work and extracurricular activities.

Next, add in an experience section. While you may not have formal work experience, you should include any volunteer work, community activities, internships, or informal work experience (like tutoring, blogging, or helping with a family business) that’s relevant to the job. 

As you fill in this section, refer back to the list you created in Step 2. You don’t have to include everything; instead, focus on your experiences that align with terms that appear higher up in the job description, or those listed as required rather than preferred.

5. List your technical and human skills.

Include a list of skills as bullet points on your resume that highlights both your human skills and any technical skills you may have.

Technical vs. workplace skills

Human skills, sometimes called soft skills or workplace skills, are those that apply to just about any job. Some examples include communication, decision making, leadership, time management, and problem-solving. Technical or hard skills tend to be more job specific. These might include programming languages, software proficiency, or knowledge of a foreign language.

Read more: Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills: What's the Difference?

The skills you list in your resume should reflect what’s listed in the job description. For technical skills , also include your level of proficiency. If you’re still developing a skill, for example, you could write, “Familiar with Excel spreadsheets.”

It’s okay if you don’t have many technical skills to list. A study from job site LinkedIn found that 80 percent of companies value candidates with better workplace or human skills, which can be harder to teach [ 1 ]. The five most in-demand human skills in 2020, according to LinkedIn, were [ 2 ]:

Collaboration

Adaptability

Emotional intelligence

Build job-ready skills

Looking to add technical skills to your resume? Prepare for an entry-level job, develop in-demand skills, and get hands-on experience with a Professional Certificate in social media marketing, IT support, data analysis, project management, UX design, or cybersecurity on Coursera.

6. Write your resume objective.

This short statement goes at the top of your resume to summarize your skills. It’s usually a good idea to write this last once you have a better idea of what’s in your resume. Keep it to one or two sentences that state who you are, what you want, and what you can offer the employer.

Tips for preparing your first resume

Now that you’ve filled in most of your resume, here are some tips to help make it stand out:

Keep it to a single page. This is especially true if you’re not including work experience. Include what’s relevant to the job, and leave out the rest.

Use action verbs when describing your skills and experiences. Try to start sentences with verbs (e.g. designed, guided, led, improved, established, managed).

Include the same words and terms from the job listing. Many companies use what’s called an applicant tracking system (ATS) to sort applications by keywords. When you use the same words and phrases as the job description, you might increase your chances of getting your resume noticed.

Customize your resume for each job. Each job posting will have different keywords and requirements. You don’t have to start over each time, but make sure to adjust your resume for each job you apply to.

Proofread. Make sure your resume is free of any spelling, grammatical, or punctuation errors. If possible, ask a friend or family member to proofread for you as well.

Include your contact information , including your full name, phone number, and email address.

Student resume example

Here’s a resume sample for a high school graduate applying for a job as an IT technician:

First job resume template

When you’re ready to build your own unique strengths, experiences, and skills into your own resume, feel free to use this first job resume template as a starting point. 

Get job ready with Coursera

Whether you’re a high school student, college graduate, or working professional looking to switch careers, start building the in-demand skills you’ll need for a digital job with a Professional Certificate on Coursera. Explore options for data science, cybersecurity, IT support, and project management.

Related articles

10 Ways to Enhance Your Resume

16 Resume Tips to Help You Apply with Confidence

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How to Use Resume Sections to Shape Your Professional Story

Article sources

1. LinkedIn. " LinkedIn 2019 Talent Trends: Soft Skills, Transparency and Trust , https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-2019-talent-trends-soft-skills-transparency-trust-bersin/." Accessed August 10, 2022.

2. LinkedIn. " The Most In-Demand Hard and Soft Skills of 2020 , https://www.linkedin.com/business/talent/blog/talent-strategy/linkedin-most-in-demand-hard-and-soft-skills." Accessed August 10, 2022.

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How to Write Your First Job Resume [For 2024]

So there you are, sitting in front of a screen, staring at a blank Word page for hours, with one task at hand: writing your first job resume.

Where do you even start?

And most importantly: How do you fill those 1-2 pages when you have no work experience?

We feel your struggle and we’re here to help!

In this article, we’re going to guide you through the entire process of creating a first job resume from start to finish.

Let’s dive right in, shall we?

How to Write Your First Job Resume

• Pick the right resume template
• Write down your contact information (correctly)
• Include a resume objective
• List your education (in detail)
• Instead of work experience, focus on…
• Highlight your skills
• Mention optional sections
• Stick to the one-page limit
• Get inspired by a first-job resume example

Don’t worry, we’re going to cover all of the above in detail!

Starting with the first step:

#1. Pick the Right First Job Resume Format and Template

There are 3 main resume formats you can pick from. Each of them highlights a different part of your resume.

• Reverse-Chronological Resume - In this format, your work experiences and education are listed in reverse-chronological order. 
• Functional Resume - Instead of work experience, this format focuses on your skills and achievements.
• Combination (or Hybrid) Resume - This format focuses on both your skills and work experience.

For 99% of job-seekers, we recommend sticking with the reverse-chronological format.

While a functional resume can sometimes help for career changers or recent graduates, it’s still nowhere near as common as the reverse chronological one.

Plus, recruiters world-wide are familiar with the reverse-chronological format, making it a safer bet.

A reverse-chronological resume looks as follows:

Once you’ve picked the format, the next step is to perfect your layout, font, and the like. Here’s what we recommend for that:

• Use a Two-Column Layout. A two-column resume layout allows you to fit a lot more content into your resume.
• Pick a Common Font. We recommend Ubuntu, Overpass, or Roboto.
• Use Bullets to Describe Your Experiences.
• Don’t Go Over One Page. Unless you’re a professional with a decade of work experience, we recommend sticking to the one-page resume limit.

Want to avoid all the hassle of formatting your resume layout? We don’t blame you - if you wanted to build a good-looking resume from scratch, it would take you hours before you could even start filling it in.

Thankfully, there’s an easier way out: using a resume builder.

