sample resume for without experience

How to Write a Resume with No Experience [21+ Examples]

It’s time for your first job hunt !

You need to write a resume , which can be nerve-wracking if you don’t have any real-life work experience.  

You don’t know where to start, what to include, or which resume format to choose.

On top of that, most advice you find online isn’t relevant because it focuses on emphasizing professional background.

Chances are, you’re straight out of college with no experience to speak of. 

Or maybe you're a high-school student applying for a part-time job.

Whichever the case may be, you’re probably having trouble filling in the blank space on your resume that’s supposed to be the work experience section.

Worry not, though. In this guide, we’re going to help you create an AMAZING resume, no work experience is needed.

• How to format your resume with no work experience
• 4 sections to replace work experience (that help you stand out)
• 2 no-work experience resume samples (guaranteed to land you the job)

How to Format Your Resume [with No Work Experience + Examples] 

A resume format is the layout of your resume .

The ideal resume format usually depends on how much work experience you have. 

But what happens when you have none?

For a no-experience resume, we recommend that you use the reverse-chronological format . 

It’s the most popular format amongst applicants and a recruiter favorite.  

The sections in your reverse-chronological resume will be: 

• Header : Contact Information and Resume Statement
• Internships, extracurricular activities, projects, volunteer work  (These sections will replace your work experience)

In this article, we’ll walk you through each of these sections, and explain how to write them in a way that you stand out from the crowd.

Let’s dive in.

Start With Your Resume Header

Your resume header includes your contact information and your resume statement.  

Below, we’ll show you how to write both of these elements and how to include them in your header section.

Put Down Your Contact Information

Just like the name suggests, the first thing you add to your header is your personal and contact information.

It’s the easiest part to get right, just keep it short and to the point.

In your contact information section, mention the following:

• First and Last Name
• Phone Number
• E-mail Address
• A link to a professional profile (e.g. LinkedIn ) or personal webpage (if you have one)

Make sure to use a professional-sounding E-mail.

I.e. something along the lines of “[email protected].” 

You’re sure to leave a wrong impression if you use an email you created back in preschool ( “[email protected]” ).

Make sure to double-check, triple-check your contact information. After all, the recruiter can’t contact you if you have a typo in your phone number.

(Optional) Write Your Resume Objective

A resume objective is a short heading statement in your resume, where you describe your professional goals and aspirations.

Fun fact - hiring managers look at your resume for 5-6 seconds max .

Yep, that’s right. In most cases, the hiring manager is literally drowning in resumes. So, they have a couple of seconds to skim each one.

Well, this section is your chance to catch their attention (and let them know you’ve got what it takes).

A resume objective is usually 3-4 sentences max and includes information on:

• What your field of study is;
• What your skills and experiences are (ones that are relevant to the job );
• Why you’re applying for this position and/or this company.

As with contact information, you don’t need to label your resume objective with a title. Just write it underneath your contact information section.

Here’s an example of what a resume objective looks like:

“ Recent Communications graduate looking to apply for the role of Secretary at XYZ inc. Extremely organized with good writing and multitasking skills. Practical experience in management gained through several university projects, which involved coordinating tasks between different team members and ensuring that everyone was in sync with the latest information. ”

Emphasize Your Education

In your average resume, the first section would be work experience.

Since you don’t have any, though, you’ll want to omit that and replace it with the education section.

This way, you bring a lot more attention to your education, which is one of your main selling points. 

What should you include in the Education section? 

List the following features in this order:

• Name of the degree
• Name of the institution
• Years attended
• Location of the institution (optional)
• GPA (optional)
• Honors (optional)
• Relevant coursework (optional)
• Exchange programs (optional) 

As a general rule, if you studied in a prestigious university, you can add the name of the institution before the degree . This way, you will catch the recruiter’s attention faster.

Now, let’s go through some real-life examples:

BA in Computer Science

Tufts University

Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts

10/2015 - 06/2018

Magna Cum Laude

• Exchange Program in Greenville, NY

University of the Arts London

BA in Interior Design 

10/2017 - Ongoing

Westwood High

Boston, Massachusetts

Class of 2018 

Education Section Q&A

Still have some questions about the education section? Worry not, we’re about to give you all the answers!

Do I include my GPA?

• The answer here is a “maybe.” We’d recommend including a GPA if it’s higher than 3.5. Anything lower than that, and you might be underselling yourself. Keep in mind, though, that most employers don’t care about your grades.

Should I include my coursework?

• Yep, but just as long as it’s relevant. If you have no work experience, including courses can help establish your expertise in a field. Feel free to skip out on any basic courses, though. No one cares about your Maths 101 course.

Do I mention my degree if I dropped out?

• If you studied for more than 2-3 years, yes. A half-finished degree is still better than no degree. If you dropped out after a semester, though, that doesn’t really mean much.

Do I mention my high school degree?

• Only if it’s your only degree. If you have any higher education, your high school degree will only take up space.

4 Sections to Replace Work Experience [With Examples]

Now that you’ve listed your education, it’s time to fill that work experience gap in your resume.

You aren’t still worried about your lack of experience, right?

Because here are four sections you can use instead:

1) Internships

Have you done an internship that is relevant to the position you are applying for?

Now’s the time to mention it. 

Here is how you add an internship to your resume:

First , place the Internship section right after the education section. 

Title it: Internships

Second , write your internship title and role . Be specific.

If your internship was in the marketing department, instead of just “Intern”, say “Marketing Intern”. 

Third , put down the company name , location , and duration of the internship - in that order.

Marketing Intern

Full Picture

New York, NY

09/2019 - 12/2019

Easy and straightforward, right?

One more step:

Last , add a list of responsibilities you had as an intern in bullet point form. 

If you have any tangible achievements , even better! Write those in as well.

Finally, tailor both the responsibilities and achievements to the role you’re applying for.

Here’s how that looks in practice:

You used to be an Advertising Intern .

You’re applying for the position of Social Media Assistant . 

Here’s how you would put down your internship entry:

Internships

Full Picture Company

• Analyzed various social media platforms for trending content
• Managed company social media accounts
• Posted interested content on company Facebook page, increasing engagement by 25%

The listed responsibilities and achievements are directly connected to the Social Media Assistant job requirements.

You’re applying for a Content Writer position. Take a look at the same entry now:

• Assisted the Marketing Manager in writing press releases and new blog posts , which increased web traffic by 25%.

Notice how the internship title remains the same. 

But in this case you’re applying for a Content Writer position, so you are highlighting your writing experience instead.

For more examples, check out our full guides to an internship resume and how to write a cover letter for an internship .

2) Extracurricular activities

Still have a ton of empty space in your resume?

Extracurricular activities are always a great addition!

Whether they’re related to the job you’re applying for or not, they still show one thing:

You’re hard-working and motivated.

Imagine you’re the HR manager, and you can pick between these 2 candidates:

• Josh Johnson. Studied at Massachusetts State. 4.0 GPA, but that’s all he did in college - no extracurricular activities, internships, or anything else.
• Suzie Activeson. Also studied at Massachusetts state. 3.2 GPA. Vice-president of the business club. Served as a student government senator for 2 semesters. Organized several events as part of the marketing club.

Sure, Josh is probably qualified, but we don't know anything about him, other than that he studied a lot.

Suzie, on the other hand, can manage a team (business club VP), organize events (marketing club), and is passionate about making a change (student government).

So, which one would you pick?

Now, let’s explain how to list extracurricular activities on your resume:

• Title of the section: Extracurricular Activities
• Name of the organization and/or team 
• Your role in the organization
• Time period
• Noteworthy awards or achievements

Extracurricular Activities

Public Speaking Club

Vice-President

09/2018 - 09/2019

• Organized 10+ public speaking lectures
• Brought in speakers from all over the state
• Conducted public speaking workshops

3) Volunteering Experience

Volunteering shows dedication and passion to apply yourself. 

And there’s nothing recruiters love more than a committed employee.  

Whether you spend your free time in a soup kitchen, or you helped collect trash in the countryside, you can mention it in your resume!

But how do you list volunteering experience?

Well, it follows the same logic as your internship and extracurriculars:

• Title of the section: Volunteering Experience
• Name of the organization
• Relevant tasks and achievements (bullet points)

Volunteering Experience

Grand Archive Library Volunteer

Washington, D.C

08/2017 - 02/2019

• Performed secretarial activities, such as sorting mail, filing documents, answering phone calls, and taking messages. 
• Led a poetry reading event twice a month. 

4) Projects

In this section, you can add any relevant projects you were part of during your time in school or at an internship.

Your capstone project, graduation thesis, or research project go here. 

No need for work experience!

You can also mention any other type of project you’ve worked on in school, including:

• Business project for a real-life client
• Mock website you created in Web Design 101
• Fake magazine you created as a capstone project
• Market research you did as part of your graduation thesis
• Software you developed in Software Engineering class

...And so on!

Here’s how you put them down:

• Title of the section: Projects
• Project name
• Project type
• Related organization 
• Relevant responsibilities and achievements (optional)

And now, for some practical examples. Here’s what a journalism student project could look like:

Online Privacy and Social Media: a Journalistic Study of Facebook and Cambridge Analytica

Journalism Capstone Project

Harvard University

09/2018 - 11/2018

And here’s a law school example:

In-House Pro Bono Project

Columbia Law School

11/2018 - 03/2019

• Completed a full petition for U nonimmigrant status, interviewed legal persons and drafted affidavits.

If you have anything physical to back up your project with, feel free to include a link.

For example, if you’re a developer, you could include a link to your GitHub profile.

Stand out with your Skills 

There are two types of skills you can include on your no-experience resume: 

Soft skills and hard skills. 

What’s the difference? 

Soft skills are attributes or habits that describe how you work. They are not specific to a job, but indirectly help you adapt to the work environment. 

Here are some of the most popular ones: teamwork, responsibility, leadership, creativity, etc.  

Hard skills , on the other hand, refer to specific tools, technical knowledge and training and other work-specific skills. They apply directly to the job. 

Technical writing, C++, financial accounting, etc. are all examples of hard skills.

So, which of these skills should you include? 

That depends on a lot of factors, but as someone with no work experience, you should opt more for hard skills .

See, you could write all the cool buzzwords like “Critical Thinking” and “Leadership,” but the recruiter won’t believe you.

Fun fact - that’s what 90% of students do.

Instead, you should focus on skills that make you stand out , and in most cases, those are hard skills.

So, how do you decide which hard skills to mention? Easy! Just check the job ad you’re applying for.

Let’s say you’re applying for an entry-level creative internship, and you find these requirements in the job description: 

• Video editing experience (Premiere, After Effects)
• UI design experience
• Photo editing experience (Photoshop)
• Photography experience
• Experience with Adobe Illustrator

You’d transfer this into your skills section:

• Premiere & After Effects - Expert
• Photoshop - Expert
• UI Design - Intermediate
• Adobe Illustrator - Intermediate
• Photography - Intermediate

Not sure which skills to mention? Check out our article on 150+ must-have skills for all sorts of professions !

Other Sections You Could Include in a No-Experience Resume

A resume without experience does have one advantage: extra space . 

You can use this space to create other sections that highlight how awesome you are!

Here are some sections you could include:

• Hobbies and Interests . Add flair to your resume by showing your genuine passion and interest in the industry.
• Languages. Do you know a second language? Or even a third? Awesome! Most companies these days are pretty international and appreciate an extra language skill or two. Be mindful not to over-exaggerate your proficiency, though. Only knowing how to ask “¿Donde está la biblioteca?” doesn’t warrant a Spanish entry on your resume.
• Awards & Certifications . Do you have any fancy pieces of paper that show you’re smart? Maybe it’s an award for a terrific essay in a competition, or a certificate from an online course . Whichever the case may be, awards and certifications show that you’re a winner, so definitely include them in their own respective section.

Need Inspiration? 2 No Work Experience Resume Samples

Do you still have questions or don’t know where to begin?

That’s when a resume sample comes in handy. 

It provides you with a predetermined format.

It also helps you picture how your no-experience resume is supposed to look like. 

As Picasso put it: Good artists copy; great artists steal! 

Here are 2 no work experience resume samples you can borrow ideas from:

Business Student Resume Sample

High-school Student Resume Sample

Create a Matching Cover Letter

All done with your resume?

It’s not over yet. You need to write a cover letter to go with it.

A cover letter is a single-page letter that accompanies your resume and is part of your job application.

Look at it this way: your resume describes your experiences, and your cover letter explains (in simple words) how they’re relevant to the job.

Now, here’s a quick infographic on what to include in a cover letter:

Finally, as with everything else in your resume, make sure to keep your cover letter relevant, short, and concise.

The hiring manager doesn’t have time to read an autobiography, they’ll only review your cover letter for a few minutes. 

There’s a lot more to creating a good cover letter than what we just explained.

For a complete, all-you-need-to-know walk-through, check out our Complete Guide on How to Write a Cover Letter !

Key Takeaways

...and that’s a wrap!

At this point, you should know everything there is to know about writing a killer no-experience resume.

Just to keep things fresh, though, let’s quickly go through everything we’ve learned so far:

• When creating your no-experience resume, use the reverse-chronological format.
• You can create a killer no-experience resume by emphasizing your education instead. Include relevant internships, soft & hard skills, and projects.
• Other sections you can include on your resume are hobbies & interests, languages, certifications, or achievements.
• Keep all the content on your resume clear, precise, and relevant. Use bullet points for all your descriptions.
• After you’re done with your resume, you want to write an awesome cover letter that goes with it. The cover letter is a one-page letter that tells the story behind your resume content and reemphasizes why you’re a great fit for the job.

Related Resume Examples

• Internship Resume
• High School Resume
• Research Assistant Resume
• College Resume
• Students and Graduates Resume
• Teacher Resume

Recommended Readings:

• 43+ Resume Tips and Tricks to Land Your Next Job in 2024
• 20+ One-Page Resume Templates [Free Download]
• 35+ Common Interview Questions and Answers [Complete List]

To provide a safer experience, the best content and great communication, we use cookies. Learn how we use them for non-authenticated users.

Protect your data

This site uses cookies and related technologies for site operation, and analytics as described in our Privacy Policy . You may choose to consent to our use of these technologies, reject non-essential technologies, or further manage your preferences.

• Resume and Cover Letter
• Guide to Writing a Great...

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

Is Your Resume Inspirational? If Not, Here's How to Fix It

7 Ways You Try Too Hard in Job Applications

See how your resume stacks up.

Career Advice Newsletter

Our experts gather the best career & resume tips weekly. Delivered weekly, always free.

Thanks! Career advice is on its way.

Share this article:

Let's stay in touch.

Subscribe today to get job tips and career advice that will come in handy.

Your information is secure. Please read our privacy policy for more information.

