How to Write a Resume with No Experience: Tips & Examples

Whether you’re fresh out of high school, a newly-graduated college student or just someone seeking their first job, you will need a resume to showcase your skills. Writing a resume with no experience is possible and easier than you think but it will require a different approach from the standard resume.

To teach you how to write a resume with no experience, we’ve put together an expert guide with:

• Examples that will show you how to make a good resume with no experience
• Step-by-step resume advice for formatting and writing your resume
• Tips on formatting and writing a cover letter to accompany your resume

Yes, you can write a resume with no work experience. It’s important to know that hiring managers are looking for relevant experience, not necessarily professional experience. The most crucial tips for knowing how to make a good resume with no experience are:

• Think outside the box regarding experience. There are plenty of activities, like volunteer work, extracurricular activities and achievements you can include in your resume that you may not consider job experience but a hiring manager will see as evidence of your work ethic and skills.
• Consider the qualifications and skills you already have. Focus on soft skills such as communication, interpersonal skills and time management, and mention any hard skills you have that are related to the job.

There are three standard resume formats. They’re not interchangeable, so it’s important to understand each of them individually before deciding which one will benefit you the most.

• Chronological format
  : The most popular format. The chronological resume is ideal for job seekers with extensive work experience because it focuses on career progression and professional growth. It might not be ideal for someone writing a resume with no experience.

• Functional format: Also known as the skills-based resume, this format focuses on skills instead of work experience. It’s better for candidates who have little to no work experience because the work history section has less importance. The functional resume also has an additional skills section that the standard resume doesn’t have, so it may suit a candidate with no experience more than the other formats.

• Combination format: This is a hybrid of the chronological and functional formats. It gives equal emphasis to work experience and relevant skills, so it’s ideal for job seekers with some years of experience in their field.

In addition to choosing the right resume format for you, it’s also important to follow the correct resume formatting guidelines:

• Choose a professional resume font. You might be tempted to use a font like Comic Sans to stand out but it’s better to stick to readable fonts like Times New Roman, Helvetica and Arial.
• Stick to the same margins. Your resume should have 1-inch margins all around but if you need extra space, you can take them down to half an inch.
• Keep the font readable. Besides choosing the right font type, your text should be a readable size. The body text should be 11-12 points, the subheadings 14-15 and your name 16 or 18.
• Maintain consistent spacing. The spacing between the lines should be single or 1.5 and the same throughout your resume.
• Save and download in the right file format. Most job openings require you to submit your resume in a PDF or MS Word format but read the job description carefully in case the potential employer requests it in another file format.

You can also take away the guesswork using one of our beautiful resume templates. They’re pre-formatted to pass the applicant tracking system (ATS) that most employers use to filter resumes, so you can focus on all the other good stuff.

Now that we’ve discussed resume formats and given you all the formatting tips, here’s how to make a resume with no job experience:

1. Header and contact information

First comes the header with your contact information. Make sure that the phone number and professional email address you provide are the correct ones. You can also include the social media handle to your LinkedIn profile but only if it will add value to your job application.

2. Resume objective

We highly recommend writing a resume objective instead of a resume summary. A resume objective is a two- to three-sentence introduction that summarizes your top skills and informs the potential employer of your goals in relation to their company or internship program.

For example:

High school student looking for graphic design internship to hone designing skills. Ready to apply collaborative skills and creative abilities to an advertising agency. Possesses basic Photoshop, Illustrator and Lightroom skills.

3. Skills section

It’s a good idea to pay close attention to your skills section when applying for an entry-level job. The job posting will usually have resume keywords that reflect what recruiters are expecting to see in the person who eventually gets the job. Look through the job description for soft skills and hard skills that you should include in the skills section.

Soft skills are intangible characteristics that can be applied to virtually any job, regardless of the industry. Hard skills are abilities learned through training and experiences that are job-specific.