With Novoresume, all you have to do is pick a template, and fill in the contents. It’s that simple.

And on top of that, Novorésumé resumes are ATS-friendly . Meaning, your resume won’t be swallowed up by an applicant tracking system just because it can’t read it.

Want to get started with Novorésumé? Browse our resume templates .

#2. Write Down Your Contact Information (Correctly)

It’s important for the recruiter to have at least two ways of reaching back to you.

Meaning, you should always provide your contact information in your resume . That includes: 

• First and last name
• Phone number

Apart from these must-haves, you can also provide:

• LinkedIn URL - This is a good way to complement your resume. It also makes the recruiter’s life easier since they usually check your LinkedIn profile anyway. Make sure all information is updated and consistent with your resume, though.
• Relevant social media (like Quora or StackOverflow) - Any social media that is related to the job position and puts you in good light should be included in your resume. In most cases. If you’re a developer, it could be projects on GitHub. Writer? Personal blog.
• Website or blog - Again, this should be something related to the job. It shows your interest and dedication to the industry and how you spend some of your free time.

When it comes to your contact information, the key is to write everything correctly . Double-check you’ve spelled your name and email right, make sure the phone number you’ve listed can be reached, and that the accounts you have linked to are up to date . 

Something else you should know regarding location is how much detail you should be providing. 

The reason recruiters want to know your location is so that they have an idea of whether you’re in the vicinity of the company or not (and if you’ll need to relocate for work). 

That means, providing the city and country where you live will be enough. No need for your full home address. 

#3. Include a Resume Objective

Recruiters spend on average 7 seconds scanning each resume before deciding if it’s worth more consideration or not. 

That means your resume has about 7 seconds to leave a great first impression and convince the recruiter you’re the person they’re looking for.

A good resume objective does that for you. 

A resume objective is a 2-3 sentence snapshot of your skills, achievements, and career goals . Its purpose is to communicate your motivation for getting into the field and your interest in this particular position. 

This makes it ideal for the first job resume of a recent graduate or somebody who’s changing careers. Basically, any resume with no work experience . 

Your resume objective should be tailored to the position you are applying for and highlight skills that will help the company achieve its goal. Use as many facts and numbers as you can to back up any statements or achievements. 

• Creative and motivated recent graduate with a B.A. in Marketing from the University of Michigan. Seeking permanent employment in the field of marketing after completing successful internships in 2 major media companies. Looking to further develop my market analysis skills and contribute to future marketing strategy developments at XY Company.
• I am looking to put my marketing skills into action by initially working for the marketing department of a well-known company until I can finally get to an executive position.

#4. List Your Education (In Detail)

For starters, you should know how to list your education entries correctly in the following format:

• Program Name e.g.: B.A. in Information Systems
• University Name e.g.: University of Chicago
• Years Attended e.g.: 07/2013 - 05/2017
• GPA (only if really high)
• Honors (If applicable) e.g. Cum Laude

Exchange Program (If applicable) e.g. Exchange program in Berlin, Germany

Apart from your skills, your education is the biggest selling point in your first job resume. This is not the place to be humble and play down your achievements!

Write down your GPA (if it’s something impressive), emphasize your honors, and most importantly, highlight your academic achievements by describing them in detail.  

What you can also do is list specific courses that you have taken that are relevant to the position you are applying for. 

Here’s an example of what an entry on the education section should look like:

B.A. in English Literature (Cum Laude)

Boston University

07/2014 - 05/2018

• Courses: Advanced Topics in Literature: Shakespeare’s Work 
• Clubs: Boston University Drama Club
• Exchange program in London, UK

#5. Instead of Work Experience, Focus On This

As a recent graduate, the recruiter knows you don’t have any work experience - and that’s OK. As long as you’re applying for a junior or entry-level position, the experience isn’t something expected from you.

Instead, the recruiter will be looking for other experiences that enrich your profile, like:

• Internships
• Extracurricular Activities

When talking about these experiences, format them just like you’d format your work experience. 

Business Analyst Internship

AAA Company

Milan, Italy

05/2019 - 12/2019

• Ran weekly and monthly analysis on diverse areas of the business
• Created insightful reports of the analysis to present to managers and teams
• Defined strategic KPIs, in order to monitor the efficiency of commercial operations

When possible, try to focus on listing your achievements and not your responsibilities. This will help you stand out from the rest of the applicants.

Haven’t done any internships? Include extracurricular activities.

More often than not, an applicant with extracurricular activities and an average GPA will impress the recruiter much more than a 4.0 GPA student with nothing else to show. When listing your extracurricular activities, each entry should have the following format:

Moot Court Club Member

2017 - 2019

• Participated for two years in a row at the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, making it to the finals in 2019
• Researched and prepared written pleadings, called memorials addressing timely issues of public international law
• Helped train the new club members in topics of international law

Finally, you can also list independent projects, if you have any. Think, something you did on the side just for yourself. This can be a personal project, small business or startup, side-gig, blog, etc.

Amy’s Book Club Blog

2018 - Present

• Created my own book club website for reviewing and discussing the latest books.
• Curated a monthly book calendar for my followers to follow, combining trending, relevant, and classic books.
• Created over 40 book review articles.
• On average, received 2000 visitors per month to the blog.

#6. Highlight Your Skills

The two types of skills you can mention on your resume are soft skills and hard skills.

Soft skills are attributes that help you adapt to work environments, work in a team, and apply your hard skills effectively. They are related to your personality, social skills, communication, attitude, etc.

Hard skills refer to technical knowledge and specific tools. They are skills that one learns and applies directly to the job. Some examples of hard skills include:

• Financial accounting
• Adobe Illustrator

Although soft skills are becoming more and more in demand by employers , for your first job resume, we recommend sticking to hard skills. 

Sure, attributes like “teamwork” or “critical thinking” are much appreciated by just about any employer. 

The thing is, though, the recruiter can’t really tell if you actually have critical thinking skills, or just listed it on your resume to fill space.

Hard skills, on the other hand, are very easy to test.

