How to write a resume with no experience
A first resume feels impossible because the biggest section on every example is work history, and you do not have any yet. But a resume is not a list of jobs. It is evidence that you can do the work in the posting. School projects, volunteering, caring for family, a club you helped run, and things you taught yourself are all evidence, as long as you describe what you did and what came of it.
Lead with what you can do, not what you lack
Open with a short summary that names the job you want and the two or three things you can already do for it. Do not apologize for a lack of experience, and do not open with an objective about what you hope to gain. A reader wants to know what you bring.
Keep it to two lines. For example: a recent graduate who has organized events for a student club and handled its budget, looking for an office assistant role. That tells the reader the job and the proof in one glance.
Put your strongest section first
With no job history, the order of sections is yours to choose. Put first whatever best matches the posting. For many first resumes that is education, with relevant courses and projects listed under it. For others it is a projects section, volunteer work, or a skills section backed by examples.
A reader skims from the top. Whatever sits there should look like the job you are applying for.
Describe projects, volunteering, and school work like jobs
Give each one a title, where it happened, and when. Then write bullets the way you would for a job: what you did, how you did it, and what changed. A group project where you built the schedule and kept everyone on it is evidence of organization. Running the till at a school fundraiser is evidence of handling money and talking with the public.
Use plain verbs: built, organized, taught, fixed, wrote, sold, planned. Be specific about the part that was yours, and do not claim the whole team's result as your own.
Unpaid and informal work counts
Babysitting, caring for a relative, helping at a family business, tutoring a friend, mowing lawns for neighbors, and selling things online are all real work. They show reliability, responsibility, and dealing with people. List them under a heading such as experience or other experience, with honest dates. Share family details only as far as you are comfortable.
The test is whether you could talk about it in an interview. If you could explain what you did and what you learned, it belongs on the page.
Skills need proof next to them
A list of soft traits such as hard working or team player tells a reader nothing, because everyone writes them. Instead, list skills a posting asks for that you can show: a spreadsheet program you used for a class budget, a language you speak at home, a tool you learned for a project.
Where you can, point to the place on the resume that proves the skill. A skill with no example behind it is easy to skip.
Keep it to one page and match each posting
A first resume should fit on one page with plenty of space. Use one column, clear headings, and a common font, so both people and screening software can read it.
Before each application, read the posting and move the closest matching project or experience to the top. Use the posting's words where they are true for you. The free keyword checker can show which of the posting's terms your resume already uses.
Write a resume with no experience
List everything you have done
School, projects, volunteering, informal work, clubs, and things you taught yourself.
Pick the strongest matches
Choose the items closest to the job you want and drop the rest.
Write a two line summary
Name the job you want and the proof you already have.
Order sections by strength
Put whatever best matches the posting at the top.
Write bullets like a job
What you did, how, and what changed, with plain verbs.
Match each posting
Move the closest item up and use the posting's words where true.
Two filled examples: high school and college
Both are for invented people. Every detail is invented, so replace each one with your own true history.
High school student, first job
Sam Lee Part time crew member or cashier [City, State] | [phone] | sam.lee@example.com SUMMARY High school junior looking for weekend and evening work. Reliable with money and comfortable talking with the public from running the snack table at school games. EXPERIENCE Volunteer, School Booster Club snack table | Fall and winter seasons • Took orders and handled cash and card payments during busy halftime rushes. • Counted the cash box with an adult volunteer at the end of each game. Babysitter, neighborhood families | Since last summer • Cared for two young children on weekday evenings, including dinner and bedtime. EDUCATION Example High School, expected graduation [year] Courses: business basics, Spanish SKILLS Cash handling, Spanish (conversational), childcare
College graduate, first office role
Priya Shah Office or operations assistant [City, State] | [phone] | priya.shah@example.com SUMMARY Recent business graduate who tracked the budget and scheduled events for a student club, looking for an office assistant role. EDUCATION B.A., Business Administration, Example State University, [year] Relevant courses: accounting, business writing, project management EXPERIENCE Treasurer, Student Marketing Club | [Month Year] to [Month Year] • Tracked club spending in a shared spreadsheet and reported the balance at each monthly meeting. • Booked rooms and speakers for a semester of events and sent the reminder emails. Group project lead, Business Writing course • Set the schedule for a team of four and edited the final report into one voice. SKILLS Spreadsheets, scheduling, business writing, email reminders
Related reading
Questions
- What do I put on a resume if I have no experience?
- Education, projects, volunteer work, informal or unpaid work, clubs, and skills you can show. Describe each one the way you would describe a job: what you did and what came of it.
- Should I include an objective on a resume with no experience?
- A short summary that names the job you want and what you can already do is more useful than an objective about what you hope to gain.
- Can I list babysitting or helping at a family business?
- Yes. They are real work that shows responsibility and dealing with people. List them with honest dates and describe what you did.
- How long should a resume with no experience be?
- One page, with space between sections. A short, clear page reads better than a long one stretched to look full.
Where ApplyASAP fits
Once your first resume is ready, ApplyASAP can tailor it to each posting and submit the applications for you.
ApplyASAP is one option when you want the sending done for you. It finds openings for the titles and places you name, tailors your resume to each posting, and does not invent employers, dates, degrees, titles, numbers, certifications, or people you managed. It answers the application questions, and the team sends and tracks each application. Skills it adds are ones your role and level usually carry, and you can take any of them off. The resume still has to be true.
Want to see how one resume lines up with one posting? Try the free resume keyword checker. It runs in your browser and saves nothing.