How to Write a Resume with No Work Experience in 2021 (With Examples)

Don't worry, we've all been there. Thrown into the job world with little to none work experience and no idea how to start a resume. We're here to help.

With more and more people on the job hunt each year, entering the work force with minimal to no experience on your resume can be a daunting and frustrating task.

However, no need to worry, all is not lost for applicants lacking in relevant work experience.

We've all been there.

This guide is here to help you learn how to shift the focus of your resume onto your skills, unpaid experiences, and education in order to frame your lack of experience in a more appealing manner.

• What Resume Format is Best for Someone with No Experience?

Adding Transferable Skills to Resume

Including unpaid experience on resume, listing education on a resume as a student.

• Finally, Getting Jobs with a No-Experience Resume

What Resume Format is Best for Someone with No Experience

The first and arguably most important decision when it comes to crafting a resume is deciding which format is best for you.

When you are lacking in relevant work experience, using the standard resume format – also known as the reverse-chronological resume – may not be the best idea.

Reverse-chronological resumes are centered around the work experience section, which is precisely the section you want to shift the attention away from when your experience is limited.

Instead, you should consider using either a functional or a hybrid resume .

If you are unsure which resume format best fits your needs, check out our guide on choosing the correct resume format.  

1) What are Functional Resumes?

Unlike reverse-chronological resumes, functional resumes are not designed or formatted to be primarily focused on relevant work experience.

Because of this, the functional resume has become the favored format for applicants who do not have work experience to showcase.

There are a number of reasons why a person may not have work experience to feature on a resume. Common circumstances include an individual being a student or recent grad.

Veterans who lack non-military experience and people looking to re-enter the workforce after a gap in their employment history also may favor a functional format. 

The benefits of using a functional resume include:

• Well-suited for applicants who have gaps in their employment history or lack relevant work experience.
• Greater flexibility in how sections of the resume can be structured, allowing for a skills section to be the main centerpiece of the resume.
• Provides better opportunity to highlight any unpaid experiences or academic credentials an applicant may have. 

2) What are Hybrid Resumes?

A hybrid resume mixes the formatting of functional and reverse-chronological resumes in order to make a resume that includes elements from both.

These kinds of resumes are highly customizable and can be restructured according to the applicant’s needs.

Using a hybrid resume may be wise for someone who has some work experience that may or may not be wholly relevant

For people with no work experience whatsoever, however, sticking to a functional format may be best.

Benefits of using a hybrid resume include: 

• Opportunity to show work experience, even if it is not relevant to the job being applied for
• Good for applicants who have limited paid working experience but have extensive history working in unpaid opportunities, such as volunteering. 
• Hybrid resumes may more closely resemble a reverse-chronological, which is the standard resume format that employers typically expect. 

Beautiful resume templates to land your dream job

Making a resume as a job applicant with little to no experience requires you to take an in-depth personal inventory of your personal skills and talents.

Everything from your communication skills to your time management and teamwork skills matter here and creating a definitive list of your greatest strengths is key.

There are two categories of skills to consider: hard skills and soft skills .

1) Hard Skills 

Hard skills are more quantifiable and are typically gained through some form of education, training, or certification program.

This can include skills such as computer programming, speaking foreign languages, or being a mathematician.

While you may not have gained hard skills through prior work experience, there are still potentially hard skills you obtained through other channels, such as through school or from the military.

Writing down your hard skills is important, as this is where you will find your most relevant skills for a job application. 

2) Soft Skills

Soft skills are less quantifiable and have more to do with your personality, work ethic, and how you interact with other people.

Communication, problem-solving, and cooperative skills all come into play here. 

Though soft skills may not be as easy to directly relate to a job application, they are still necessary and helpful to include in a resume with a limited work experience section.

Additionally, job descriptions often lend hints to the kinds of soft skills an employer is looking for, and including those skills can show you pay close attention to information given to you. 

Examples of Transferable Skills

Below we have provided a list of common transferable skills to help get you started on identifying which skills you possess and how you can frame them on your resume to improve your chances of landing a job interview. 

Of course, there are hundreds of skills that are good to include on a resume.

It is important to choose skills that both accurately represent your talents as well as provide relevance to the job description provided.

For more ideas on good skills to include, check out our guide on 100+ key skills for a resume in 2021.

Here are a few examples of transferable skills and how to list them:

1) Collaboration

Collaboration skills generally indicate your ability to work well with departments, professionals, or teams outside of your own.

This can show employers your ability to form connections with others within an industry

Incorrect: Collaborated with volunteer teams from other counties.

Correct: Learned strong collaboration strategies through participating in volunteer service activities involving multiple groups of volunteers.

2) Teamwork 

While collaboration shows your ability to work with external connections, teamwork emphasizes your ability to work well within your own team.

Teamwork requires you to pay close attention to your teammates and be willing to compromise in order to make things happen.

Incorrect: Gained teamwork skills through community service.

Correct: Achieved effective teamwork through helping to organize meetings for a community service group.

3) Communication

Communication skills largely involve your public speaking abilities and your capability for expressing yourself in a clear and concise manner.

Including examples of how you have honed your communicative abilities is key. 

Incorrect: Strong communication skills

Correct: Developed communication skills through working as a peer mentor at the university. 

See how this Art Director resume example listed Communication as a skill on her resume:

4) Computer Skills

Nowadays, digital and computer skills are a must and the more you know, the more opportunity you may have for employment.

Detailing your computer skills and programs you can properly operate is essential. 

Incorrect: Strong computer skills and knowledge of software.

Correct: Experienced in the use of Microsoft Office Suite and Adobe Creative Cloud. Certified in the use of Microsoft Excel. 

5) Dependability

When an employer is considering a job applicant with little to no experience, that applicant’s dependability will be one of their major questions.

As such, including dependability in your skillset is generally a smart idea. 

Incorrect: Provided dependable service as an intern.

Correct: Proved dependability through being on time or early every day on an internship. 

6) Critical Thinking

An employer will want you to be fast on your feet while also being able to think things through thoroughly.

Emphasizing your critical thinking skills helps to show a potential employer your attention to detail and ability to problem solve. 

Incorrect: Gained critical thinking skills through membership in a chess club. 

Correct: Employed critical thinking skills during a chess club competition, placing in second. 

7) Leadership

Taking on leadership roles oftentimes comes with hefty responsibilities.

Showing employers your ability to handle and succeed as a leader can greatly impact their impression of your work ethic and ability to work well with others. 

Incorrect: Grew leadership skills in military training.

Correct: Developed leadership skills in the role of a platoon leader during military training. 

For example, take a look at how Elysse added Leadership skills on her chef resume :

For many job applicants with little to no work experience, there are oftentimes other experiences they have that can be used to emphasize and showcase work done to better hone one’s skills and expertise.

Two common examples include experience gained through volunteering or internships .

When you have no experience or gaps in your employment history, having experiences like these to fill the gaps and give context to your skills is key. 

1) Volunteering

Taking advantage of volunteering opportunities is a great way to both begin to build out your resume while also giving back to your community.

There are all sorts of volunteering positions to consider, from working in a local animal shelter to helping with inventory at a food bank. 

Volunteer service shows not only that you have experience to back up you the skills you claim to have, but it also shows your commitment to your work even if there is no compensation involved.

This can reflect very positively on your work ethic to future employers. 

Incorrect: Volunteered at a local shelter.

Correct: Spent six months volunteering at a local homeless shelter, helping to take daily and weekly food and supply inventories.

2) Internships

Internships are especially common for current students or recent grads to take on, as many jobs require some amount of relevant experience to be considered for open positions.

Internships provide the opportunity to gain relevant working experience for those with little to no prior experience.

Inclusion of internships is important, as though it is unpaid work it still can hold a similar weight to paid work experience, especially when applying to entry or low level positions. 

Incorrect: Interned at a local newspaper for one semester. ‍

Correct: Earned a semester-long internship working as an assistant to an investigative reporter at a locally-run newspaper. 

Aside from internships and volunteer experiences, things such as community leadership or fundraising can be useful to include as well.

Basically any experience that helped you to gain and hone your skills is good to consider adding to a resume. 

See how Marianne added her internship in this graphic design resume example :

When figuring out how to list education on a resume it is important to be mindful of what the job description listed as the educational requirements for the position.

Generally speaking, unless a resume is meant to be more academically focused, it is recommended to keep education sections rather short.

For those with no experience, however, the education section may be a good opportunity to showcase activities, clubs, leadership roles, and other similar experiences.

Showing your involvement on campus can help to fill the time gaps in employment history if you are a student or recent grad. 

Incorrect: Played on an intramural soccer team. ‍

Correct: Participated on an intramural soccer team and earned the role of team co-captain. 

Finally, How to Get Jobs with a No-Experience Resume

When it comes to writing the perfect resume in 2021 , there are lots of considerations to keep in mind.

With so much competition, it can sometimes feel disheartening for those of you with no experience.

However, there is a lot of power in the format and wording of your resume and learning how to optimize your resume is key to overcoming a lack of experience.

Here are three key takeaways for writing resumes with no experience:

1) Be Extra Attentive to Formatting

When you are using a functional or hybrid resume format, it may be immediately noticeable to employers that you have chosen against using the standard reverse-chronological format.

As such, you need to be extra careful with your formatting and design in order to ensure your resume looks clean and is easy to follow. 

2) Contextualize Your Information for Specific Jobs

Since your resume will likely be centered around you skills rather than your experience, it is very important to relate your skills back to the job you are applying for and contextualize for the employer how you will apply you skills if given the position. 

3) The More Detail the Better

You don’t want to leave employers feeling like they’ve been left hanging.

While you should still strive to maintain clarity and conciseness in your descriptions, do not be shy in adding heftier amounts of detail than you might in a more standard resume.

You want to stand out to employers and showcase exactly how you are perfect for the role being offered.

Our Last Thoughts

Landing a job with no experience can be tricky, but it’s nowhere near impossible.

The key to crafting a resume when you lack relevant experience is to identify and showcase your relevant and transferrable skills. 

If you are unsure how to get started formatting your resume, check out our resume templates and examples !

Browse more resume templates that fit your role

Get inspired with more resume examples

Read our how-to guides on making your resume perfect, how to describe work experience on a resume in 2022 (examples & tips).

Your work experience is a summary of all your hard work, dedication and achievements over the years. Here's how to do justice to your work history.

100+ Key Skills for a Resume in 2022 (Examples for any Job)

Learn how to professionally and efficiently list your skills on a resume.

How to Include Hobbies on Your Resume in 2022 (With Examples)

Learn when and how to professionally list your hobbies on your resume.

How to Write The Perfect Resume in 2021 (With Examples)

The ultimate guide to learn how to quickly create a resume utilizing best practices to help you land your next job.

More advice that will accelerate your career path

20+ key marketing skills to list on your resume in 2022 (with examples).

Being a marketer requires you to have many skills and proficiencies. In this guide, we will provide you with 20 of the best marketing skills to include on a resume. Plus, we will cover formatting and how to improve your marketing skills!

15+ Key Healthcare Skills to List on Your Resume in 2022 (With Examples)

Healthcare is a massive and important industry that contains all sorts of professionals. To land a job in healthcare, you must understand what relevant skills employers are searching for. In this guide, we will cover key healthcare skills to include on your resume and why doing so is so important.

How to Create a Resume in Microsoft Word (Step-by-Step Guide)

If this is your first time creating a resume in Microsoft Word, the process may seem overwhelming. Luckily, this article is here to help! In this step-by-step guide, we will cover how to create an effective resume from start to finish using Microsoft Word.

20+ Key Computer Skills to List on Your Resume in 2022 (With Examples)

With the world becoming more digitally focused, having strong computer skills is more important than ever. In this guide, we will cover what computer skills are and which ones are best to include on your resume.

Professional resume templates to help land your next dream job.

Facebook • Twitter • Linkedin • Pinterest • Crunchbase

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.

Popular related posts:

• 15 Best Skills for a Resume (With Examples)
• Thank You Email After Interview: Examples, Dos, and Don’ts
• 7 Ways to Improve Your Cover Letter Today
• Resume Objective Examples for 2024 [+How-to Guide]
• Cover Letter Format: A Step by Step Guide for 2024
• How To Write a Cover Letter With No Experience in 9 Steps

Get Expert Resume Writing Help

No time to polish your resume and cover letter? Send it to our team of resume writing experts.

• No products in the cart.
• Resume Writing Service
• Free Resume Review
• Resume Templates
• Career Advice

How to Make a Resume With No Experience

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.  

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.

Great Companies Need Great People. That's Where We Come In.

• Resume Tips

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.

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.

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.

Recommended reading:

99+ Essential Keywords and Phrases for Impactful Resumes

10 Best College Grad Job Search Sites (Updated for 2024)

19 Essential Skills for Resumes: Examples Included

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 .

Our resume services get results.

We’ve helped change over 30,000 careers.

Get a free resume review today

Our experts will review your resume’s grammar, layout, and ability to pass ATS — all free and delivered straight to your inbox.

PROTECT YOUR DATA

This site uses cookies and related technologies for site operation, and analytics as described in our   Privacy Policy. You may choose to consent to our use of these technologies, reject non-essential technologies, or further manage your preferences.

Build my resume

• Resume builder
• Build a better resume in minutes
• Resume examples
• 2,000+ examples that work in 2024
• Resume templates
• 184 free templates for all levels
• Cover letters
• Cover letter generator
• It's like magic, we promise
• Cover letter examples
• Free downloads in Word & Docs

5 College Student No Experience Resume Examples & Templates [Edit Free]

College Student No Experience Resume

• College Student No Experience 2
• College Student No Experience 3
• College Student No Experience 4
• College Student No Experience 5
• Resume Writing 101

Sometimes, ambitious college students can’t wait to start working. Janee considered how to show value on her resume as a grad: Dreaming of working as a business analyst at Resource Data fueled her to research the company and think of relevant college achievements.

Janee recalled real projects from her degree in math and economics that saved a local manufacturer thousands. Even her stint as basketball captain highlighted her ability to organize, boost morale, and drive positive results.

Referencing her class movie recommendation project and the time her random forest model outperformed projections by 19 percent, Janee topped off her college student no experience resume with a career objective . Bam—hired. Try our resume templates for yourself; we can’t wait to applaud your success, too!

or download as PDF

College Student No Experience 2 Resume

College Student No Experience 3 Resume

College Student No Experience 4 Resume

College Student No Experience 5 Resume

Related resume examples

• Current College Student
• College Student Internship
• College Graduate
• Grad School
• College Student

What Matters Most: Your Skills & Background Experience

When you lack experience, your skills become more important than ever! As a college student, you now have a nice, clear understanding of what you can do, and recruiters want to know all about it.