Tailor Skills to the Job Ad

Not sure which skills to mention in your first job resume?

The simplest way to find the essential ones is to check the job ad.

The recruiter themselves mentioned the skills they’re looking for - the only thing you need to do is mention them in your resume (as long as you have them, anyway).

Let’s say you’re applying for a graphic designer position that wants the following qualifications and skills:

• Adobe Creative Suite proficiency, particularly InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop and Acrobat; XD, Animate and/or After Effects are a plus
• Working knowledge of presentation software (Canva, PowerPoint and/or Keynote)
• Ability to work under pressure, manage work on multiple projects daily, manage a large workload and meet deadlines.
• Detail-oriented, highly organized

Based on that, your skills section should include the following:

• Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and Acrobat
• After Effects and Cinema4D
• Canva and Keynote
• Time management
• Detail-oriented

If the job ad isn’t too descriptive, you can also check out these 101+ most in-demand skills for 2024 . 

#7. Mention Optional Sections

Still have some space on your resume?

That’s not a bad thing! You can use this space to your advantage and add some other useful sections.

Here are some ideas:

• Volunteering - If you have some volunteering experience, make sure to include it in your first job resume. Such a section shows commitment, dedication, and a sense of purpose, something most recruiters will appreciate.
• Languages - With companies becoming more and more international, additional languages are always appreciated.
• Hobbies - You can show your genuine interest in the industry or field by listing some relevant hobbies/interests.
• Awards & Certifications - Whether it’s an award from an essay competition in college or a certificate from an online course, anything that flatters your profile should be added.

#8. Stick to the One-Page Limit

“ How long should a resume be? ” seems like an eternal dilemma at this point. 

Generally, the answer is: it depends. 

Since you’re making a first job resume, the answer is: definitely one page . 

Unless you have an extensive employment history that can’t fit into one page, there’s no need to go over that limit. 

It’s unlikely that the recruiter will want to look at two pages of extracurriculars and hobbies. 

#9. Get Inspired by This First-Job Resume

Need some inspiration for your resume? Check out the resume examples below.

First Job Resume FAQ 

Still have some questions on how to write a convincing first job resume?

We’ll answer them here.

1. What do I put on my no-experience resume?

There’s plenty of other things you can include in your resume instead of work experience. For starters, you should:

• Focus on your education, making sure the entries are formatted correctly.
• Pick the right skills that match what the employer is looking for.
• Talk about internships, personal projects, or extracurricular activities. Describe your achievements in detail.

If you still have some space left, you could use it to your advantage and add extra sections like volunteer work, languages, awards & certificates, or hobbies.

2. Is a resume necessary for a first job?

Depending on the region, a resume or CV is always necessary for a job application, be it the first or the 20th. 

Before deciding if they should call you for an interview, the recruiters need to have some insight into you and your skills.

3. Do I need work experience to land my first job?

Short answer: You don’t! 

If you’re a recent graduate, it’s a given that you won’t have any work experience. Most employers don’t actually expect years of work experience for an entry-level or junior position. 

Instead, they’ll be looking at your other types of experiences (internships, extracurricular activities, etc.) to decide on whether you’re a good fit for the job or not.

4. How do you write a resume for your first job?

The process is quite similar to the one for writing a regular resume, but with a few tweaks.

The exact steps for creating a first job resume are:

• Instead of work experience, focus on extracurricular activities, internships, projects, etc.

Key Takeaways

Writing your first job resume doesn’t have to be stressful!

Remember the following tips and you’ll do just fine:

• Pick the right format and template to avoid the hassle of formatting your resume. Make sure to pick an ATS-friendly resume template.
• Write a concise and attention-grabbing resume objective. Show the recruiter that you’re relevant for the role and that they should read the rest of your resume.
• Instead of work experience, include information on your internships, projects, and extracurricular activities.

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How To Write A Resume In 7 Steps (With Examples)

• How To Write A Resume
• Resume Skills Section
• Resume Objective Section
• Career Objective Section
• Resume Reference Section
• Resume Summary Section
• Resume Summary Example
• Resume Interests Section
• Address On Resume
• Relevant Work Experience
• Anticipated Graduation Date On Resume
• Education Section On Resume
• Contact Information On Resume
• Statement Of Qualifications
• How To List Publications On Resume
• Accomplishments On Resumes
• Awards On Resume
• Dean's List On Resume
• Study Abroad On Resume

Resumes are still the most important document in your job search . Generating a professional and interesting resume isn’t easy, but there is a standard set of guidelines that you can follow. As hiring managers usually only spend a short time looking over each resume, you want to make sure that yours has a reason for them to keep reading.

If you’re looking to write a resume, rewrite a resume you already have, or are just curious about resume format, then you’ve come to the right place. This article will go through the steps to writing an excellent resume, as well as offering examples for what sections of the resume should look like.

Key Takeaways:

A resume is a short document that details your professional history in a way that tailors your experience and skill set for the particular job you’re applying for.

Resumes follow a few standard formatting practices, which hiring managers and recruiters expect to see.

Highlighting your work experience, skills, and educational background with relevant keywords can help you get past applicant tracking systems and into more interviews.

How to write a resume

Writing a resume involves using the proper formatting, writing an introduction, and adding your work experience and education. Stuffing your entire professional life into a single page resume can feel overwhelming, but remember that you’re distilling the relevant parts of your professional experience in order to catch the eye of the recruiter .

Formatting your resume. To start, use a word processor such as Microsoft Word or Google docs. Standard resume formatting calls for:

1 inch margins

10-12 point font

A professional, commonly-used font

Additionally, there are three resume formats that are commonly used. Most people should stick with a chronological resume format , but the combination resume format and functional resume format can be effective for more advanced workers or those who have significant gaps in their resume.

Write a resume header . It doesn’t matter if you have the best resume in the world if the hiring manager can’t contact you. Every single resume should include the following contact information:

Your full name. First and last.

Your phone number. Use a personal phone number, and make sure your voicemail is set up properly.

