Everything happens for the first time. First step. First kiss. First job hunt. And finally, the first job resume that we’re going to discuss in this article.
There is nothing weird that your hands start shivering and sweating when it comes to writing your first resume, especially if you think that you have no relevant experience or existing skills. This situation might seem to you as a vicious circle: to get experience you need a job, but to get a job you need experience.
Luckily, there is an alternative way that proved you don’t really need the transferable skills or outstanding working background to get a job. The tricky secret lies in the ability to show all your competencies and achievements in a creative way.
Wondering how to make your resume with no work experience the winner among others?
Take a step and keep scrolling. We’ll walk through this uphill road together step by step. No promises that it will be fast and easy, but in the end, you’ll get a great resume with no job experience for sure.
We have prepared a resume guide for beginners, where you’ll find:
- Overall information about organizing your first resume and necessary tools
- Where all your skills and experience are hidden
- How, where and which skills to write on a resume
- How to write an eye-catching summary for resume with no experience
- Tips of how to create the best cover letter
- Outstanding resume examples for students
Ready, steady, go!
Education is your superpower
You have a desire, passion and education - that’s enough for your future employer to pay attention to your resume. Remember, if you don’t have a work experience your education section must be impressive. Put it on top of your resume just below the summary.
Include only the name of the university, degree level, faculty and graduation year.
Pro Tip: Try not to add your GPA if it’s not demanded. In case you’re in progress with your education, don’t be afraid of mentioning it like “Expected date of graduation”.
Experience. Yes, you have it
Just because you weren’t paid for something, doesn’t mean you didn’t gain relevant experience. Before rejecting, make a list of absolutely everything you’ve ever done: volunteering experience, academic achievements, internships, any extracurricular activities and prioritize them in a relevant way to the position you’re applying for. Be specific, precise and don’t put your list away.
Skills. Where are they?
The answer is everywhere. The truth to be told, you have it just right in front of you. In your experience list. One more thing you should do is to write down all your responsibilities to each of the points and emphasize the relevant tasks and skills you developed. But remember the main word here is relevant.
ProTip: You’re talented, no doubts, but don’t list useless things like juggling, proficiency in burger eating or ability to hold the breath for 5 min unless you’re not applying for a circus animator position.
A man is known by the summary he keeps
Writing a resume with no experience demands a lot of efforts, creativity and the biggest attention you should pay to the summary section. The most important advice is - to stand out from the crowd. Summary is a heading statement and it must set the fire in the recruiter’s eyes. Try to keep it short (4-5 sentences is the best option), emphasize why you’re interested in a position, which skills and competencies you may offer and don’t forget about personal highlights. Your main goal is to grab a hiring manager’s attention.
Relevant coursework
Besides academic expertise, you may get some additional knowledge by passing courses online, such as Coursera, edX to add relevant experience. They may correlate with your working interests but it’s not essential. The fact that you’re multi-skilled and follow a lifelong learning approach makes you exceptional.
With a cover letter, you’ll be much better
Yep, we all hate writing cover letters and this is a reason, why you should put all your efforts together and create it. A good and standout cover letter can convince an employer to call you for an interview, even if have a college freshman resume. In case you have no experience a strong cover letter is necessary.
How to make it really impressive? Here are some tips for you:
- address to a hiring manager by name
- clearly explain why exactly they need you
- show that you’re familiar with the company, their culture, values, rules and products
- be positive and witty
- let your personality shine through the “paper”
The best resume writing tips
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Keywords
Among other good things to put on a resume keywords may be crucial. The thing is that some employers use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to scan and sort resumes. To combat this tricky moment you should simply google the list of keywords that suit the position you’re applying for and include them into your resume.
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Look professional
Make sure you include a professional email address. The worst thing that could happen is to get a rejection only because your email looked like this “[email protected]”.
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Languages section
Know a foreign language? Don’t forget to note this in your entry-level resume. You don’t have to be fluent to add it to resume, but don’t lie about your ability.
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References
There are resume sections that you no longer need to put on a resume with no job experience, such as the reference section. Recruiters know they can ask you for references, so skip saying “references available upon request.”
Congratulation!
We’ve passed that way! Now you’re on top of writing a resume with no experience that is compelling and unique, perfect for a college student or a beginner. To summarize all tips and steps together, look at Justin Bieber’s resume sample and get inspired. If you’re still not sure in your resume, no worries, feel free to create a professional resume with our first resume builder.