Make sure you list skills that are relevant to your field. For example: If you’re eager to step into the world of business analysis, then prioritize technical skills and highly relevant abilities.

And make sure those skills are worded in a deliberate and specific way, too! The last thing you want is to sound too apathetic about your future role to dig deeper than the usual generic terms on your resume.

Here are some examples of more specific skills you can use to show off your potential:

9 Best College Student No Experience Skills

• scikit-learn
• Linear Regressions
• Logistic Regressions
• Data Reporting
• Google Sheets

Sample College Student No Experience Work Experience Bullet Points

Now we’re on to the fun part! No really: It’s time to get creative and look for some nifty spins to put on your past projects and internships. Class groups, teams, clubs, and volunteer initiatives can all be used to demonstrate your ability to make the most of your skills, too.

Just make sure that anything you include is highly relevant to the field you want to work in! Use those sharp, specific skills you honed earlier to recall examples of experiences when you used them.

And always measure the impact you had when you reached those milestones! Use quantifiable data to back up your achievements and make them look way more credible:

• Reported to executives during business analytics class and initiated re-evaluation of resource allocation, saving $47K in vendor costs
• Aggregated data from Rotten Tomatoes and used k-nearest-neighbors in scikit-learn to improve recommendation system for personal tastes, boosting positive feedback by 12%
• Organized a community outreach for the university basketball team to train at-risk high school students and boost morale, leading high school teams to win 92% of total games
• Compiled and prepped 4 years of fantasy football projection data from 8 independent sources into a MySQL database, boosting positive ratings by 14%

Top 5 Tips for Your College Student No Experience Resume

• I know, I know, we just talked about it, but this really is a crucial aspect of your resume! When you don’t have any job experience yet, you’ll really need to hand-pick the most relevant bits and pieces of as many projects and college teams as you can.
• Many people hear “one page” and assume that filling their resume page is as important as limiting themselves to one page only. But this isn’t the case: Just focus on your best relevant achievements and allow some white space for things to breathe.
• Get strategic about your skill placement. Group similar types of skills together, such as everything related to Python, followed by everything related to data analytics, and so on.
• By all means, try out as many of our resume templates as you can! But while you compare them, keep a deliberate eye out for which one makes your college and project history look the fullest and most impressive.
• Keeping your experience examples sleek and to-the-point demonstrates your ability to get things done and convey info efficiently. You don’t have time to ramble since recruiters have to read things quickly!

Honestly, this isn’t something to worry much about: As long as it’s all together in one place and easy for recruiters to spot at a glance, you’re fine.

Customize it for each job description . It’s easy: All you need to do is reference the job description again and grab some key phrases and buzzwords to switch out in your resume, and boom: You’re now delivering a hand-tailored resume that’s designed to impress!

In our honest opinion, writing a cover letter is better. You get the best of both worlds: Your project and educational history will be able to take center stage while you use your cover letter to detail your qualifications in greater depth than you’d be able to with an objective statement.

• We’ll show you how, step-by-step • Real, practical tips and tools • 100% free

Write a resume with no experience

When you’re looking to land your first job, your resume needs to impress employers.

If you have little or no work experience, this can be tough.

But, with the right structure and approach, anyone can write an interview-winning resume.

This detailed guide, which includes a resume example, will show you how to write a resume with no experience, that will still impress recruiters, and take you one step closer to landing that first job.

• Resume examples
• Structuring and formatting your resume
• Writing your resume summary
• Your education
• Vital skills for your resume

Resume templates 

Resume with no experience example

This resume example shows you the basic format of a resume, and the type of content you can include when you have no experience.

I will now walk you through how to produce your own effective resume.

You can watch the video below or read through the rest of the guide on this page.

Top tips for writing a resume with no experience

• Although you may have no formal work experience, be creative and fill your resume with anything that can demonstrate your workplace skills
• Use hobbies, interests, after-school clubs, sports teams and volunteering to highlight transferable skills
• Head your resume with a punchy summary or personal statement to sell yourself to employers and explain why they should hire you
• Make your hard skill such as languages, IT software and written communication highly visible
• Provide lots of detail on what you have learnt in school to make up for your lack of experience

Resume structure & format

The key to getting recruiters to notice your resume, is having a structure that enables ease of reading and allows them to quickly navigate your educational background and relevant skills.

Using sections to clearly identify your transferable skills, assisting you in securing an interview.

This infographic will support you in creating a simple-but-effective format and show you what sections to include in your resume

Formatting Tips

• Use bold headers, bullet points and sections to break up information and support recruiters in easily navigating your resume
• Don’t over-design your resume with imagery such as company logos or headshots and instead keep to a subdued color pallet and a clear font
• Maintain a resume length of 2 sides of A4, don’t look to add irrelevant information to fill space and be comfortable with submitting a resume that is 1 to 2 sides

Structuring your resume

Highlight essential information within your resume by breaking up large blocks of text and working to a format that focuses on your relevancy for the sector you’re looking to apply to.

Stick to the below format when putting together your resume:

• Contact details – Make your contact details easily accessible at the top of the page
• Summary – Start your resume will a short paragraph summarizing your skills and qualifications, engaging recruiters to read further
• Education – Display your qualifications, especially those most applicable to the industry you’re looking to apply to
• Work experience – If you have any, detail voluntary experience or any part time employment
• Interests and hobbies – Look to add hobbies that document your transferable skills, providing added value to your resume

You can always use a resume template , if you want to make the structuring process easier and quicker.

Resume contact details

Keep your contact information to the top of your resume, allowing recruiters to easily reach you.

Stick to the essential information as seen below:

• Phone number
• Email address

Remove supplementary information such as marital status, profile pictures or date of birth that aren’t required in your application.

Quick tip: You can save space and add some design flair to your resume by adding some icons to symbolize the contact details in your header.

Resume summary

Start your resume with an attention-grabbing introduction, summarizing why you’re the ideal candidate for the positions you are applying to – in a punchy summary .

Give recruiters an insight into your background and core skills, making your educational history a focal point, displaying your interest into your preferred field – give them some good reasons to consider you.

These tips will support you in producing your resume summary :

• Research your chosen industry prior to creating your summary, making yourself custom-fit to the sector, adopting sector specific keywords
• Your summary should be between 5-10 lines; you’ll be able to elaborate elsewhere in your resume
• Avoid cliché and overused statements such as “I am punctual” or “I am hardworking” and instead, try to include key requirements from the job adverts you are applying to

What to include in your resume summary?

• Qualifications – Make your education a focal point, considering qualifications most imperative to the industry you’re pursuing
• Core skills – Document any transferable or marketable skills you’ve acquired in school or university, reflecting on strengths such as interpersonal skills , problem solving, or any skills that can translate into the workplace
• Passions – Why are you interested in pursuing your chosen career? What makes you a good fit?

Core skills & achievement section

Underneath your resume summary, add a skills section that consists of your core skills, using two to three columns of bullet points to list these strengths.

Allowing recruiters at first glance to establish your most applicable soft and hard skills, which relate to the industry you’re pursuing.

Before putting together this section, look to research the industry you’re applying to, adding keywords that make you custom fit to that sector.

When you’ve limited or no work experience, use your educational history as a focal point of the resume.

Represent the qualifications you have achieved as well as describing examples of coursework completed and including any specific accomplishments from your educational history.

Break up this information by clearly heading the type of qualification achieved, the dates obtained and the school or college you attended.

Use bullet points to list the qualifications you secured.

Clubs and Memberships

Within your education section look to incorporate the clubs you were part of and your role within that group.

For example, whether you were the captain of a football team or a prefect at school, even considering adding any charity work you may have done.

When writing about these; try to draw out relevant skills such as teamwork, leadership, communication etc.

See also: Graduate resume – Student resume

Work experience

Although you may have no formal work experience – be creative and add anything that could be demonstrate workplace skills, such as:

• Big projects
• Work experience placements
• A weekend job
• Volunteering
• Club or sports team membership

Quick tip: If you have no work experience, pick up a volunteer role so that you have something impressive to add to the resume.

Structuring your roles

If you have anything you could add as work experience – add to your resume like the below example.

Structure the information within your roles, by breaking up large blocks of text and using bullet points, and defined sections.

Give an overview of your voluntary position, what were your duties or what skills you obtained from this experience.

“Working in a busy café supporting the kitchen and front of house staff to ensure customers have a clean and safe environment .”

Key responsibilities

Use bullet points to document any duties you had within a position.

• Interacting with the waiting and kitchen staff to collect dishes and cutlery
• Supporting kitchen preparations during opening and closing of the café

Key achievements

Document any key achievements whilst in these positions, add relevant examples integrating any facts and figures to verify these where applicable.

• Achieved employee of the month, 2 months in a row

Interests and hobbies

When you have no experience, your hobbies could help boost your application , documenting your transferable skills gained within them.

Emphasize involvement in any clubs or teams, describing the contribution you had and providing any result driven examples.

Impressive hobbies for your resume could include:

• Being in a sports team
• Being a member of a club (book club, chess club)
• Writing a blog
• Building models or machines
• Running a marathon
• Taking part in school schemes

Look to display your personal pursuits, even if these interests don’t directly correlate to the industry you’re applying to, reveal how you can use the experience or skills gained within the industry you’re pursuing.

For example, if you’re looking to gain employment in technology then exhibit your passion for working with computers and the skills you’ve gained such as the ability to solve problems and work methodically.

Essential skills for your resume

Portray the skills you have obtained throughout your experience in education, placements or extra curriculum activities, explaining how these can transition into a work environment.

Look to include these fundamental skills:

Communication – the ability to speak with people of a variety of levels, whether teachers, professors, customers or colleagues

Organizational Skills – the ability to juggle studies whilst taking on voluntary work.

Teamwork – the capacity to work within a team to overcome obstacles and achieve common goals, whether in a school project or extra-circular team

Commitment and Drive – showcase your passion and commitment towards your chosen career path.

Customer Service – a talent for putting customers first and going the extra mile.

Writing your resume with no experience

When you have no work experience, your resume is your first impression in the recruitment process and your opportunity to display what makes you an ideal candidate.

Highlighting all aspects of your educational background as well as the skills that make you applicable for the industry you’re looking to transition into.

By using this guide, you’ll be able to produce a well-structured resume that will assist you in obtaining your dream career.

Good luck in your next application!

Press Enter to search

How to Write An Effective Resume With No Work Experience (with Templates and Examples)

A recruiter-backed guide to writing an effective resume if you don't have enough (or any) work experience - with downloadable templates and examples.

3 years ago   •   13 min read

Navigating the job market without professional experience can seem daunting, but you can still write a competitive resume with no work experience. The key is to present the experience you do have, and show a recruiter why it’s relevant to them.

Remember, a lack of work experience doesn't mean a lack of skills or potential. Unpaid roles, student activities, internships, personal projects, and volunteer work can all provide substance for your resume, showing your potential to employers and highlighting your transferable skills.

In this guide, we'll take you through crafting a compelling resume without formal work experience, covering how to quantify your skills, focus on education, and fill your resume with competitive keywords.

How to write a resume with no work experience

If you're writing your resume but lack enough (or any) professional work experience, here's a quick step-by-step guide to help you get started:

• Include any internships, extracurricular activities , freelance, and volunteer work to supplement your experience.
• List your education section at the top of your resume.
• Use numbers and metrics to quantify your skills and explain how your experience is relevant, even if it's in a different field.
• Include a skills list of relevant keywords and competitive skills.
• Include in-progress education, training and qualifications relevant to your desired field, and consider enrolling in online courses that match the job description.
• Write a resume summary to highlight transferable skills and career goals.
• Stick with a standard reverse chronological resume format. (Not sure what that means? Don’t worry; we'll explain below.)
• Run your resume through a free online resume checker for personalized advice on targeting your resume to your application.

Remember, just because you lack paid work experience doesn’t mean you lack skills! All you need to do is learn how to highlight those skills in a way that will grab a recruiter's attention. Here is an example of how you can create a well-rounded resume with limited paid experience:

Top tips for creating a resume if you have no work experience

Here are 8 top tips for creating a professional-quality resume, despite having little to no work experience.

Highlight transferable experience

The experiences you highlight on your resume should be relevant and tailored to the job you are applying for, but that doesn’t mean they need to be in the same industry. Many skills are transferable between jobs and industries; these are the ones you want to highlight.

Look carefully at the job description and consider what you’ve done previously that demonstrates those skills. Recruiters look for transferrable technical skills, as well as soft skills, so demonstrate these through any experience on your resume, paid or non-paid.

Focus on accomplishments

Once you have decided what experience to include on your resume (more on that in our sections below), remember to talk about your accomplishments , not your job duties. “Responsible for closing the store every night” is a duty — it tells recruiters what you were asked to do, but not what you actually did or how you’re likely to perform in the job you’re applying for. Narrow down the accomplishments most relevant to the skills listed in the job description and focus on those.

Include a resume summary

Adding this optional section at the top of your resume can benefit those with limited or no work experience. A resume summary outlines your essential skills, experience, and noteworthy accomplishments to highlight why you're a good fit for the job.

Use the job title of the job you're applying for, regardless of your past experience, and list 2-3 key skills that match the job description. Mention if you have relevant background experience in that field, paid or not, and highlight any standout accomplishments.

For example:

Quantify your accomplishments and skills

Including numbers and metrics can help any experience look more impressive. This is known as quantifying your resume ; start with an action verb and include a metric or result that demonstrates your achievement.

If you’re having trouble coming up with metrics, here are some questions to consider:

• How many people have you worked with? Instead of saying that you worked in a team, specify the size of the team.
• How many people attended an event you organized? If it was for charity, how much money did you raise?
• How many customers did you serve on an average day? How many sales did you make?

Here is an example of how to quantify a previous job on your resume:

Use the right keywords

Most resumes nowadays go through Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) , automated programs that scan your resume for certain keywords. This means you have to include the right words on your resume to make it past the filter.

Search our list of top resume skills and keywords to get an idea of the specific skills hiring managers are looking for. Being a match for the essential skills the job requires is much more important than having the perfect background or experience!

Keep your formatting simple

You don’t need a fancy-looking resume to impress. In fact, going overboard with creative elements like downloaded fonts, colors, and images can actually do more harm than good. Stick with an easy-to-read font, clear section titles, and standard one or two-column format, or download a free resume template that does the work for you.

Use reverse chronological format

Reverse chronological format simply means that your most recent experience and qualifications are listed first. This is the most common format for modern resumes and is what most hiring managers are expecting. That applies to work experience, but also to your education, projects, and extracurricular activities.

Use a cover letter

You can get ahead of most other applicants simply by writing a cover letter . A cover letter is a great opportunity to talk about why you’re interested in the job and what you would bring to the table, which, when you lack traditional work experience, may not always be obvious from your resume alone.