Your email address. Nothing inappropriate — [email protected] is a safe choice.

Location. City, State, Zip Code is fine, but you can include your full mailing address if you think it’s appropriate.

Your social media (optional). LinkedIn is the obvious one you’d want to include, but make sure your profile looks good. If you have an online portfolio , either on a personal blog/website or on a site like Journo Portfolio , feel free to include that here as well.

Your job title. Also optional, but can be useful for applicant tracking systems.

Resume introduction. You have four options for your resume introduction: a resume objective, summary statement, resume profile, or qualifications summary. For most job-seekers, a resume summary statement is the best choice. Regardless of which resume introduction you choose, avoid first-person pronouns (I/me/my).

Resume objective. A resume objective is the goal of your resume. Since the objective of every resume is to land a job, this is not the most original or impressive opener you can have.

On the other hand, it’s a good choice for an entry-level applicant or someone who is changing career paths . This should be a 1-3 sentence summary of why you’re motivated to get the position you’re applying for.

Who should use a resume objective: Entry-level applicants, career-changers, and recent college graduates.

Resume summary. This is the best opener for most job-seekers. As the name suggests, a resume summary highlights the most salient aspects of your resume.

It should include your current position, how many years of experience you have, some of your biggest achievements, and possibly your career goals. This should be a 1-3 sentence spiel and should include some quantifiable experiences.

Who should use a resume summary: Most job seekers; anyone with quantifiable accomplishments to emphasize and a broad range of skills.

Qualifications summary. A bullet point list (4-6 points is the sweet spot) of your qualifications for the position. It’s best used by applicants going for jobs that require a fixed skill set. It’s not a great choice for entry-level applicants who lack quantifiable achievements.

You’ll notice that a qualifications summary takes up more space than a resume objective or summary, but it can actually save the hiring manager time if you provide a bunch of valuable information right off the top.

Who should use a qualifications summary: Those applying to a job with requirements for certain skills and job-seekers who have a lot of experience in their industry and/or field.

Resume profile. A resume profile is similar to a resume summary, but goes into more detail about your accomplishments at your current or former job, while also telling the reader about your career goals. Think of a resume profile as a section that pulls all the best parts of your work experience section into one place.

Who should use a resume profile: Anyone with significant accomplishments under their belt, expertise in a niche field, or applying to a job in the same industry that they have lots of experience in.

Resume headline. Resume headlines aren’t necessary, but you can include one alongside any of the four types of resume introduction listed above. A resume headline comes between your contact information and the resume introduction of your choice.

Headlines can be used by entry-level applicants and experienced job-seekers alike. The important point is that your headline should be short and to the point. Additionally, you should use title case when writing your resume headline (capitalize words as you would for a book title).

Who should use a resume headline: Any job-seeker who wants to showcase their experience or unique value right off the bat.

Work experience. Your work experience section is the place to let hiring managers know that you have relevant experience that would allow you to handle the job you’re applying for.

If you’re using the chronological resume format, your work experience section would come after your resume summary/objective. In a funcitonal reumse, it would follow your skills section. Either way, work experience should be listed in reverse-chronological order (most recent experience at the top).

When listing your work experience, you should include all of the following information:

Job title. Start by stating the position you held at the company. These are easy cue for the hiring manager to look at and determine whether your past positions would help you succeed at their company.

Company Info. Include the name of the employer, the location where you worked, and perhaps a brief description of the company, if it isn’t a well-known name.

Dates Employed: Use the mm/yyyy format if you want to be sure that most applicant tracking systems (ATS) will pick it up. Whatever format you use for dates, be consistent, or your resume will look sloppy.

Job Description. Don’t just list your job’s responsibilities; hiring managers and recruiters already have an idea of your duties based on the job title. Instead, list your most important and impressive responsibilities/achievements at the job with bullet points. Determine which of these are most relevant for your new role based on the job description.

Ideally, each bullet should be no longer than a single line. However, two lines is acceptable, if used sparingly.

Always start with a strong action verb, followed by a quantifiable achievement and a specific duty. For example: “Developed ad campaigns for clients, increasing sales by an average of 27%.” Each job title should include 3-5 bullet points.

The order that you include this information can be changed around, as long as you are consistent throughout your resume. However, the bullet points detailing your job’s achievements should always be the last item for each entry.

It’s important that you tailor your resume’s work experience section to the job you’re applying for. We recommend reading the job description carefully and highlighting the action verbs in one color and the skills, adjectives, and job-specific nouns in a different color.

Educational background. In almost all cases, your education section should come after your professional history. If you’re a recent college graduate with limited work experience, you may choose to put your educational achievements first.

Like the section on your professional history, educational experiences should come in reverse-chronological order, with your highest level of education at the top. If you have a college degree, you don’t need to add any information about your high school experience. If you didn’t finish college, it’s okay to give a list of what credits you did complete.

Each educational experience can be listed in the following format:

Degree/Program Name College/University Name Dates attended

You don’t need to add anything else, especially if your resume is already impressive enough. But if you’re struggling to fill up the page, or you feel that aspects of your educational experience will help make you a standout, you may consider also including:

Minor. If you think it rounds out your not-exactly-relevant-to-the-job major nicely.

GPA. Only if it was 3.5 or higher. Otherwise, it’s not going to do you any favors to include this.

Honors. Dean’s List, Cum Laude, etc.

Achievements. If you wrote a killer thesis/dissertation that showcases intimate knowledge relevant to the job to which you’re applying, you can include its title and a very brief description.

Extracurricular activities. Only include if they’re relevant. For example, if you’re applying for a management position and you were president of your student government.

Certifications/Licenses. If the job you’re applying for requires/likes to see certain certifications or licenses that you have, you may include them in this section as well.

Skills section. Your impressive skills should be scattered logistically throughout your professional history section, but you should also include a section solely dedicated to highlighting your skill set . Skills can be broken down into two categories:

Hard skills are skills you learn through training and indicate expertise with a technical ability or job-specific responsibility.

