Writing an Outstanding Resume with No Experience (+ Examples)
It might seem like an uphill struggle, or something that’s impossible to achieve. A resume with no work experience? After all, the whole point of a resume is that it’s all about showcasing your work experience and career progression–isn’t it?
Well, yes–your resume is usually a succinct history of your career, skills, and qualifications.
But we all have to start somewhere in the world of work. We don’t want to have a Catch 22 scenario where you can’t get a job because you haven’t got any experience, and you haven’t got any experience because you can’t get a job!
So, don’t worry; help is at hand. Crafting a resume with no experience is not as daft as it sounds. It can certainly be done, and in such a way that means you’ll be snapped up in no time, if you follow ZipJob’s guidelines when applying for entry-level roles.
What can I put on my resume if I have no work experience?
It’s a real conundrum. How to fill a page with relevant information when you’re barely out of shorts, and certainly have no idea where to start?
We’ve got you covered, with a list of sections and the sort of information to include on your resume with no work experience.
Expert Tip
The best way to start is by splitting the page up into different areas, and concentrating on each… one at a time.
Summary for a resume with no experience
The Professional Profile is the first bit of writing that a hiring manager will read, positioned just underneath your contact details. Try to avoid cliches and buzzwords. Instead, emphasize your transferable skills and what you can offer the organization, in a paragraph format, three or four sentences long.
Skills section
Underneath is the skills section. As you have little or no experience, chances are you’ll need to focus on soft skills here, such as polished communication, organization, time management, and decision-making. If possible, use examples of when you have used these to great effect within your resume with no work experience.
Education section
If you’ve graduated within the last year or two, your education section should come next since it’s the most recent thing you’ve achieved. Detail out your GPA if it’s high and include modules covered, with percentages of any exams taken.
If you achieved any extracurricular accolades while at college or university, include those as well.
Volunteer work section
There are many fabulous skills you can glean from volunteer work–from teamwork to collaboration and project management, so really go to town here with blowing your own trumpet.
Additional sections
This is the place where you can add anything else that hasn’t already been covered, such as relevant hobbies and interests, societies that you belong to, language ability, or internships.
Can ChatGPT build resumes?
One last word of advice, and it’s about ChatGPT. While it might be really tempting to let this AI tool do the work for you, resist! It has limited responses to any prompts, and will just splurge out generic fluff, without a thought for your individual achievements.
Expert Tip
Craft your own resume, using ZipJob guidelines, and by looking at the three examples for inspiration.
First time resume with no experience samples
Check out our examples of resumes with no experience below.
1. This first one is an undergraduate looking for his first foray into the world of work. His resume is angled towards becoming an Actuary. Note how he focuses all his achievements and accolades towards this goal, detailing Math awards and other relevant skills. His core skills section is a bit further down the resume with no work experience, as relevant information and achievements are considered more relevant in this case.
2. The second example is a client with literally no work history at all, having spent all her precious time bringing up her family. She has opted to use first person for a more informal approach. See how she details out her skills, learned from being a homemaker, as well as emphasizing many transferable soft skills that should give her traction to land a role as a cleaner, which is her aim.
3. Our final example is a school leaver, looking to enter the environmental sector by showcasing relevant volunteer work and further attributes. Here, the skills matrix, relevant information, and a voluntary post are the focus.
Writing a resume with no experience can be a daunting task to tackle on your own. Check out what ZipJob’s professional resume writers can do for you.
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Written by
Elizabeth Openshaw, Editor & Content Writer, Elizabeth Openshaw, Editor & Content Writer
Elizabeth Openshaw is an Elite CV Consultant with over 12 years of experience based in Brighton, UK, with an English degree and an addiction to Wordle! She is a former Journalist of 17 years with the claim to fame that she interviewed three times Grand Slam winner and former World No.1 tennis player, Andy Murray, when he was just 14 years old. You can connect with her at Elizabeth Openshaw | LinkedIn.