Pro-tip: Choosing the right examples

If you’re not sure if you have chosen the right examples of your skills for your resume, upload it to the tool below to get a detailed review of your resume and personalized suggestions on how you can improve your word choice, brevity, impact and style, and if there are any critical keywords missing from your resume.

Professional resume template with no work experience

If you have little to no work experience, you can still write an effective resume with only unpaid experience (internships, online training, volunteer work, etc.) by highlighting your most impressive and quantifiable accomplishments, and accomplishments that showcase transferable skills.Here is a professional resume template you can use to improve your existing resume or build one from scratch. You can download this template and more from our resume templates page.

Pro tip: For students writing their first resume

As a student or recent graduate, you will likely have limited or no experience to fill your resume. But don’t worry. This template is also for you!

Notice how this template lists extracurricular, volunteering and personal experiences as 'Leadership and Work Experience', and the resume starts with an Education section. This is a good approach to take if you're a student just getting started in your career.

You can download this template for free here .

Writing a resume for a career change with no previous experience

Making a career shift without prior experience in your proposed field can seem daunting, but it's not impossible. Just like the template above, your resume should focus on transferable skills and competencies that could apply to your desired role and highlight relevant training and certificates. The goal is to convince potential employers that while you may lack direct experience, you have the aptitude and enthusiasm to excel in this new career path.

For more information, read this article on updating your resume for a career change in 2024 .

Pro tip: Gaining industry-specific knowledge

Although you may not have direct experience in your new field, showing that you have done your homework about the industry can go a long way. This could include enrolling in online training, such as Google Career Certificates or Coursera online courses, attending seminars or workshops, or self-study. Make sure to mention these in your education or training section to show your initiative and commitment to learning about the new field.

How to write each section of your resume when you have no previous experience

There are important key sections that should be part of every resume, such as education and qualifications, work experience, hard skills and a resume summary. But don’t worry if you don’t think you have anything to write.

Below, we will explain how to tackle each section of your resume if you have little to no work experience, including formatting options, what to include and the best way to showcase your skills.

Education and qualifications

If you’re new to the workforce or are changing careers, your education and training are likely the most recent and most relevant experience you have. That means you can list your education section at the top of your resume, which takes some of the focus away from a limited work history.

Capitalize on this by elaborating on your academic achievements. Anything from relevant coursework to study abroad can be listed in your education section.

If you're a current student or recent graduate

If you’re a current student or recent graduate, you can also list your education section at the top of your resume above your work experience. The more recently you graduated, the more detailed you can make this section.

Include the name and location of your school, university or college, your field of study and your graduation date (or expected date if you’re yet to graduate). You can also include relevant honors or awards, and significant coursework.

Here is an example of how this would look on your resume, using the template above:

If you didn’t complete your degree

If you didn’t complete your degree , that’s not a problem. You should still list an unfinished degree on your resume a) if it's relevant, or b) until you have more work experience.

Include the name and location of your university, the field of your degree and the dates you attended school. You can also include the number of course hours completed.

Work experience

This is the dreaded section for most people. How are you supposed to write a work experience section when you don’t have any previous paid experience? You need experience to get a job, but you need a job to get experience!

The most important thing to remember is that experience doesn’t need to be formal or paid to be considered experience. Work experience can include volunteering, freelance work, internships, part-time jobs, extracurricular activities, or personal projects. These all demonstrate transferable skills that hiring managers are looking for.

Internships

Internships and student placements are ideal experiences for your resume since they’re still professional settings. You can list internships under your experience section, especially if you don’t have other paid experience.

Include the name of the company, the dates of employment and your specific job title, and list your experience in 3-6 bullet points describing your duties or accomplishments.

Volunteer work

Volunteer work is another excellent substitute for paid experience. Just like an internship, volunteering can be listed in your experience section or a separate volunteer work section .

Include the organization's name, the dates you volunteered and your role within the company. List 1-2 accomplishments in bullet point format, and include accomplishments to demonstrate your skills.

Extracurricular activities and projects

Extracurricular activities or personal projects are great ways to demonstrate relevant skills, especially when you don't have traditional paid experience. Both can showcase leadership , teamwork , or other valuable attributes, even if they are not specifically relevant to the job you’re applying for.

Think about the skills you demonstrated in your activities and frame those skills as accomplishments. List the name of the activity or project, your role, and then 1-2 bullet points detailing your accomplishments. Remember to start each point with a strong action verb and highlight your essential skills and achievements.

For an extracurricular activity, your entry might look something like this:

For personal or community projects, ensure to include the focus of the project and your specific role. Here's an example:

Freelance work

If you’re still struggling to think of things to include on your resume, consider gaining additional experience by starting up a side project , like running a blog or picking up freelance work .

Include the name of the company you worked for, your role, your date of employment and the projects you completed.

Work experience or no, you should still include a skills section on your resume . This doesn’t mean you need to list every skill you possess, just those most relevant to the job you’re applying for.

Look for the skills listed in the job description and list those if you have them. If you’re not sure what skills hiring managers are looking for, you can use Targeted Resume Tool and our skills and keyword finder to look for relevant skills to include.

How to list hard skills

Your skills section should only include hard skills . In other words, things you can prove and quantify, like proficiency with a software program or technical process. Good skills to list could include:

• Software programs
• Programming languages
• Foreign languages
• Certifications
• Design skills
• Data analysis
• Specific types of writing, like proposal writing or SEO

If you have some experience with a skill but are not yet proficient, you can still include it on your resume. Consider arranging your skills by proficiency to show the skills you are currently improving.

How to show soft skills

Soft skills , like communication , leadership , and initiative , are great skills to have, but simply listing them isn’t going to impress a recruiter. Instead, consider a time you demonstrated those skills and include them in your bullet point accomplishments.

If you’re unsure which skills to include in your skills section, use the tool below to get a list of skills and keywords relevant to the job you’re applying for.

Additional sections

When you’re just starting out, anything that gives hiring managers a better sense of who you are and what you’re capable of could be worth including.

Here are some examples of additional sections you could include on your resume:

• Certifications and Courses : If you've taken additional courses or certificates that are relevant to the job you're applying for, this is the place to include them. For instance, if you're applying for a digital marketing role, you might list a Google Career Certificate or a course in SEO.
• Languages : Proficiency in foreign languages can be a significant asset in many roles. Whether you're applying for a job at a multinational company or a position that involves communication with diverse populations, list your language skills here. Ensure to mention your level of proficiency (beginner, intermediate, advanced, or fluent).
• Professional Associations or Memberships : If you belong to any professional groups or organizations related to your field, mentioning them can demonstrate your commitment to your industry.

Remember, when including additional sections, the qualities or skills you’re trying to highlight should be directly relevant to the job, even if the experience itself isn’t.

Common mistakes to avoid when writing a resume with no experience

When creating a resume with no work experience, it's easy to fall into certain pitfalls. Avoid these common mistakes to write a strong and impactful resume:

Over-inflating your experience

While it's important to highlight your skills and activities, remember to remain honest and genuine. Overinflating your experience can lead to awkward situations during interviews and may raise doubts about your credibility. If you've been involved in student activities or volunteer work, these are great to include, but don't make them sound like full-time professional roles unless they were.

Not tailoring your resume

Many job seekers make the mistake of sending the same generic resume to every job they apply for. Tailor your resume for each specific job posting by highlighting the skills and experiences most relevant to that position. This shows employers you've put thought into how you would fit in the role and makes your application stand out.

Overusing buzzwords or vague language

One of the common pitfalls in resume writing is the use of overused or vague language. Phrases like "hard-working," "team player," and "detail-oriented" are often overused and do not provide concrete evidence of these traits. Instead, demonstrate these skills through specific accomplishments or responsibilities from your past experiences.

Including too much irrelevant information

When writing a resume with limited experience, it can be tempting to include everything you have ever done. While it might be tempting to include all your experiences and accomplishments, it's important to remember that recruiters often have a large number of resumes to go through, so your resume should be as concise as possible.

Only include the experiences and skills that can be related to the job you are applying for, and leave out information that does not directly support your candidacy for the specific role.

Forgetting to proofread

This may seem minor, but a resume riddled with spelling and grammatical errors can create a negative impression. Always proofread your resume multiple times, and consider having someone else look it over too.

Is it worth applying for jobs that require experience even if I don't have any?

Yes, it's always worth applying for jobs that require experience, even if you don't have any. Job requirements are often a ‘wishlist’ from employers, and not having every requirement doesn't disqualify you. It's more about how you can convey your transferable skills, whether it's from your education, volunteer work, or extracurricular activities.

Are there any potential red flags to employers if a resume has no paid work experience?

While a resume with no paid work experience may initially raise questions for employers, it's not an insurmountable hurdle. The key is in how you present your other experiences and skills. Employers understand that everyone starts somewhere, and they are more interested in your potential, adaptability, and willingness to learn.

How should I handle gaps in my resume due to a lack of work experience?

When you have little to no work experience, it's normal to have gaps in your resume . Instead of worrying about these gaps, focus on activities you undertook during these periods. You can include volunteer work, courses, personal projects, or relevant hobbies.

If the gap is due to education or training, that information should be clearly stated in your education section. Remember, employers are more interested in seeing a continuous journey of learning and development rather than a timeline filled solely with traditional employment.

• Career Advice

Spread the word

How many bullet points per job should you include on your resume, how to announce your job search on linkedin, keep reading, how to show bilingualism on your resume (with examples), oops what to do if there’s a mistake on your resume, getting the basics right: resume line spacing, subscribe to our newsletter.

Stay updated with Resume Worded by signing up for our newsletter.

🎉 Awesome! Now check your inbox and click the link to confirm your subscription.

Please enter a valid email address

Oops! There was an error sending the email, please try later

Thank you for the checklist! I realized I was making so many mistakes on my resume that I've now fixed. I'm much more confident in my resume now.

• Career Blog

How to Write a Resume with No Experience in 2024

When it comes to applying for jobs, resumes are critical documents that can make all the difference in securing an interview. Unfortunately, for job seekers with no experience, crafting a compelling resume can be a daunting task. Without relevant work history to draw from, it can be challenging to know where to start in highlighting one’s skills and abilities.

This article aims to address the challenges faced by job seekers who are starting their careers and have little to no work experience. Through this guide, we hope to provide readers with actionable steps to overcome the hurdles of the job application process and increase their chances of landing their first job.

Stay tuned for tips on how to highlight transferable skills, emphasize education and certifications, and showcase any relevant volunteer or extracurricular experiences. We will also touch on the importance of tailoring each resume to the job descriptions and companies that you are applying to.

By the end of this article, we hope that job seekers with no experience will feel empowered to create a strong resume that accurately reflects their potential as employees. Let’s dive in!

Understanding the Basics of a Resume

A resume is a summary of a person’s work experience, education, skills, and achievements. It serves as a marketing tool for job seekers to showcase their qualifications and stand out from other applicants.

Definition of a Resume

A resume is a professional document that provides a brief overview of a person’s background and achievements. It outlines the candidate’s qualifications and experience to potential employers, highlighting their strengths and abilities.

Key Components of a Resume

The essential components of a resume include:

• Contact Information: Name, Address, Phone number, and Email address
• Summary Statement: A brief overview of your qualifications, experience, and relevant achievements
• Work Experience: A list of previous job positions held, including the company name, job title, dates of employment, and job duties
• Education: List of degrees, certifications, and coursework.
• Skills: A list of relevant skills, including technical, soft, and language skills.
• Achievements: Any notable achievements or awards that demonstrate your professional success

Different Types of Resumes

There are three main types of resumes: Chronological, Functional, and Combination.

Chronological Resume:  This format is the most common and straightforward. It lists your experience in reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent position. This type of resume is ideal if you have consistent work experience in the same field.

Functional Resume:  This format highlights your skills and achievements as opposed to job titles and dates. This type of resume is ideal for career changers, those with little work experience, or people with gaps in their employment history.

Combination Resume:  This format combines the best aspects of Chronological and Functional resumes. It highlights your most relevant skills and accomplishments while also providing a chronological work history.

How to choose the right format for your resume

Choosing the right format for your resume is crucial to making a positive first impression on potential employers.

Consider the job you are applying for and tailor your resume accordingly. If you have a stable work history in the same field, a chronological resume is the best format. If you’re a recent graduate or changing careers, consider a functional or combination resume format to best showcase your skills, achievements, and potential.

Ultimately, the goal of your resume is to get you an interview, so make sure your resume highlights your qualifications and sets you apart from the competition.

Conducting a Self-Assessment

One of the essential steps in writing a resume with no experience is to conduct a thorough self-assessment. This involves identifying your skills, strengths, and weaknesses as well as determining your career objectives.

Identifying Your Skills, Strengths, and Weaknesses

Begin by listing down all the skills you possess, such as communication, problem-solving, time management, etc. Next, identify your strengths, or the areas where you excel the most. This could be a particular skill, knowledge, or attribute that sets you apart from others. Finally, recognize your weaknesses, which are the areas that need improvement. This could be a lack of experience or knowledge, or a particular skill that needs strengthening.

Determining Your Career Objectives

Once you have identified your skills, strengths, and weaknesses, it’s time to determine your career objectives. This involves setting clear goals and determining the type of job you want to pursue. Ask yourself what kind of work you enjoy doing, what skills and knowledge you want to develop, and what type of work environment you prefer. This will help you determine the right path to take and the type of job to apply for.

The Importance of Matching Your Skillset with the Job Description

When writing your resume with no experience, it’s important to keep in mind that employers are looking for candidates with the skills and expertise that match the job requirements. Review the job description carefully and look for keywords and skills that the employer is seeking. Then, tailor your resume to highlight your relevant skills and experience that match the job description. This way, you increase your chances of being shortlisted for an interview and ultimately getting hired.

Conducting a self-assessment is a crucial step in the resume writing process. It helps you identify your strengths and weaknesses, determine your career objectives, and match your skillset with the job description. By doing so, you increase your chances of standing out and getting hired, even with no prior work experience.

Creating a Compelling Resume Headline

One of the most crucial aspects of writing a compelling resume is crafting an attention-grabbing headline. This section will cover the following:

Understanding the purpose of a headline

The headline is the first thing potential employers will see when glancing at your resume, and it serves as the hook to entice them to keep reading. The primary function of a resume headline is to communicate your unique value proposition, which will ultimately land you the job you’re applying for.

Tips for crafting an attention-grabbing headline

To create an effective headline, here are some tips you should keep in mind:

• Research the job position.  Review the job description to determine the most critical qualifications and characteristics the employer is seeking. Incorporate keywords from the job posting into your headline.
• Identify your strongest qualities.  Think about what sets you apart from other applicants and what you can bring to the table. Highlight your most relevant skills and experiences.
• Be clear and concise.  Use simple language that’s easy to read and understand. Don’t use unnecessary jargon or buzzwords.
• Keep it short.  Your headline should be brief and to-the-point. Stick to 10-12 words max.
• Make it memorable.  Use action words and vibrant language to capture the employer’s attention. Be creative and show personality.