Soft skills are your personality traits, interpersonal abilities, and intangible qualities that make you more effective at your job.

Your resume should have a healthy mix of hard and soft skills, as both are essential to job performance. However, since soft skills are harder to prove in the context of a resume, we recommend leaning more toward hard skills. Additionally, whenever you list a soft skill, make sure that it has a correlating item in your work experience section.

For example, if you say you are skilled in collaboration, you should mention a time when a team project was a major success somewhere in your work experience section.

Optional sections. If you still have space left or there’s more you want to show off that doesn’t quite fit in any of the above sections, you may consider adding an additional section covering one or more of the below categories:

Language . Being bilingual is always impressive, and can be included on a resume for any company. Highlight this more if your position involves liaising with international distributors and/or clients. Don’t lie about your proficiency level.

It may be best to not mention it if you’re not particularly proficient speaker . Such as if you took courses in school, or haven’t really managed to gain fluency. It can end up looking like an attempt to inflate your credentials, which you want to avoid.

Volunteer experience . Always a good thing to include. It shows you’re a team player who behaves in a way that promotes the greater good, without thought of personal gain. Especially good for entry-level candidates and those applying for jobs at a non-profit. If you have gaps in your work history, you can also consider including volunteer experiences in your work history section instead.

Personal projects. A personal blog, published works, or a portfolio of your past projects are all good things to include. They show you take initiative, enjoy and take pride in your work, and that you can handle the responsibilities of the job, if relevant.

Certifications/licenses. If you didn’t include these in your education section, this is another good place to list relevant certifications or licenses that you have.

Interests . This is largely just a space filler if your resume is light in other areas. However, if your hobbies are directly related to the job that you’re applying for, it’s not a bad idea to include them. And it might draw a recruiter’s attention if you end up sharing some of the same interests as they do.

If you have several seemingly random items that are valuable, but don’t warrant creating a whole separate section for, you can also make a section called “Additional Experience.” Here you can include all of the above categories in one place. Just make sure that each item is clear and easy for readers to understand.

Resume samples

Now that we have a good idea of how to write a resume, let’s take a look at some example resumes:

Jack Pilgrim Washington , DC 14015 – (555) 444-3333 – [email protected] – www.linkedin.com/jpilgrim Resume Summary Graphic designer with 3+ years of experience creating and implementing promotional materials and social media graphics. Worked with sales and marketing teams to increase inbound calls by 23% YoY through compelling digital media. Adept at planning, managing, and prioritizing multiple deadlines at once, and thrives in fast-paced work environment. Work Experience Creative Designs | Washington, DC Lead Graphic Designer | June 2018-Present Worked with sales and marketing teams to create landing pages, sales proposals, and supporting media elements to drive sales by over $250,000 per quarter Trained, managed, and mentored team of 4 junior designers to fulfill 40+ project orders on a weekly basis Conducted UX research through surveys, usability testing, and data analysis to plan content marketing strategy, driving organic search traffic by 12% Presented proposals, results, and status updates to set of 4-7 clients, ensuring customer satisfaction at or above 95% for 3 years straight Happy Place | Alexandria, VA Junior Graphic Designer | July 2016-May 2018 Translated client needs and branding strategies into design and content strategy, increasing client retention by 22% Reduced project turnaround time by 8% by Utilizing web-based ticket system for completing and archiving finalized pieces Posted digital artwork to network IPTV using web interface to produce high-end info-graphics and other materials Happy Place | Alexandria, VA Marketing Intern | September 2015-July 2016 Assisted marketing team with data collection, analysis, and presentation using Google Analytics Drew up storyboards for new marketing campaigns alongside sales team, increasing brand awareness through social media Wrote 500-1000 word articles to pair with graphical elements on page, leading to a 40% boost in engagement on company website Education Savannah College of Art and Design | Savannah, Georgia May 2016 Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design Skills Adobe Creative Suite Typography HTML/CSS WordPress Collaboration Organization

Allison Neederly Chicago, Illinois , 60007 | (333) 222-1111 | [email protected] | www.linkedin.com/allison.neederly Resume Summary Dedicated customer service representative with 4+ years experience resolving customers’ needs in-person, online, and over the phone. Top achiever at XYZ Inc. with a 100% customer satisfaction rate for Q1 of 2020. Friendly personable, and knowledgable about company’s products and services. Relevant Skills Customer Service Responded to upwards of 200 customer queries daily with XYZ Inc., reducing the average wait time by 56% and increasing customer satisfaction rates by 13% Ability to resolve conflict and create a positive atmosphere for shopping for both new and existing customers through technical proficiency Expert product knowledge and communication skills, and experience training and mentoring new customer service staff Web Chat and Phone Skilled in 3 web chat platforms for helping online customers resolve their queries quickly and accurately Achieved fastest call resolution rate at XYZ Inc., with an average resolution time of under 5 minutes per customer Performed outbound calls for customer satisfaction surveys, as well as writing web-based surveys for 10,000+ customers Troubleshooting Detailed product knowledge allowed for customer technical issues to be resolved at rate within top 5% of all customer service associates at XYZ Inc. Created manual for step-by-step directions for troubleshooting that was implemented for team of 100+ customer service reps Positive attitude took average tech-related negative response from 1/5 stars to 4/5 stars, increasing trust in brands and services Work Experience XYZ Inc. | Philadelphia, PA Customer Service Associate New Look Global | Burlington, VT Junior Customer Service Representative L.L. Bean | Burlington, VT Sales Associate Education University of Vermont | Burlington, VT May 2012 Bachelor of Arts in Humanities