For example:

Soft skills:

• Communication skills
• Flexibility
• Time management
• Organizational skills
• Teamwork

Hard skills:

• Graphic design
• Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Project management
• Google Analytics
• Cloud computing

If you’ve chosen to create a functional resume, you might notice that there are additional skills sections to complete, such as:

• “Professional Skills” or “Relevant Skills” section: You select your top three core skills and expand on how you’ve used those skills by using three to five bullet points, similar to the work experience section.
• “Summary of Qualifications” section: Where you briefly summarize the skills that qualify you for the job in three bullet points and a single sentence.

4. Education

Typically, you’ll want to include your education section next. Especially if you’re a college graduate, you probably have more academic achievements than you do job achievements and that means putting your education section above your work experience section. You can also include certifications and extracurricular activities.

Some additional tips to make your education section pop:

• Consider listing relevant coursework that’s pertinent to the job or internship.
• Likewise, if you’re applying for a job or internship that directly relates to your educational background, you may want to include your GPA but only if it’s between 3.50 and 4.0.
• If you still haven’t graduated college or high school, include the expected graduation date.

For example:

High School Diploma | East High School
Hayden, ID | Expected in June 2023

5. Work experience

You can list any experience you have as long as it’s relevant to the job. This may include volunteer experience, internships and even extracurricular activities related to your job search — even part-time jobs count here.

List your work history in reverse-chronological order, meaning that your latest or current work experience goes at the top. If you’re using a resume format where you can further explain your work accomplishments and responsibilities, be sure to:

• Use only three to five bullet points per job title
• Start your statements with action verbs
• Avoid talking about mundane tasks. Instead, focus on achievements and major responsibilities
• Use numbers to portray your accomplishments better

For example:

Secretary / Sept 2022 – Current
Hayden High School Student Government Club, Hayden, ID

• Draft weekly emails about school activities and student suggestions for school administration.
• Write detailed meeting minutes and hand in weekly reports.
• Organize over 15 files and keep track of important documents.

6. Additional sections

You may need additional sections if you have a lot of achievements or certifications that you want to show off. In a no-experience resume, sections like these can back up your skills and show that you’re the right person for a specific job posting. There are many potential resume sections you could include here, including certifications, extracurricular activities, key achievements, and research or publications.

For example:

Certifications:

• First Aid
• Basic Life Support (BLS)

ResumeHelp has tons of expert resources to help you write the best resume and jump-start your career.

• Student Resume Examples: Check out our resume writing tips specifically for students.
• Internship Resume Examples: Interested in an internship? Impress with the help of our internship resume samples.
• How to Start a Job Search: Searching for your first job doesn’t have to be scary. Follow our expert advice to get started.
• Resume Examples: Find more inspiration in our extensive resume samples library.
• Resume Design: Make sure your resume looks as good as it reads with our design tips.
• How to Write a Resume: Get extra resume writing advice from our detailed guide.

A cover letter is an incredibly useful tool to land the job of your dreams. It’s especially crucial if you don’t have enough work experience, so use our cover letter resources to create a professional letter for your job application.

• Entry-level Cover Letter Examples: See professionally written examples of cover letters for first-time job seekers.
• How to Write a Cover Letter: Learn all the tips and tricks to writing a great cover letter.
• Cover Letter Builder: Create a cover letter in just a few minutes with our step-by-step guidance.
• Cover Letter Templates: Find the perfect template to pair with your resume.
• Cover Letter Examples: Use our cover letter samples as a base to write yours.

Let’s do a quick recap of what we discussed to wrap up:

• Writing a resume with no experience is possible!
• Relevant work experience can come from volunteering, extracurricular activities and personal projects.
• It’s important to feature a mixture of soft skills and hard skills.
• Resume formats are not interchangeable, so choose the one that works best for you.
• Summarize your top skills with a resume objective.
• Create additional sections for your certifications and awards.
• It’s OK to include your GPA, as long as it’s between 3.50 and 4.0.
• Use action verbs across your resume to give it more power.
• Focus on major accomplishments in your work experience section.
• Introduce yourself with a cover letter.