Examples of effective resume headlines

Here are some examples of strong resume headlines:

• Customer Service Specialist with a Passion for Solving Problems
• Digital Marketing Coordinator with Proven Results in Social Media Management
• Award-Winning Journalist with Expertise in Investigative Reporting
• Sales Representative with a Track Record of Exceeding Quotas
• Operations Manager with Experience in Streamlining Processes and Reducing Costs

By following these guidelines, you’ll be on your way to crafting a powerful headline that makes a lasting impression on potential employers.

Writing a Powerful Resume Summary

Your resume summary is the first thing that a recruiter will see, so it’s essential to make it count. It’s the perfect opportunity to showcase your skills, achievements, and projects concisely and convincingly. A compelling summary will grab the recruiter’s attention, making them want to read on and learn more about you. Here are some tips to help you write a powerful resume summary:

Importance of summary in grabbing the recruiter’s attention

Recruiters often receive hundreds of resumes for each job posting, so they usually have limited time to review each one. This is where your summary comes in – it’s your chance to quickly and effectively capture the recruiter’s attention and persuade them that you’re the best candidate for the job. A well-crafted summary will entice the recruiter to keep reading and learn more about you.

How to showcase your skills, achievements and projects in the summary

Your summary should be a brief, three to five sentence paragraph that highlights your most impressive accomplishments, skills, and relevant experiences. It should be tailored to the specific job you’re applying for and should give the recruiter a clear picture of what you can bring to the role.

To showcase your skills, start by identifying the most important ones that match the job requirements. Then, choose the accomplishments and projects that demonstrate those skills. Use concrete numbers and statistics to quantify your achievements wherever possible. For example, instead of saying “I increased sales”, say “I increased sales by 15% in six months”.

Examples of effective resume summaries

Here are some examples of effective resume summaries:

Highly motivated and detail-oriented recent graduate with strong organizational skills and excellent communication abilities. Completed an internship in the marketing department of a Fortune 500 company, where I developed and executed social media campaigns that generated a 20% increase in engagement. Seeking an entry-level marketing role where I can utilize my skills and continue to grow.

Talented graphic designer with five years of experience creating visually stunning designs for a variety of print and digital media. Proficient in Adobe Creative Suite and experienced in all aspects of the design process from concept to final product. Looking for a challenging role in a creative agency where I can continue to develop my skills and create exceptional designs for clients.

Passionate educator with a master’s degree in education and two years of experience teaching high school students. Skilled in creating engaging lesson plans, facilitating class discussions, and managing classroom behavior. Seeking a role in a progressive high school where I can make a difference in students’ lives and contribute to the school’s success.

A well-crafted resume summary is an essential component of a resume, particularly if you’re a recent graduate or changing careers, and don’t have much experience. It’s your chance to showcase your skills, achievements, and projects and make a strong first impression on the recruiter.

Highlighting Your Education and Certifications

When you have no experience, highlighting your education and certifications can help you stand out to potential employers. Here are some tips for crafting an effective education section:

How to showcase your academic and professional accomplishments

When listing your education, include the following information:

• Name of degree or certification
• Name of school or institution
• Date of graduation or expected graduation
• GPA (if above 3.0)

Make sure to highlight any relevant coursework, projects, or activities you participated in during your studies. If you have any academic awards or honors, be sure to include those as well.

For certifications, include the following information:

• Name of certification
• Certifying organization
• Date of certification

Tips for crafting an education section when you have no experience

If you’re a recent graduate or have no work experience in your field, your education section can be the highlight of your resume. Here are a few tips:

• Focus on coursework or projects that are directly relevant to the position you’re applying for.
• If you have a high GPA, include it in your education section to show your dedication to academic success.
• If you participated in any extracurricular activities, clubs or organizations that are related to the job, include those as well.

Examples of effective education sections

Here are some examples of effective education sections:

Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration

XYZ University, Graduated May 2019

• Relevant coursework: Marketing Research, Financial Accounting, Organizational Behavior
• Dean’s List for all semesters
• President of the Business Club

Certified Project Management Professional (PMP)

Project Management Institute, Certification obtained September 2020

Associate’s Degree in Nursing

ABC College, Graduated May 2020

• Relevant coursework: Anatomy and Physiology, Pathophysiology, Patient Care Management
• Clinical experience: 200+ hours in various healthcare settings

Remember, your education section can be an important tool for showcasing your qualifications and achievements, even if you don’t have much work experience yet. Use these tips and examples to craft a strong education section that catches employers’ attention.

Showcasing Relevant Experience & Projects

When writing a resume with no professional experience, it’s important to identify and showcase any relevant experiences and projects. This can include:

How to identify and showcase relevant experiences and projects

Look for transferable skills: Think about any previous jobs, internships, or volunteer work that you’ve done and identify transferable skills. For example, if you worked in retail, you have customer service skills that can be useful in many different industries.

Emphasize accomplishments: Focus on what you’ve accomplished rather than just your responsibilities. If you organized a successful event or managed a team, highlight those achievements.

Tailor your resume to the job: Customize your resume to fit the job you’re applying for. Highlight experiences that are relevant to the job description.

What to do when you have no professional experience

Don’t worry if you have no professional experience! There are still ways to showcase your skills and experience:

Include any relevant coursework: If you’re a recent graduate or currently in school, highlight any relevant coursework you’ve completed.

Use personal projects: If you’ve completed any personal projects that showcase your skills, include them in your resume.

Focus on transferable skills: Like mentioned before, look for any transferable skills you have and emphasize them in your resume.

Using volunteer work and extracurricular activities to boost your profile

Volunteer work and extracurricular activities can show that you’re proactive and have valuable skills. Here are some ways to showcase them:

List volunteer experiences: List any volunteer work you’ve done, highlighting any leadership roles you’ve taken on.

Highlight extracurricular activities: Include any relevant extracurricular activities, such as clubs or organizations you’ve been a part of.

Emphasize key skills: In both cases, make sure to emphasize any key skills you gained from these experiences.

There are many ways to showcase relevant experiences and projects in a resume, even without professional experience. Identifying transferable skills, emphasizing accomplishments, and tailoring your resume to the job you’re applying for can help you stand out to potential employers. Additionally, don’t hesitate to include any volunteer work or extracurricular activities that can highlight your skills and show that you’re proactive.

Writing Professional Skills and Languages Section

One of the most crucial sections of a resume is the professional skills and languages section. This section is essential because it gives recruiters an idea of the skills and abilities the candidate can bring to the table.

Importance of Professional Skills and Languages Section

The skills section can be the determining factor in the selection process. Employers want to know whether you possess the skills necessary to excel in the role for which you are applying. Listing your professional skills and languages will give you an edge over other candidates.

Also, having a language section is like a bonus section in your resume. If you are fluent in a language other than English, it improves your prospects and shows that you have a unique skill.

Therefore, it is essential to create an effective skills section in your resume:

Tips to Create a Skills Section in Your Resume

Be Relevant: List skills that are relevant to the position you are applying for. Read the job description and highlight the necessary skills they are seeking.

Prioritize: List your top skills first. If you have a limited amount of space, make sure to put the most important skills first.

Use Keywords: Use keywords related to your industry or profession. Many companies use software to screen through resumes based on keywords.

Be Specific: Instead of vaguely stating “communication skills” or “problem-solving skills”, try to be specific by stating “public speaking” or “conflict resolution.”

Quantify your skills: Quantify your skills by providing examples of how you utilized them in your previous roles.

Examples of Professional Skills and Languages Sections

Professional Skills:

• Social Media Marketing
• Content Writing
• SEO Optimization
• Data Analysis
• Project Management
• English (Fluent)
• Spanish (Conversational)
• Graphic Design
• Web Development
• Video Editing
• Software Development
• Mobile App Development
• French (Native)
• Arabic (Conversational)

These examples demonstrate how a skills section should look like. By having a clean, organized, and relevant skills section, you can make your resume stand out regardless of whether you have experience.

Incorporating Power Words and Action Verbs

One crucial aspect in creating an impressive resume is the use of power words and action verbs. These words can grab the attention of the hiring manager, communicate your skills and achievements effectively, and set you apart from other candidates. In this section, we will discuss the importance of power words and action verbs, how to identify and use effective ones, and provide examples for different industries.

Importance of Power Words and Action Verbs in Your Resume

Power words and action verbs are essential in any resume, whether you have work experience or not. They can make your resume stand out and showcase your qualities and accomplishments. When used correctly, these words can communicate your value proposition in a concise, clear, and persuasive manner. By incorporating these types of words, your resume can convey your motivation, passion, and drive.

In particular, action verbs are crucial as they convey action and drive. They illustrate your abilities to take initiative, solve problems, and manage tasks, all essential qualities in any professional setting. Likewise, power words provide an added boost, providing impact and increasing the effectiveness of your statements.

How to Identify and Use Effective Power Words

The key to effective use of power words and action verbs is understanding how to use them and when. To identify and use effective power words, consider using job descriptions and requirements as your guide. Look for keywords from the job ad, such as “collaborate,” “innovate,” “manage,” “create,” or “streamline.” Additionally, review the company’s website or LinkedIn profiles of current employees to find relevant industry terms.

Once you’ve identified relevant words, make use of them in your resume. Consider starting each bullet point with a power word or action verb. By doing so, you not only showcase your skills and strengths but create a sense of action and excitement. Some examples of effective action verbs are “led,” “managed,” “created,” “generated,” “implemented,” “coordinated,” “resolved,” and “improved.” There are also many power words that you can use to enhance the effectiveness of your statements. Some examples are “achieved,” “exceeded,” “streamlined,” “maximized,” “innovated,” “transformed,” “solved,” and “delivered.”

Examples of Power Words and Action Verbs for Different Industries

The power words and action verbs you use will vary depending on your industry and your specific role. For instance, if you’re applying for a marketing position, some powerful words may include “promoted,” “launched,” “positioned,” and “targeted.” If you’re applying for a teaching position, you might use words such as “instructed,” “facilitated,” “motivated,” and “assessed.

Formatting Tips for Resumes

As a job seeker with no experience, you need to make your resume stand out to prospective employers. This is where formatting comes in. Your resume’s formatting is the first thing recruiters and hiring managers notice when sifting through piles of job applications. A well-formatted resume makes a great first impression and can land you an interview even if you don’t have any work experience.

Importance of formatting in a resume

Employers receive a large number of resumes for any given position, which means they don’t have much time to spend on each individual application. They need to be able to quickly scan and evaluate your resume to determine if you’re worth considering for the position. A poorly formatted resume can be a turnoff and lead to your application being tossed aside. On the other hand, a well-formatted resume that is easy to read and aesthetically pleasing can make all the difference. Employers are more likely to read through your resume and take you seriously if it is well-formatted.

Tips to create a sleek and professional looking resume

Use a clean and simple design: Avoid using funky fonts or crazy colors on your resume. Keep it simple and use a clean, easy-to-read font like Arial or Times New Roman.

Emphasize important information: Use bold, italic or underline to highlight important information like your name, contact information, and job titles.

Use bullet points: Bullet points make your resume easy to read and help organize information in a clear and concise manner.

Keep it brief: Your resume should ideally be one page in length. Only include relevant information and avoid including unnecessary details.

Be consistent: Keep the formatting consistent throughout your entire resume. This makes it easier to read and gives your resume a professional look.

Examples of different formatting styles

There are different formatting styles you can use when creating your resume, depending on your personal preference and the industry you’re applying to.

Chronological Resume

This is the most common resume format, which is organized in reverse chronological order, meaning the most recent work experience is listed first.

Functional Resume

This format focuses on your skills and achievements rather than your work experience. In this format, you would list your skills and abilities at the top of your resume, followed by your work history.

Combination Resume

This format combines elements of both chronological and functional resumes. It highlights your skillset while still emphasizing your work history.

Creative Resume

This format is best used for creative professions like graphic design. It includes elements like graphics, charts, and color schemes to showcase your creativity to prospective employers.

Formatting your resume is a crucial step in the job application process. A well-formatted resume can make all the difference when it comes to getting your foot in the door.

Making Your Resume ATS-Friendly

When applying for a job, it’s important to understand how Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) work. ATS is software used by companies to streamline the recruitment process by screening resumes for specific keywords and qualifications. Your resume must be ATS-friendly to be considered for the job. Here are some tips on how to optimize your resume for ATS:

Understanding the Purpose of ATS

Companies use ATS to save time and resources during recruitment. Instead of manually reviewing resumes, ATS scans resumes for keywords and phrases that match the job description. Recruiters often receive hundreds of resumes for a single job posting, so if your resume doesn’t contain the relevant keywords, it may not even make it to the recruiter’s desk. Therefore, understanding how ATS works and optimizing your resume for ATS can improve your chances of getting hired.

Tips for Making Your Resume ATS-Friendly

Use the job description to your advantage – carefully read the job description and identify the job-specific skills and qualifications required. Use those same words and phrases in your resume and cover letter.

Use simple formatting – avoid graphics, tables or unique formatting that ATS scanners may not recognize. Stick to a simple, organized structure that is easy to scan and understand.

Keep it concise – try to keep your resume within two pages and bullet point your experience in a clear and concise manner.

Use appropriate keywords – identify the right keywords by looking at the job description and making sure they appear throughout your resume.

Relevant experience – only include experience that is relevant to the job and use strong action words and metrics to quantify your achievements.

Examples of How to Optimize Your Resume for ATS

Job Description: “Looking for a highly motivated individual with excellent communication skills”

• ATS-friendly resume: “Effective communicator with strong interpersonal skills”

Job Description: “Proficient in Microsoft Excel and data analysis”

• ATS-friendly resume: “Experienced in data analysis and proficient in MS Excel”

Job Description: “Experience in managing social media accounts”

• ATS-friendly resume: “Managed social media accounts for a company of XYZ size with proven success in improving engagement”

By following these tips, you can ensure that your resume is ATS-friendly and optimized for the job you’re applying for. Remember, it’s not just about being qualified for the job, but also being qualified to make it through the screening process. Good luck!