Priya Laghari New York, NY | (222) 111-0000 | [email protected] | www.priyabizdev.com Resume Profile Strategy Development: Grew John Deere’s international sales by 13% by tapping into undeserved countries in Southeast Asia Management: Oversaw a team of managers representing marketing, sales, and product teams. Streamlined collaborative, cross-functional communications through agile and scrum management system CRM: Developed, customized, and implemented new customer relationship management database for accounts totaling over $10M in value Work Experience Business Development Manager 01/2015-Present Microsoft | Redmond, WA Developed product strategies and roadmap for Google AdWords, increasing inbound traffic by 26% YoY Reduced time training on new software by 50% for new and existing employees by implement e-learning programs Spearheaded digital marketing campaign worth $1M that saw a return of 200% in first year by qualifying leads earlier in the sales funnel Regional Sales Manager 11/2012-01/2015 Big Things Inc. | St. Louis, MO Managed territory encompassing 29 regional locations with an annual revenue of approx. $55M Worked with C-level executives to plan business strategies, resulting in 20% reduction in overhead costs Increased client retention by 12% in first year by implementing a CRM approach based on account profiling and elevating levels of relationship selling Account Manager 02/2009-11/2012 Solutions Corp. | Chicago, IL Implemented and developed CRM strategic plans, increasing retention of long-term clients by 22% Maintained 50+ accounts totaling over $35M in value Generated leads through one-on-one consultation via phone inquiries, online check-ins, and meeting office walk-ins Relevant Skills CRM: Proficient with Salesforce, Zoho, and HubSpot; some experience with Keap. Used various CRM software over a decade to successfully manage customer relations and quick to adapt to new software and tools that aid in quality of customer experience. Salesmanship: Negotiated and closed over several deals worth $1M+ and skilled in upselling and cross-selling. Adept at working closely with marketing and product teams to maximize the efficiency of the sales funnel for both inbound and outbound traffic. Presentation: Represented Microsoft Northwest Region at quarterly board meetings, ensuring all stakeholders were kept abreast of new developments and opportunities. Also deliver monthly presentations to big clients and vendors to maintain positive relationship. Data analytics. Expert at integrating data from various analytics platforms, including Google, Microsoft Power BI, and SAP BusinessObjects Education Colgate University | May 2008 MBA Fordham University | May 2006 Bachelor’s Degree in Business

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Resume builder

Resume Headers Samples:

Tip : Never put your contact info in the header of your document; some applicant tracking systems might miss it.

For more on how to write a resume header:

Resume Header

Resume Titles

Resume introduction examples

Entry-Level Resume Objective.

Recent graduate with a bachelor’s in Marketing from the University of Virginia seeking an entry-level role in content marketing. Excellent copywriter with 2+ years experience editing content as a member of the UVa Writing Center.

Career Change Resume Objective.

Eager to apply 7+ years of experience with customer success management to make successful outbound B2B calls, deliver customized business solutions to new and existing customers, and provide expert product knowledge in the role of Account Manager for XYZ Inc.

Example Resume Summary Statement.

Accountant with over 8 years of experience in the medical industry. Adept at advising on management of cash deficits, reconciling departmental accounts, and creating new accounts and codes. Coordinated invoice preparation system for ABC that reduced contractor overhead by 19% YoY.

English teacher with a love of language and 6 years of experience teaching high school students. Developed new curriculum that boosted freshman reading comprehension scores by 12% and created after school book club for AP Lit class, resulting in 100% of participating students achieving a 5 on the AP Lit test.

Example Qualifications Summary.

Executive assistant with 5+ years experience helping maintain efficiency in an office of 25 employees Communicated directly with internal and external stakeholders, helping Senior Vice President manage projects worth $5M+ Proactively managed office schedules, identifying and prioritizing changes to ensure client satisfaction Recognized in a company of 500 for “Outstanding Achiever” in May 2019

Example Resume Profile.

Detail-oriented IT Specialist with 4 years of experience overseeing and improving the infrastructure of IT systems. Adept at building and running troubleshooting systems and testing services. Decreased security risk by 47% through continual optimization, while also improving the speed of client portal by 22%. Excellent communicator both internally and for client-facing discussions. Achieved 98%+ customer satisfaction ratings through weekly and monthly check-ins with accounts valued cumulatively at $500,000.

Entry-Level Resume Headline.

Bilingual College Graduate with 80 WPM Typing Speed and Tutoring Experience

Experienced Resume Headline.

Business Development Specialist with 6+ Years Experience Scaling Start-Up Tech Teams

For more on resume introductions:

Resume objective statement

Resume summary statement

Resume summary statement examples

Qualifications summary

Sample resume work experience sections

Work Experience XYZ Industries | Seattle, WA Marketing Associate | May 2019-Present Delivered weekly presentations to client-base to communicate brand messaging, increasing client retention by 11% Served as liaison between marketing and product teams, resulting in projects finishing 2 weeks early, on average Leveraged Excel skills to create and maintain spreadsheet to track consumer insights, emergent trends, and inform decisions of marketing team through competitive analysis Managed team of 5 contractors to juggle multiple priority projects simultaneously, never missing a deadline Initiated an affiliate referral program that PR team went on to turn into a revenue-generating stream valued at $30,000 annually ABC Corp | Seattle, WA Marketing Intern | September 2018-May 2019 Developed, maintained, and processed 20+ digital consent forms and distributor forms Worked collaboratively with a team of 10 marketing professionals, closely aligning our goals with the PR team Provided data analysis using Google Analytics and performed keyword research to increase blog traffic by 56% over six months Answered up to 50 customer queries by phone and email each week

For more on building the perfect resume work experience section:

Resume work experience section

First resume (no experience)

Examples Of Education Resume Sections

Graduated recently from a 4-year program.

Western Illinois University | Macomb, Illinois May 2020 Bachelor of Arts in Sociology | Minor in Psychology 3.95 GPA magna cum laude Dean’s List all semesters

Two degrees.

Fordham University | Bronx, New York April 2016 Master of Chemical Engineering Stony Brook University | Stony Brook, New York April 2014 Bachelor of Science in Chemistry

Anticipated graduation date (not yet graduated).

DePaul Univeristy | Chicago, Illinois Bachelor of Arts in History – Degree anticipated May 2021 Current GPA: 3.8

Older job seeker (graduated 10+ years ago).

University of Chicago | Chicago, Illinois Bachelor of Business Administration

High school graduate (no college degree).

Johnston High School 2016-2020 Head of Computer Club

More on crafting the perfect resume education section:

Education resume section

GPA on resume

Dean’s list

Magna cum laude

Examples Of Skills For Resume

Examples of hard skills include:

Examples of soft skills include:

Here’s more information on how to incorporate skills into your resume:

Resume skills section

Hard skills

Soft skills

Top skills for professionals

Skills-based resume

Resume writing FAQ

What is a resume?

A resume is a one to two-page document that focuses on professional experience, past achievements, education and certifications, and specific skills tailored to the job you’re applying for.

Almost every job application requires a resume, and hiring managers use them as a first impression in determining which applicants get a shot at an interview.

Whether you’re fresh out of college or have 30 years of professional experience, this guide should help craft a resume that stands out from the crowd and get you one step closer to landing your dream job.

What is the format for writing a good resume?

Most people will want to use a chronological or reverse-chronological resume format. This format is compatible with most applicant tracking systems (ATS) and is easy for employers to read. Additionally it helps highlight your experience, which helps prove your qualifications.

How far back should a resume go?

A resume should go back no further than 10 to 15 years. However, it is important that all your information is relevant. Therefore, do not include job experience that is irrelevant to your application, even if it’s fewer than 10 years old. Save that information for later discussions.

Should you personalize your resume for each job?

Yes, you should personalize your resume for each job you apply to. Many recruiters use ATS now, which will search for keywords in a resume and reject those that don’t have them. That means that the skills you choose to highlight as well as your opening, such as your resume summary, should be altered to suit each job you apply to.

You don’t need to rewrite the entire resume for each job, but it does show attention to detail and initiative to make sure that your resume is customized. It also makes it more likely that you’ll get past the first step of the process.

State of New York Department of Labor – Resumes, Cover Letters and Job Applications

Harvard University – Create a Resume/CV or Cover Letter

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Matthew Zane is the lead editor of Zippia's How To Get A Job Guides. He is a teacher, writer, and world-traveler that wants to help people at every stage of the career life cycle. He completed his masters in American Literature from Trinity College Dublin and BA in English from the University of Connecticut.

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Top Jobs That Require No Experience and How to Land One

By Kimberli Lowe-MacAuley

Does it seem like most entry-level roles still require one to three years of experience? You’re not imagining that. You’ve probably come across entry-level job postings that require some  experience, resulting in a catch-22 for your job search .

So, how do you find the best low or no-experience job when you’re just starting out? Your best move is to retarget your job search and build a new career in an industry that welcomes newcomers without any experience. To help you get started, we’ve listed a few suggestions for you below.

But before we dive into the details, let’s clarify what “no experience” means. Once you get on the same page with recruiters , gaining momentum in your job search is more manageable.

What Are “No Experience Jobs”?

The term “ entry-level ” means different things in different industries. And sometimes, the meaning can vary between recruiters. Finding an entry-level role can be frustrating until you understand which ones align with your experience level.

Let’s unpack that a bit. Some employers use “entry-level” to describe an entry point to a career. That entry point requires foundational knowledge and a bit of experience. Then, there are the “no experience” roles that might align better with your expectations— jobs that actually mean no industry-specific knowledge or skills are required .

There’s a twist, however. Recruiters aren’t looking for a blank slate. They’re looking for potential, adaptability, resilience, and a range of soft skills you already possess. Skills like time management , communication , and leadership are invaluable in any industry. While you might not have thought about experience in those terms, recognize that having no experience doesn’t mean showing up to the role with nothing to offer .

In fact, regardless of your career stage, you likely have quite a bit of real-life experience. For example, did you captain a school sports team, showcasing your leadership and team-building skills? Or, have you juggled part-time work while being a caregiver ? In that case, you’ve honed your time management and multitasking abilities. These life experiences can be just as valuable as professional ones.

With that understanding in your pocket, let’s dive into some industries where “no experience,” paired with your unique skill set, can open doors .

6 Top Jobs With No Experience Needed

The following industries are excellent for professionals looking for full-time or part-time jobs with no experience .

1. Administrative Jobs

Does organizing events or managing schedules come naturally to you? Step into an administrative job . In this role, you’ll help keep things running smoothly by executing the following:

• Coordinating team activities
• Drafting emails and managing an inbox for a department or executive
• Facilitating phone calls and scheduling appointments
• Maintaining and organizing essential files
• Scheduling travel and completing expense reports for an executive

Many administrative positions offer significant flexibility . Policies vary from company to company, but an administrative job’s flexibility might let you set up shop anywhere—on the sidelines of your child’s soccer game or at the local coffee house . An added advantage? The skills you’ll acquire are transferable and will pave the way for career growth.

Projected median salary : $39,680

Standard degree or certifications : Entry-level administrative jobs that don’t require a degree are prevalent . However, additional credentials can help build your marketability.

Explore more admin jobs here!

2. Call Center Jobs

Consider taking on a call center role if you’re a great listener and communicator. Pivotal to any company with a high volume of customer calls, your duties might include any of the following:

• Documenting interactions and customer feedback
• Managing inbound and outbound customer communications
• Navigating databases and customer management systems
• Processing orders or transactions
• Resolving customer inquiries and problems

Call center workers likely need to commit to specific working hours to help companies ensure adequate phone coverage throughout operating hours. Most companies also require a quiet, distraction-free work environment to provide an excellent customer experience. With robust potential for career growth, you could progress from problem-solving customer issues to leading a team or managing quality assurance .

Projected median salary : $36,920

Standard degree or certifications : Entry-level call center roles are some of the best jobs without degree requirements . When you’re ready for a promotion , it’s helpful to consider acquiring specialized certifications or training.

Explore more call center jobs here!