Related Articles

• What to Do If You Hate Your Job? How to improve
• Media Director: Job Description and Responsibilities in 2023
• Vice President Global Human Resources Resume in 2023
• Solicited Application Letters: Writing an Effective Letter
• 20 Brand Manager Resume Example & Writing Guide for 2023

Rate this article

0 / 5. Reviews: 0

More from ResumeHead

• Faculty & Staff
• Parents & Families
• First-Generation Students
• International Students
• Job Seekers Who Were Formerly Incarcerated
• LGBTQ+ Students
• Student Accessibility
• Students of Color
• Undocumented & DACA Students
• Veteran Students
• Womxn Students
• Advertising, Marketing, and PR
• Architecture, Construction, and Design
• Business Management and Administration
• Computer Science and Information Technology
• Consulting and Finance
• Data Science, Statistics, and Artificial Intelligence
• Education and Research
• Engineering
• Entertainment, Media, and Communications
• Environment and Sustainability
• Government, Non-Profit, and Public Administration
• Health and Life Sciences, Biotech, and Pharmaceuticals
• International Opportunities
• Law, Policy, and Social Justice
• Performing and Visual Arts
• Labor Market Insights
• Career Development Process
• Appointments & Requests
• Explore Events
• Personal Finance
• Resumes/Cover Letters/Curriculum Vitaes
• Interview Preparation
• Offer Negotiation
• On-Campus Jobs
• On-Campus Recruiting
• Workplace Success
• Professional Development Advice
• eNewsletter
• Meet the Team
• School-Based Career Services
• Share This: Share 20 ways to showcase your skills to employers when you have little to no work experience on Facebook Share 20 ways to showcase your skills to employers when you have little to no work experience on LinkedIn Share 20 ways to showcase your skills to employers when you have little to no work experience on X

20 ways to showcase your skills to employers when you have little to no work experience was originally published on College Recruiter .

For as long as people have been searching for jobs, some of those people have understandably complained about employers refusing to hire them because they have no experience yet the only way to get experience is to get hired.

What we’ve learned over the years is that everyone has experience and that it is the job seeker who needs to find a way to showcase those experiences to prospective employers. You may not have experience as a customer service representative when applying to work as a customer service representative, but chances are that you can point to experiences you’ve had that will satisfy at least one employer’s need to verify that you have enough experience that the risk of hiring you is low and the upside high.

We recently asked 20 thought leaders to each share one or two key elements individuals with limited work experience should prioritize on their resumes to effectively showcase their skills and potential to prospective employers.

Highlight Skills and Tangible Achievements

Avoid ai-generated resume style, relevant experience over work history, emphasize skills and relevant engagements, prioritize transferable skills and personal projects, demonstrate long-standing industry interest, quantify non-work achievements, emphasize niche projects and transferable skills, highlight interpersonal skills from service roles, showcase fast-learning and adaptability, customize cv for each job application, detail leadership in academic settings, feature relevant educational background, incorporate industry-specific keywords, showcase skills, education, and training, highlight communication and flexibility, leverage cover letter to share your story, start with a compelling summary statement, use a skills-based resume format, showcase potential through diverse experiences.

Individuals with limited work experience should prioritize showcasing their relevant skills and achievements, such as academic projects, internships, volunteer work, or extracurricular activities. Highlighting tangible results or accomplishments from these experiences can demonstrate their capabilities and potential to prospective employers. Additionally, emphasizing soft skills like communication, teamwork, and problem-solving abilities gained from various activities can further enhance their appeal to employers, showcasing their readiness to contribute positively to the workplace despite limited professional experience.

GARRISON LEYKAM , Certified Professional Career Coach, Garrison Leykam, LLC

Without significant work experience, ensuring your resume doesn’t appear AI-generated is crucial. Hiring managers and HR professionals are overwhelmed by clearly AI-generated resumes, which often feel robotic and impersonal. Although this might be overlooked for applicants with plenty of relevant experience, for those without, expect your resume to be scrutinized closely. Therefore, I strongly recommend taking some time to understand what AI-generated resumes look like and actively avoid mimicking their writing style. Not only does this convey to the employer that you won’t cut corners, but it also demonstrates that you take this application seriously, making a great first impression with the employer.

Chloe Yarwood , HR Manager, Test Partnership

Candidates with limited work experience can still write effective resumes that impress hiring managers. 

If you’re a recent graduate, try changing your ‘Work Experience’ section to a ‘Relevant Experience’ section. That way, you can detail any experiences that have equipped you with the necessary skills for the position you want, including internships, volunteer work, or extracurricular activities. It’s also a good idea to make your education section longer than it would be on a standard resume. Include your GPA if it’s over 3.5, and list any relevant honors, awards, or certifications. If your degree is related to your target job, you can also add information about your coursework to show that you have the skills the employer is looking for. 

If you’re transitioning careers and lack experience in your new field, consider using a functional resume format. Unlike chronological resumes, which focus primarily on work history, functional resumes highlight the transferable skills and accomplishments most relevant to your target role. This approach allows you to showcase how the qualifications and expertise you’ve gained through previous jobs, volunteer work, or your education align with the requirements of the job you’re applying for.

Eva Chan , Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Senior Content Specialist, Resume Genius

For individuals with limited work experience, emphasizing key elements on their resumes is crucial to making a strong impression in a competitive job market. Firstly, prioritize a well-crafted “Skills” section highlighting both technical and soft skills relevant to the desired position. This provides a quick snapshot of your capabilities and allows prospective employers to gauge your potential impact.

Secondly, focus on showcasing any relevant internships, volunteer work, or academic projects. While traditional work experience may be limited, these experiences demonstrate your practical application of skills, initiative, and commitment. Clearly articulate the specific responsibilities, achievements, and skills developed during these engagements.

Moreover, include any coursework or certifications relevant to the job, underscoring your commitment to continuous learning. Highlight academic achievements, extracurricular activities, and leadership roles to showcase a well-rounded skill set and a proactive approach.

Crafting a compelling resume narrative that emphasizes potential, adaptability, and a strong work ethic is vital. Tailor each application to align with the specific job requirements, and use your resume as a platform to convey not just your skills but also your enthusiasm and dedication to contributing meaningfully to the prospective employer’s objectives.

Steven Mostyn , Chief Human Resources Officer, Management.org

For job seekers with limited work experience, the most effective resumes prioritize two key elements: transferable skills and personal projects.

Highlight transferable skills like communication and problem-solving through examples from academics, volunteering, or extracurricular activities. This demonstrates your potential to thrive professionally.

Showcase personal projects to provide tangible evidence of your initiative and abilities. Whether it’s a coding side-hustle or a leadership role in a student organization, this shows your passion and drive.

Package these elements to tell a compelling story about who you are and what you bring to the table. Use clear language and quantify achievements. Let your personality shine through.

By prioritizing transferable skills and personal projects, you can level the playing field and position yourself as a strong contender. Remember, potential is just as valuable as proven expertise—it’s all about framing it effectively.

Lou Reverchuk , Co-Founder and CEO, EchoGlobal

Try to show an interest in the position, industry, or company. One of the big fears of hiring someone without prior experience is that they might try the role, decide it is not for them, and leave—which is a huge waste of time and money. If you can convince an employer that you have a long-standing interest in this job and it is really what you want to do, they are much more likely to take a chance on you.

Rhys Morgan , Director, Kepler Search

Wherever possible, candidates should quantify their achievements, even in non-work-related experiences. This could include metrics such as the percentage increase in social media engagement from a university club’s campaign they led, or the amount of funds raised during a volunteer project. In my opinion, quantifying accomplishments makes them more tangible and relatable to potential employers, illustrating the candidate’s impact in various roles.

Phil Strazzulla , Founder, SelectSoftware Reviews

First off, bringing emphasis to any relevant projects or personal initiatives you have taken part in that demonstrate your skills in your niche can gain their favor. These could include notable class assignments that required you to develop a marketing plan, manage a digital campaign, or maybe even create content for a specific audience. These experiences are there to illustrate your hands-on knowledge and proactive approach to learning. Additionally, spotlight transferable skills that are indispensable in our industry, such as creativity, strategic thinking, effective communication, and the ability to collaborate. Crafting your resume with these strategies not only highlights your existing competencies but also your eagerness to grow and adapt—qualities that are highly sought after in the dynamic field of digital marketing and content creation.

Shawn Manaher , Founder, The Content Authority

For candidates with experience in customer service roles, highlighting developed interpersonal skills can be particularly effective. These positions often require problem-solving, communication, and conflict-resolution abilities. In my view, describing situations where these skills were applied and led to positive outcomes can provide insights into a candidate’s ability to handle customer relations, a valuable asset in many industries.

Chad Sultana , Founder, Chad Sultana

Their skill and experience as fast learners are significant assets. It is a popular saying that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. In an increasingly competitive yet ever-demanding innovative job market, the truth is that individuals with limited or no work experience have an advantage that others do not. Not only does their limited work experience serve as motivation for their readiness to learn quickly, but the fact that their skills can be shaped and molded to perfectly fit the business and the vacant role also makes them attractive, as they are ready and better at learning and adopting new methods. Approaching the job market with limited work experience really shouldn’t be a cause for worry, provided the individual is able to sufficiently prove through their skills and experience, either in extracurricular activities or volunteer work, that they have a history of being a willing learner.

The truth is, today’s mode of business operations is fast-evolving (though in some industries more than others), and recruiters are mostly interested in finding applicants who can quickly adjust to their changing business operations. Being a fast learner is one advantage that individuals with limited work experience can leverage to improve their competitive chances, especially in today’s job market. The experience and skills section of their resume presents a great opportunity to showcase and draw attention to their potential and their ability to pay careful attention to details and carry out innovative thinking, which strongly emphasizes their fast-learning potential.

Andrew Johnson, General Manager, Drughelpline

Customizing your CV for each job you apply for allows you to emphasize your qualifications. This means that you should research the company, the industry, and the position to identify the relevant keywords, competencies, and qualifications. Next, you should use the same language and vocabulary from the job description in your CV, aligning it with those requirements. 

This will help you demonstrate that you have the skills the employer is looking for and that you are aware of their needs and expectations. For example, if the job description states that they are seeking someone with experience in social media marketing, you could highlight any projects or activities where you used social media platforms, tools, or techniques.

Creating a unique resume for every job application is essential. A resume that is generic or cookie-cutter should not exist. Carefully analyze the job description and requirements to tailor your resume. This will help you recognize your credentials and give you the chance to showcase your transferable skills as well. While hiring managers can quickly spot a generic resume, they also appreciate and recognize the time and effort that goes into customizing a resume for a specific role.

Tristan Harris , Demand Generation Senior Marketing Manager, Thrive Digital Marketing Agency

The key element I recommend is detailing leadership roles and collaborative projects in academic settings; it can be a powerful way to demonstrate soft skills such as teamwork, leadership, and communication. Whether it was leading a group project, serving as a class representative, or organizing a student event, these experiences reflect abilities to lead, negotiate, and work as part of a team—all highly valued in professional settings.

Hardy Desai , Founder, Supple Digital

I highly recommend that candidates with limited work experience prominently feature their educational background, especially coursework directly relevant to the target job. Projects, presentations, and research highlighting applicable skills and knowledge are crucial. Including academic awards or distinctions can further emphasize a commitment to excellence. This detailed educational focus enables employers to gauge a candidate’s potential and readiness for the role, clarifying how academic achievements have laid a foundation for professional success.

Grant Aldrich , Founder, Preppy

Candidates with limited work experience should strategically incorporate industry-specific keywords and terminology into their resumes. I recommend aligning their language with the job description and sector expectations, as they signal a strong understanding of the field’s demands and nuances. This approach not only helps in passing through applicant tracking systems but also demonstrates to hiring managers that the candidate is well-versed in industry language and concepts, making them a potentially seamless addition to the team.

Bert Hofhuis , Founder, Every Investor

For individuals with limited work experience, emphasizing skills and competencies, education, and training on their resumes is crucial. Focus on showcasing relevant hard and soft skills tailored to the job you’re applying for, and highlight any projects, volunteer work, or internships that demonstrate these abilities. Additionally, detail your educational background, including degrees, certifications, and any relevant courses or workshops. This approach, combined with mentioning continuous learning efforts, can effectively illustrate your potential and commitment to professional development, making a strong impression on prospective employers even with minimal work experience.

Rachel Weiner , Senior Technology Consultant, EC1 Partners

In my experience of coaching and hiring team members for entry-level roles, I’ve always observed that individuals with great communication skills and those flexible in their choice of projects are better equipped to make a strong impression. In the ever-evolving VUCA world, individuals who are adaptive, hands-on, and resilient are the ones who strive to make the most of their circumstances. In my opinion, it is always best for those with limited experience to be more open to trying out different avenues than being rigid about their choices.

In their resumes, they can highlight these skills by writing about the diverse projects or initiatives they’ve been a part of, to emphasize their ability to be flexible and open to change.

In the last eight years, I’ve observed that candidates who join the workforce with a more generalist approach tend to have better clarity to specialize later when their career paths become more defined.

Tanisha Guin , Education and Career Development Specialist

We all have to start somewhere, but that start can feel almost impossible when every job opportunity you read says ‘such-and-such experience’ even for entry-level positions. So how do you really stand out? You focus in on you. 

Your resume may not stack up against other more experienced candidates, so you want the potential hirers to fall in love with you before they even get there. This is where your cover letter can take center stage, and you can tell your story of what you have done, but also who you are and why this opportunity would mean a lot to you. 

Hirers are humans at the end of the day, and while I’m not suggesting you make up a sob story to pull at their heartstrings, sharing more of you as a person can give you a far stronger chance of getting further in the process and being seen as somebody who they would like to be part of their team, even if it might mean some extra training.

Brett Downes , Founder, Haro Helpers

To attract an employer’s attention and communicate your career goals, start your resume with a compelling summary or objective statement. You can express your objectives and your excitement for the position in this part.

Paul Phelps , Managing Director, Solent Power

A skills-based resume, also known as a functional resume, prioritizes skills over chronological work history. This type of resume highlights bold headings for skills and accomplishments, along with explanations of how those skills were acquired and utilized in previous roles. 

It is particularly beneficial for recent graduates with limited job history or individuals transitioning careers. In a skills-based resume, the focus is on the resume summary or introduction and the skills section, emphasizing relevant qualifications for the desired position.

Travis Willis , Director of Customer Success, Aspire

Individuals with limited work experience can craft a compelling resume by highlighting transferable skills gained from diverse experiences beyond traditional employment. This strategy showcases their potential and adaptability, qualities highly valued by employers. Instead of focusing solely on a limited work history, prioritize showcasing relevant skills and achievements gained through internships, volunteer work, freelance projects, and even significant extracurricular activities. By strategically listing these experiences, individuals demonstrate initiative, adaptability, and a commitment to learning—all indicators of future success in the workplace. Additionally, considering the lack of extensive work experience, prioritize the education section by placing it strategically at the top of your resume. This draws immediate attention to your academic qualifications and any relevant coursework or projects that align with the desired position.