3. Customer Service Jobs

With a knack for solving problems and ensuring everyone is happy, a customer service role might be perfect for you. Customer service jobs are traditionally some of the best jobs that don’t require a degree and often entail:

• Documenting customer interactions
• Interacting with customers to address inquiries and complaints
• Processing transactions and orders
• Providing product and service information

The beauty of customer service roles lies in their flexibility. Many companies support traveling or working overseas . You’ll have the chance to fit work into your life, rather than adjusting your life around work. Throughout your career, cultivate key skills, like problem-solving and communication, and leverage them to move into leadership roles down the road.

Standard degree or certifications : A high school diploma usually suffices for customer service roles. However, a bachelor’s degree or career certifications can help you stand out from your competition .

Explore more customer support jobs here!

4. Data Entry Jobs

If you’re known for your attention to detail, why not channel that into a data entry job ? Typical responsibilities include:

• Checking data for accuracy
• Compiling and organizing data
• Inputting and maintaining information in databases
• Transcribing documents

Data entry roles often offer flexible schedules , and whether you want to balance  side gig or pursue a full-time job , growth opportunities are abundant. Data entry jobs sharpen your attention to detail and proficiency in data management systems, creating potential progression into data analysis roles.

Projected median salary : $36,190

Standard degree or certifications : Entry-level data entry jobs rarely require a degree . You can, however, gain an advantage as your career progresses with relevant degrees and certifications.

Explore more data entry jobs here!

5. Sales Jobs

Imagine turning your persuasive charm into a career. Taking a sales role with no experience, you’ll be trained on the job to handle customer acquisitions and learn closing skills. Essential duties in sales roles usually include:

• Documenting sales activity
• Identifying potential leads and clients
• Maintaining client relationships
• Meeting sales targets
• Presenting and selling products or services

While the sales industry has traditionally included some roles that support remote work , the growth in ecommerce has made working outside of a traditional office even more prevalent. When you need to work around your other commitments , sales should get a second glance. Hone critical skills, such as negotiation, communication, and customer engagement, for managerial or executive roles .

Projected median salary : $62,400

Standard degree or certifications : Many sales roles offer on-the-job training, making them ideal entry-level jobs . However, certifications in sales or software specializations, such as Salesforce , can provide an advantage.

Explore more sales jobs here!

6. Writing Jobs

When you have a flair for words but lack professional experience, there are still writing roles that offer a great starting point. Typical responsibilities may involve:

• Collaborating with clients or team members
• Conducting research for writing projects
• Creating content for various platforms
• Editing and proofreading content
• Ensuring written content meets guidelines and goals

These roles often support work-from-anywhere opportunities , which is perfect when you’re seeking inspiration beyond the office. As you level up your skills , you might grow into editing , content management , or publishing roles.

Projected median salary : $69,510

Standard degree or certifications : No degree is required to launch your career ; a portfolio often markets you best. That said, you might land more lucrative roles by leveraging industry certifications.

Explore more writing jobs here!

How to Get a Job With No Experience

Have you got your industry short list ready? Good. Now, the real action begins. It’s time to roll up your sleeves and hunt down that first job , even if experience is a sticking point. Here’s how you can build momentum and find a full-time or part-time role near you with no experience .

1. Compare Your Skills and Interests

Start your search by skimming entry-level posts in your chosen industry. Try to decode roles that are in sync with your unique character traits . For instance, a blogging gig could be right up your alley if you have a creative streak and a knack for storytelling. On the other hand, you might feel like a square peg in a round hole in a technical writing position.

Pro tip :  Use free AI software to help you reword your skills to match the job description. But never lie on your resume . Instead, adjust your vocabulary to fit the role, as applicant tracking systems don’t understand nuances or slang.

2. Craft a Base Resume

Build a blueprint. Have an up-to-date resume ready to be tailored for each job . Once you have a foundational resume, updating it with keywords from individual job postings is relatively quick and easy. Likewise, create a complementary cover letter , ensuring you customize it to fit each role. Highlighting your job fit is even more critical when looking for a job with no experience in the industry.

Pro tip : Customizing your resume for each role can be relatively quick and convenient. Create an easy-to-update resume summary and data-driven bullet points that apply to the entire industry you’re targeting. Then, update each submission with the applicable keywords from the job description .

3. Leverage Your Network

Networking is about more than just small talk at networking events . It’s about building connections both in person and online . Kick off your networking by listing everyone from your personal and professional life. Search for them on LinkedIn and initiate a professional connection . Be bold about sharing your job search on social media too. You never know who might have a lead.

Pro tip : Start networking by contacting a few professionals you’ve researched on LinkedIn who work in your target industry. Don’t ask them about how to get a job. Instead, let them know you have a particular question about their career that you’d love to get their perspective on. Respect their time and request 10-15 minutes for the proposed conversation. You’ll likely get better results than a generic request.

4. Schedule Interview Prep Time

No matter how cliché it may sound, first impressions count. Your ability to draw a clear line between your soft skills and past experiences can be a game-changer during interviews. So, carve out enough time to get into the nitty-gritty of each potential role. Help the interviewer understand why this specific role appeals to you and isn’t just any job .

Pro tip : Start with the company’s website, but expand to press releases, executive interviews, and social media mentions. You can’t control how much experience you have, but you can control how prepared you are for the conversation.

5. Utilize the Full Potential of Job Boards

Streamline your job search with niche job boards . For example, say you’re specifically looking for remote or flexible work. Take the tour to discover the career resources available here on FlexJobs . You’ll avoid the abundance of scams targeting job seekers and save yourself a ton of time.

Pro tip : Fully update your profile and set up job alerts to save time. Ensure you get the most out of the resources by attending virtual job fairs and webinars and utilizing learning centers .

Finding Your Next Job With No Experience

Don’t allow a lack of direct experience hold you back from a better work situation. You bring valuable experience to the table with your nontraditional background. Your fresh perspective might be exactly what a hiring manager is looking for. Give them a chance to see how you can fit into their team.

FlexJobs Is SO Much More Than Just a Job Board

In addition to helpful articles like this one, members get unlimited access to:

• Highest Quality Remote & Flexible Jobs
• 200+ Expert Skills Tests
• Virtual Job Fairs
• Weekly Career Coach Q&As
• And so much more…

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