Kimberley Tyler-Smith , VP of Strategy and Growth, Resume Worded

• For Companies & Teams
• Help & Support

For Individuals

Unlock the world's most advanced digital business card

Manage your team's digital business cards

• Best Sellers
• Custom Accessories
• Bundle & Save
• Shop By Collection
• Why Choose Popl?
• Popl Partners
• Documentation
• FAQ & Tutorials
• Help Center
• Custom Card
• Popl Metal Card
• Popl Duo Bundle
• Popl Card Lux
• Popl PhoneCard™
• Popl Rope Band
• Custom PhoneCard™
• Custom Metal Card
• Custom Badge
• Popl Card 3-Pack
• Popl Card 5-Pack
• Popl Card 25-Pack
• Popl PhoneCard™ 3-Pack
• Popl PhoneCard™ 5-Pack
• Back of Phone
• For Businesses & Events

Your cart is empty

How to Write a Resume With No Experience

Apr 11, 2024

By Nancy Koziol

If you're inching toward the end of your schooling, chances are you're looking for a job , maybe even your dream job. One of the most important steps in this journey is creating a resume and cover letter that will land you an interview. Many job seekers, especially those new to the process, face an obstacle: how can you get a job when you have no experience? Most employers want to know about experience. Today, we're focusing on how to craft a resume when you don't have experience. This isn't just great for people knew to the job market, but also those interested in switching fields.

Resumes by the Numbers: What you Need to Know

Curious about the trends around resumes? Here are the ones you need to know to help you create the perfect one:

• The average resume has eyes on it for 6.5 seconds. Curious how long that is? It takes about 14 seconds to sing the alphabet song, including the part at the end. What does this matter? Knowing how little time you have means you've got to present your resume in a way that's going to capture attention in less the time it takes to sing the alphabet.
• 63% of recruiters want the resumes personalized to the job . It's a common practice to send the same resume to everyone, but unless you're answering the exact same job descriptions, it's much better to take the time to show you know about the job, the expectations, and, most importantly, why you're the candidate for the position.
• 50% of recruiters say that "too many grammatical errors" is the biggest mistake they see on resumes . Yikes! Everyone makes mistakes but your resume is not the time for it.

The Experience Trap

You want a job. The hiring managers want experienced candidates. You've never been employed. Or, you've never been employed in this field or type of position.

How do you land a job without having any, or relevant, experience?

Consider using a different format of resume that shows off the skills you have. That's right, you don't have to give employers the traditional, chronological resume. Instead, move to a functional resume.

How can You Craft a Resume with no Experience?

When it comes to creating a resume, it's important to not simply follow the standard template.

Most people are taught the chronological resume, but often, functional resumes make more sense .

Chronological resumes lay out, in reverse chronological order, your employer, role and duration of employment. This is great for people who are applying for a job with a similar job description to positions they've previously held.

Essentially: chronological resumes are good for people with experience.Functional resumes, on the other hand, does not focus on experience. It shows off key skills, relevant projects, relevant coursework and focuses on ability.

How to Create Your Functional Resume

First things first: writing a functional resume takes practice. The process is incongruent with what we've been taught and done, so it may take some time to get it right.

Step 1: Familiarize Yourself With the Position

Read through the job posting and highlight what strikes you as the key skills they're seeking. Ignore how many years of experience it requests. Focus, instead, on clues in the job application or posting about the necessary skills for the job.

Step 2: Distill Your Highlights to Skills

Once you've highlighted what they are looking for, decide the specific skills they are seeking. For example, if a position is posted that includes, "Updating our pipeline tools for registering and developing new opportunities," decide what skills this requires. They're looking for someone who is organized and can create systems for better lead gen.

Before you worry that you've never updated a pipeline tool for registering and developing new opportunities, move on to the next thing you highlighted and write down the skill it requires.

Step 3: Assess how You Measure up

Once you have a list of skills, think about how you have illustrated them.

Let's go back to the same example: being organized and can create systems.

Maybe you haven't done that, but maybe in an internship you used a platform like Trello to create workflows. Maybe you were a shift supervisor in charge of scheduling (no easy task!).

Rather than thinking about the specific task, think about the skills it requires and make a list of when you have exercised those skills.

Continue this for every skill that came out of your highlights.

Step 4: Determine Your Relevant Sections

Where the chronological resume focuses on things like "professional experience" (which you don't have if you're reading this post), you create the sections.

Create sections for the skills and use the bullets to show how you used them.

Now, instead of putting internships or irrelevant experiences front and center on your resume, you've highlighted your skills.

Essentially, you are saying: this is how I have exhibited the skills you're seeking.

Anatomy of a Functional Resume

When you're creating a functional resume, you want to focus on skills and get away from listing jobs.

We've included examples of the types of resume to help illustrate how to move from chronological to functional in the event you're new to a field or to the work world.

Here's the chronological resume of someone who has worked in finance for twenty years but is seeking a new position. This person is a prime candidate for using a chronological resume:

Here's an example of a functional resume for someone who quit traditional work as an attorney, to chase the dream of becoming a freelance writer:

Notice the difference in how information is presented. The second, functional, resume does not mention an employer, dates or qualifications. It highlights core skills, gives examples of what they've done professionally (but doesn't highlight the short time in which they've been doing this) and then highlights their career highpoints.

Here is another example of a functional resume :

Will Your Functional Resume get Tossed?

A common fear is that companies will disregard a functional resume because it doesn't follow the familiar format.

There are lots of articles on the internet that state recruiters hate functional resumes. But recruiters also dislike resumes that don't show experience.

By taking the time to craft each resume to match the job (using the steps above) and submitting it with an excellent cover letter (our next post, stay tuned!), you're able to put your skills at center stage and hook a recruiter or hiring manager.

Should I Include my Work Experience?

Yes! If you have held professional positions or a relevant internship, it's very important to include that under work experience.

Work experience should come at the bottom of your functional resume.

Final Thoughts on Resumes

When it comes to sending your resume out in the world, there are several ways to get a leg up: even without traditional experience or employment.

First, take the time to use a complete process of analyzing the job descriptions or postings you're interested in for the skills companies are seeking. A personalized resume will go much farther than one that is a template used over and over.

Second, create a functional resume that shows off your skills rather than showing experience that doesn't match the qualifications of the position.

Third, proofread (or give to someone else to proofread) your resume for spelling and grammatical errors.

Finally, keep trying! Landing your first job ever, or in a new field, is challenging but with patience and care, you'll find the best fit for your skills.

Reading next

The Right Body Language for Professional Networking Success

Leave a comment

All comments are moderated before being published.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Celebrating 150 years of Harvard Summer School. Learn about our history.

How to Land Your First Job — Even With No Experience

Trying to get a job in your early career can be a challenge. Here's how to get started.

Melissa Russell

Navigating the job market can be a daunting exercise, even for professionals with long careers and lots of experience behind them.

But whether you’re a recent or soon-to-be college graduate or a high school student contemplating the future , figuring out how and when to start your first job search is even more intimidating.

How are you supposed to get an entry-level job when you have little or no job experience? Even if you don’t have formal job experience, you do have value to offer employers. These tips can help you land an interview and gain the early professional experience that will kick off your career.

What Does It Mean to Have No Experience?

Generally speaking, having no experience in a job means you have not held any positions similar to ones that you are interested in applying for. But, even if you are new to the working world, you have likely gained skills in school, through volunteer work, or through internships that will transfer to the workplace.  

If you are applying for a job that is listed as “entry level” companies already know you have limited or no experience. What they want are candidates who are intelligent and reliable and are quick learners who can soon master the skills needed to do the job.

If you are a high school student thinking about next steps, check out Harvard Summer School’s Career Pathways courses, where you can learn how to prepare for a future career.

What Is an Entry-Level Job?

Although entry-level jobs can vary by industry, for the most part these jobs are the first step on the career path. It is an entry point that either requires no experience or minimal education and experience to apply. They are the lowest ranked jobs — compared to mid-level or senior-level roles — and are meant to help employees develop needed experience and skills. 

It may be the first position you take as you begin your career, and there will likely be training involved. To find out about entry level jobs in your area of interest, go on a job platform and search “entry level” under a company’s name. 

Even if a job posting asks for experience you don’t have yet, apply anyway! You might have a background interesting enough to qualify for an interview.

What Do Employers Look for in New Hires?

A few important traits employers look for in new hires include:

Employers value employees with ambition because they are motivated and focused on what they want to achieve. If you have big dreams, let your future employer know. You’ll be demonstrating you are striving for something beyond just paying your bills.

Communication skills

Employers want employees who show competence in verbal and written communication. Before you send in your cover letter and resume, or an emailed query, be sure your communication is clear, concise, and spell checked. If you land an interview, be sure to speak clearly and demonstrate active listening.

Dependability

A dependable employee follows through on assignments, is punctual, meets deadlines, and has a strong work ethic.

Eagerness to learn

Being willing to learn can help you expand your skill set, adapt to situations, and improve yourself. It also shows your employer that although you have a lot to learn, you’re committed to learning and growing your professional acumen.

Positive people help create healthy work environments and are valuable team members. When you are positive at work, people will likely follow your example.

Employers want people who can work effectively in a group, and are likely to ask in an interview how you work as a member of a team.

Learn more about Career Pathways

How to Make a Job Application Stand Out

There are numerous ways you can optimize your job applications to improve your chances of success.

Inexperience can be an asset

Don’t try to hide your inexperience — embrace it! Show that you are motivated to learn by highlighting your other skills, such as those listed above.  

For example, if you are interested in working in journalism or public relations, let your prospective employer know you developed strong writing skills in a challenging writing class. If you studied abroad , share how the experience enriched you and taught you about cultural differences. 

Share brief personal anecdotes in cover letters and interviews that show how life lessons taught you to be dedicated, hardworking, and motivated; the very qualities employers are looking for in new employees.

Do your research

Learn about the company you are interested in and tie their mission to your personal passions and life experiences. For example, if you want to work for a film studio, be sure to discuss how you loved movies growing up. Explain how that shared passion will enable you to learn quickly once you’re hired.

Build your skills

As you peruse job listings, pay attention to the skills employers are looking for and find commonalities. Do they all seem to use a specific database management system? If so, find out how to gain experience with that platform, through online training or courses at a local college. 

If you are still in college or recently graduated, you might be eligible for an internship in an industry that interests you. Sometimes internships are paid or come with a stipend, and many times, they lead to a job offer with the company after the internship is completed. 

A 2019 study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that more than 70 percent of internships led to a job offer.

Earn a professional certificate or certification

Professional certification can be an invaluable addition to your resume. In technical careers like cybersecurity, IT, or data analysis, holding industry-approved skills will show potential employers you are qualified to do the work — even if you have never held a job in the industry.

Networking involves building relationships with people in the industry that interests you. These people will be immensely helpful as you apply for entry level positions.

Resume and Cover Letter Tips

A resume is your opportunity to highlight the value you bring to an employer. A cover letter makes the argument that you are the best person for a particular job. Employers will have different needs, even for the same type of job, so it is necessary to customize your resume for each application to improve your chances of getting an interview.

Create a “master” resume highlighting the qualifications, experiences, and skills that make you right for this job, including relevant coursework such as computer science, math, economics, or writing. If you have a strong GPA and academic honors, list them. Additionally, if you have relevant volunteer or extracurricular experience — particularly if you held a leadership role — if you worked in internships or attended programs like Harvard Summer School , include those as well.

When you are planning to apply for a particular position, read through the job description and note the skills, experiences, and qualifications they are seeking with those that match your own. Tailor your “master” resume by highlighting the specific skills and qualifications emphasized in the job posting. Mirror the language they use, whenever possible, to help get through an automated scanning tool such as applicant tracking systems.

Tailor your cover letter by elaborating on those same skills and experiences you highlighted in your resume. If you completed projects in classes that would be relevant to a future employer, briefly describe them. Relevant skills will likely vary depending on the industry you are interested in, but could include:

• Microsoft Office, Google Suite, or Adobe products like Word, Google Sheets, and Photoshop
• Computer programing
• Social media
• Multiple languages
• Public speaking

If you are having trouble identifying relevant skills, consider volunteering at an organization that could provide that necessary experience. This will also give you the opportunity to familiarize yourself with the day-to-day workings in the field and build relationships that will be useful to you later on.

How to Leverage Job Boards

Many employers list entry-level positions on job boards such as Indeed , Zip Recruiter , Monster or LinkedIn.  

LinkedIn is a social media platform designed to connect people professionally and you can seek out recruiters at companies you are interested in, as well as industry professionals. The LinkedIn jobs section can give you insight into what sort of careers are available in industries that interest you, the types of skills needed, and the names of recruiters and hiring managers who may be willing to answer your questions. 

You can also use LinkedIn to research relevant professionals to gain insights, research companies, set alerts for entry-level jobs, and find alumni from your high school or college to connect with.Consider using LinkedIn to help build your personal brand to show off what you can offer potential employers.

Increase Your Value

Once you’ve determined what skills are sought out in your ideal first job, identify gaps in your experience so you can invest in becoming the ideal candidate. 

Whether you’re in high school, college, or recently graduated, Harvard Summer School may have a course that can help you build these skills such as Web Programming with Python and JavaScript or Strategic Communication and Public Relations . If it’s the interview you’re worried about, consider a Public Speaking course .  If you have yet to decide what career path to take, consider an exploratory course like these Career Pathways courses to find what’s right for you.

Explore college programs for high school students

Explore summer courses for college students

About the Author

Melissa Russell is an award-winning journalist and editor living in the Boston area. She has written for many news outlets as well as for websites, trade publications and other platforms.

Meet the 2024 Pre-College Resident Deans

Meet the resident deans who are an integral part of the Harvard Pre-College Program experience.

Harvard Division of Continuing Education

The Division of Continuing Education (DCE) at Harvard University is dedicated to bringing rigorous academics and innovative teaching capabilities to those seeking to improve their lives through education. We make Harvard education accessible to lifelong learners from high school to retirement.

The Ohio State University

• BuckeyeLink
• Search Ohio State

How to Boost Your Resume Without a Summer Internship

Summer internships are one of the most common ways to gain relevant experience, but they certainly aren’t the only. Many students don’t realize that there are still several ways to build your engineering qualifications and strengthen your resume. If you won’t be participating in an internship this summer, it is advantageous to complete at least one alternative experience that you can add to your resume. 

On campus research opportunities are available to undergraduate students both during the semester and over the summer. Even if you don’t think the grad school or research paths align with your long-term career goals, undergraduate research experiences provide you with technical knowledge and hands-on skills. You can also use research lab experience to highlight your problem solving, quick learning, and collaborating abilities.

Micro-Internships and Projects

Companies post micro-internship opportunities when they are looking for help on one specific project. The project’s scope, deadline, and pay may vary. Micro-Internships give students the flexibility of setting their own work schedule/hours. Similar to traditional internships, micro-internships require you to apply technical and soft skills in a professional environment to meet expectations and complete the project on time. You can also learn new skills by engaging in personal projects. Whether it involves software, hardware, or a combination of the two, you can tailor personal projects to meet your specific needs. This type of project highlights your ability to take initiative, use your resources, and work independently.

Online Courses and Certifications

If you’re looking to learn something completely new (like circuits, a coding language, or CAD software) there are a ton of free resources – especially for students! These include Coursera , edX , SolidProfessor , Tinkercad , LinkedIn Learning , and more. There are even complete computer science courses from sources like Harvard University available on YouTube. If you receive certifications, these can be included under the “Qualifications” section of your resume.

Other Work Experience

Non-engineering work experiences bring more value to your resume than you may expect. Working as a restaurant server, grocery store cashier, or summer camp counselor speaks to your interpersonal skills and responsibility. Every company has customers, so who wouldn’t want to hire someone with customer service experience? You may also want to mention working in a fast-paced environment, applying attention to detail, or implementing time management.

Volunteering

Whether or not it is for a STEM-related organization, volunteering showcases causes that are of personal significance to you. This shows some of your personality and can even serve as great conversation starters in an interview. In addition to your transferrable skills, volunteer experiences show that you are a committed leader in your community.

“Don’t follow where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Related News

By Claire Cain Miller and Josh Katz

A group of economists recently performed an experiment on around 100 of the largest companies in the country, applying for jobs using made-up résumés with equivalent qualifications but different personal characteristics. They changed applicants’ names to suggest that they were white or Black, and male or female — Latisha or Amy, Lamar or Adam.

On Monday, they released the names of the companies . On average, they found, employers contacted the presumed white applicants 9.5 percent more often than the presumed Black applicants.

Yet this practice varied significantly by firm and industry. One-fifth of the companies — many of them retailers or car dealers — were responsible for nearly half of the gap in callbacks to white and Black applicants.

Two companies favored white applicants over Black applicants significantly more than others. They were AutoNation, a used car retailer, which contacted presumed white applicants 43 percent more often, and Genuine Parts Company, which sells auto parts including under the NAPA brand, and called presumed white candidates 33 percent more often.

In a statement, Heather Ross, a spokeswoman for Genuine Parts, said, “We are always evaluating our practices to ensure inclusivity and break down barriers, and we will continue to do so.” AutoNation did not respond to a request for comment.

Companies With the Largest and Smallest Racial Contact Gaps

Of the 97 companies in the experiment, two stood out as contacting presumed white job applicants significantly more often than presumed Black ones. At 14 companies, there was little or no difference in how often they called back the presumed white or Black applicants.

Source: Patrick Kline, Evan K. Rose and Christopher R. Walters

Known as an audit study , the experiment was the largest of its kind in the United States: The researchers sent 80,000 résumés to 10,000 jobs from 2019 to 2021. The results demonstrate how entrenched employment discrimination is in parts of the U.S. labor market — and the extent to which Black workers start behind in certain industries.

“I am not in the least bit surprised,” said Daiquiri Steele, an assistant professor at the University of Alabama School of Law who previously worked for the Department of Labor on employment discrimination. “If you’re having trouble breaking in, the biggest issue is the ripple effect it has. It affects your wages and the economy of your community going forward.”

Some companies showed no difference in how they treated applications from people assumed to be white or Black. Their human resources practices — and one policy in particular (more on that later) — offer guidance for how companies can avoid biased decisions in the hiring process.

A lack of racial bias was more common in certain industries: food stores, including Kroger; food products, including Mondelez; freight and transport, including FedEx and Ryder; and wholesale, including Sysco and McLane Company.

“We want to bring people’s attention not only to the fact that racism is real, sexism is real, some are discriminating, but also that it’s possible to do better, and there’s something to be learned from those that have been doing a good job,” said Patrick Kline, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley, who conducted the study with Evan K. Rose at the University of Chicago and Christopher R. Walters at Berkeley.

The researchers first published details of their experiment in 2021, but without naming the companies. The new paper, which is set to run in the American Economic Review, names the companies and explains the methodology developed to group them by their performance, while accounting for statistical noise.

Sample Résumés From the Experiment

Fictitious résumés sent to large U.S. companies revealed a preference, on average, for candidates whose names suggested that they were white.

To assign names, the researchers started with a prior list that had been assembled using Massachusetts birth certificates from 1974 to 1979. They then supplemented this list with names found in a database of speeding tickets issued in North Carolina between 2006 and 2018, classifying a name as “distinctive” if more than 90 percent of people with that name were of a particular race.

The study includes 97 firms. The jobs the researchers applied to were entry level, not requiring a college degree or substantial work experience. In addition to race and gender, the researchers tested other characteristics protected by law , like age and sexual orientation.

They sent up to 1,000 applications to each company, applying for as many as 125 jobs per company in locations nationwide, to try to uncover patterns in companies’ operations versus isolated instances. Then they tracked whether the employer contacted the applicant within 30 days.

A bias against Black names

Companies requiring lots of interaction with customers, like sales and retail, particularly in the auto sector, were most likely to show a preference for applicants presumed to be white. This was true even when applying for positions at those firms that didn’t involve customer interaction, suggesting that discriminatory practices were baked in to corporate culture or H.R. practices, the researchers said.

Still, there were exceptions — some of the companies exhibiting the least bias were retailers, like Lowe’s and Target.

The study may underestimate the rate of discrimination against Black applicants in the labor market as a whole because it tested large companies, which tend to discriminate less, said Lincoln Quillian, a sociologist at Northwestern who analyzes audit studies. It did not include names intended to represent Latino or Asian American applicants, but other research suggests that they are also contacted less than white applicants, though they face less discrimination than Black applicants.

The experiment ended in 2021, and some of the companies involved might have changed their practices since. Still, a review of all available audit studies found that discrimination against Black applicants had not changed in three decades. After the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, such discrimination was found to have disappeared among certain employers, but the researchers behind that study said the effect was most likely short-lived.

Gender, age and L.G.B.T.Q. status

On average, companies did not treat male and female applicants differently. This aligns with other research showing that gender discrimination against women is rare in entry-level jobs, and starts later in careers.

However, when companies did favor men (especially in manufacturing) or women (mostly at apparel stores), the biases were much larger than for race. Builders FirstSource contacted presumed male applicants more than twice as often as female ones. Ascena, which owns brands like Ann Taylor, contacted women 66 percent more than men.

Neither company responded to requests for comment.

The consequences of being female differed by race. The differences were small, but being female was a slight benefit for white applicants, and a slight penalty for Black applicants.

The researchers also tested several other characteristics protected by law, with a smaller number of résumés. They found there was a small penalty for being over 40.

Overall, they found no penalty for using nonbinary pronouns. Being gay, as indicated by including membership in an L.G.B.T.Q. club on the résumé, resulted in a slight penalty for white applicants, but benefited Black applicants — although the effect was small, when this was on their résumés, the racial penalty disappeared.

Under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, discrimination is illegal even if it’s unintentional . Yet in the real world, it is difficult for job applicants to know why they did not hear back from a company.

“These practices are particularly challenging to address because applicants often do not know whether they are being discriminated against in the hiring process,” Brandalyn Bickner, a spokeswoman for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, said in a statement. (It has seen the data and spoken with the researchers, though it could not use an academic study as the basis for an investigation, she said.)

What companies can do to reduce discrimination

Several common measures — like employing a chief diversity officer, offering diversity training or having a diverse board — were not correlated with decreased discrimination in entry-level hiring, the researchers found.

But one thing strongly predicted less discrimination: a centralized H.R. operation.

The researchers recorded the voice mail messages that the fake applicants received. When a company’s calls came from fewer individual phone numbers, suggesting that they were originating from a central office, there tended to be less bias . When they came from individual hiring managers at local stores or warehouses, there was more. These messages often sounded frantic and informal, asking if an applicant could start the next day, for example.

“That’s when implicit biases kick in,” Professor Kline said. A more formalized hiring process helps overcome this, he said: “Just thinking about things, which steps to take, having to run something by someone for approval, can be quite important in mitigating bias.”

At Sysco, a wholesale restaurant food distributor, which showed no racial bias in the study, a centralized recruitment team reviews résumés and decides whom to call. “Consistency in how we review candidates, with a focus on the requirements of the position, is key,” said Ron Phillips, Sysco’s chief human resources officer. “It lessens the opportunity for personal viewpoints to rise in the process.”

Another important factor is diversity among the people hiring, said Paula Hubbard, the chief human resources officer at McLane Company. It procures, stores and delivers products for large chains like Walmart, and showed no racial bias in the study. Around 40 percent of the company’s recruiters are people of color, and 60 percent are women.

Diversifying the pool of people who apply also helps, H.R. officials said. McLane goes to events for women in trucking and puts up billboards in Spanish.

So does hiring based on skills, versus degrees . While McLane used to require a college degree for many roles, it changed that practice after determining that specific skills mattered more for warehousing or driving jobs. “We now do that for all our jobs: Is there truly a degree required?” Ms. Hubbard said. “Why? Does it make sense? Is experience enough?”

Hilton, another company that showed no racial bias in the study, also stopped requiring degrees for many jobs, in 2018.

Another factor associated with less bias in hiring, the new study found, was more regulatory scrutiny — like at federal contractors, or companies with more Labor Department citations.

Finally, more profitable companies were less biased, in line with a long-held economics theory by the Nobel Prize winner Gary Becker that discrimination is bad for business. Economists said that could be because the more profitable companies benefit from a more diverse set of employees. Or it could be an indication that they had more efficient business processes, in H.R. and elsewhere.

Claire Cain Miller writes about gender, families and the future of work for The Upshot. She joined The Times in 2008 and was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for public service for reporting on workplace sexual harassment issues. More about Claire Cain Miller

Josh Katz is a graphics editor for The Upshot, where he covers a range of topics involving politics, policy and culture. He is the author of “Speaking American: How Y’all, Youse, and You Guys Talk,” a visual exploration of American regional dialects. More about Josh Katz

From The Upshot: What the Data Says

Analysis that explains politics, policy and everyday life..

Employment Discrimination: Researchers sent 80,000 fake résumés to some of the largest companies in the United States. They found that some discriminated against Black applicants much more than others .

Pandemic School Closures: ​A variety of data about children’s academic outcomes and about the spread of Covid-19 has accumulated since the start of the pandemic. Here is what we learned from it .

Affirmative Action: The Supreme Court effectively ended race-based preferences in admissions. But will selective schools still be able to achieve diverse student bodies? Here is how they might try .

N.Y.C. Neighborhoods: We asked New Yorkers to map their neighborhoods and to tell us what they call them . The result, while imperfect, is an extremely detailed map of the city .

Dialect Quiz:  What does the way you speak say about where you’re from? Answer these questions to find out .

O.J. Simpson will be cremated; estate executor says 'hard no' to controversial ex-athlete’s brain being studied for CTE

A lawyer who represented O.J. Simpson, who died from cancer last week at 76, said Sunday that the former NFL star’s body will be cremated in the coming days, and there are no plans to have his brain donated to science.

“On at least one occasion, someone has called saying he’s a CTE guy who studies the brain,” said attorney Malcolm LaVergne, referring to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease that has been studied in former football players and is associated with behavioral and cognitive issues related to repeated head injuries.

“That’s a hard no,” LaVergne added. “His entire body, including his brain, will be cremated.”

News of the cremation and the request to study his brain was first reported by the New York Post .

LaVergne, who is now serving as the executor of Simpson’s estate, said there are tentative plans for a “celebration of life” gathering limited to close friends and family. Simpson had three children with his first wife, Marguerite Whitley, and two children with his second wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, whom he divorced in 1992. In 1995, Simpson was famously acquitted in the murder of Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.

LaVergne on Sunday also clarified comments made to the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Friday in which he said he didn’t want Goldman’s family to be able to collect any money from Simpson’s estate and it was “my hope that the Goldmans get zero, nothing.”

He said he was referring to a debt collection lawyer working with the Goldman family who, “within an hour we announced Simpson’s death, is bashing Simpson and all this stuff, ‘We’re going to do this and that.’”

“In hindsight, in response to that statement that ‘it’s my hope they get zero, nothing,’ I think that was pretty harsh,” LaVergne added. “Now that I understand my role as the executor and the personal representative, it’s time to tone down the rhetoric and really get down to what my role is as a personal representative.”

As he works to calculate the worth of Simpson’s estate and take inventory of his assets and belongings, LaVergne said he would invite a legal representative of the Goldmans to review his findings.

“We can get this thing resolved in a calm and dispassionate manner,” LaVergne said.

Following Simpson’s death, Goldman’s father, Fred Goldman, expressed no sympathy for the fallen Hall of Fame icon turned Hollywood pitchman, telling NBC News that “it’s no great loss to the world. It’s a further reminder of Ron’s being gone.”Simpson, who long maintained his innocence in the deaths of Brown Simpson and Goldman, died without having paid off most of a $33.5 million wrongful death judgment awarded in 1997 in a lawsuit filed by the victims’ families.

LaVergne said he welcomes Fred Goldman and his lawyer, David Cook, trying to ascertain any other financial assets, but with Simpson’s death, the estate must distribute money to creditors who have claims “according to priority.”

“Goldman and the other creditors for decades now have played, ‘Hey, if I get to find something of Simpson’s first, I get it or I get most of it,’” LaVergne said.

“But keep in mind, if he finds $1 million, he no longer gets to keep that $1 million,” he added. “The $1 million is going to come into the estate first, and then we see where the priorities are, and then he gets to keep it because he’s No. 8 on the list” of priorities.

LaVergne has said among Simpson’s debts is money owed to the Internal Revenue Service. In the wake of the lawsuit against him three decades ago, many of Simpson’s possessions, including footballs, jerseys and other sports memorabilia, were seized from his Brentwood estate in California to pay off the judgment. Simpson was living in Las Vegas before his death.

Cook said Sunday that there will be intense interest from lawyers for various parties seeking restitution as Simpson's finances are laid bare.

But "everybody knows when O.J. left, he left without penance," Cook said.

Goldman and Cook have said the litigation against Simpson was not about the money but seeking justice after his acquittal.

“It’s holding the man who killed my son and Nicole responsible,” Fred Goldman said in a previous statement after winning his civil trial.

Simpson’s will asks that LaVergne also set aside money for a “suitable monument” at his gravesite. It also says that Simpson wants the document to be administered “without litigation or dispute,” and if any beneficiary or heir fails to follow that dictate, they “shall receive, free of trust, one dollar ($1.00) and no more in lieu of any claimed interest in this will or its assets.”

Erik Ortiz is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital focusing on racial injustice and social inequality.