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

By Kellie Hanna, CPRW, Career Advice Expert •Last Updated: December 16, 2024

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No work experience? No problem! Everyone needs a resume for their first job, but how do you write one with no work experience? We’re here to show you!

Writing a basic resume with no work experience is easy once you have the tools to effectively highlight your strengths and match them to each role you’re applying for. We’ve provided you with those tools in this step-by-step guide.

Here’s how to write a resume with no experience in 12 steps:

Choose a format for your first resume.
Select a professional resume template.
Gather your information.
Add your contact information.
Write a resume summary or objective statement.
Showcase your skills.
Emphasize your education.
Add licenses and certifications.
Add relevant experience.
Add optional sections.
Proofread your resume.
Save your resume.

No experience resume templates & examples

Resume formatting tips

To start, here are some basic formatting tips to ensure your resume looks polished and professional, as well as easily readable:

Set margins to 1 inch on all sides of your document.
Choose an appropriate resume font type and size and stick to it throughout your resume. Good font choices are Arial Calibri, Helvetica and Times New Roman in 12-point size.
Ensure proper spacing between sections of your document. The best practice is to use a single space, but adding extra space between section headers and section body text can sometimes look better, depending on font type and how much content you add to your resume.
Left-align your page content.
Use bullet points to emphasize your skills and achievements.

What to put on a resume with no experience

When creating a resume with no prior work experience, focus on your skills, education, and relevant accomplishments from internships, class projects, courses, volunteer experiences and extracurricular activities.

Let’s explore how to create a resume with no experience.

STEP 1Choose a format for your first resume

Here’s a secret many first-time job seekers don’t know about making a resume without experience: choosing a suitable resume format can significantly improve your chances of landing interviews and ultimately securing a job offer.

We recommend the functional resume format for a beginner resume because it emphasizes skills over work experience. Plus, many functional resume templates offer flexibility in how you display your job qualifications. For example, you can arrange your skills into categories to highlight the most relevant skills for each job and place your education at the top instead of the bottom of your resume.

STEP 2 Select a professional resume template

Writing a resume with no work experience can feel daunting. That’s why resume templates are incredibly useful tools for writing a first resume. They make it easier to craft a professional resume because they provide a framework for your information, helping to organize your thoughts and display your qualifications in the best possible way.

What’s more, resume templates save time, ensuring your resume is correctly formatted, ATS-friendly, and visually appealing. This way, you can focus on tailoring your resume for the job you want.

See how to make an ATS-friendly resume for additional tips and tricks.

STEP 3 Gather your information

To prepare your beginner resume, review the job description carefully and note the requirements. Then, think carefully about the activities (such as volunteer work and sports) you’ve done before. You’ll find that many of the skills you learned match the requirements of the role.

Some of these activities could include:

School activities such as sports or the school orchestra.
Clubs or organizations, like student council or a college sorority/fraternity.
Community activities, such as volunteering at a soup kitchen.
Hobbies like writing, photography, or leading a neighborhood group.

As you reflect on your experiences, make note of awards, honors and other significant accomplishments like graduating magna cum laude or achieving the title of student body president. Consider the skills you gained through those experiences, especially transferable skills such as research, organization and teamwork, and interpersonal skillslike communication and active listening — useful beginner skills for a resume.

Next, match all those skills and experiences you have acquired and your unique personality with the job requirements.

Did you know? Skills-based hiring is increasing in popularity, as various skills are becoming more important to potential employers. In fact, a recent study by TestGorilla shows that 73 percent of employers used skills-based hiring in 2023, up from 56 percent in 2022.

STEP 4 Add your contact information

To begin your resume, start with a header with your contact information. It’s crucial that your information is complete and easily accessible for recruiters so that they know how to reach you.

Include your:

Full name
Phone number
Professional email address
City and ZIP code
Professional profile, website, or portfolio

Pro tip: consider adding a resume headline under your name to boost your resume.

STEP 5Highlight your strengths in a no experience resume objective

Every resume needs a professional summary or an objective statement. For a beginner resume, we recommend a resume objective to explain your goals for the job and highlight some of your job-relevant skills.

You could write a professional summary for a resume without work experience, but an objective works best for beginners because it states your career goals and intentions for the role.

For example:

“Enthusiastic and dedicated recent graduate with a Bachelor's degree in Education, seeking a first-time teaching position to apply my passion for teaching, knowledge of curriculum development and strong communication skills in the classroom. Eager to support students' academic and personal growth by creating an engaging and inclusive learning environment. Committed to employing innovative teaching methods and fostering a positive and collaborative atmosphere to help all students succeed."

Notice how this example objective for a resume with no experience displays a mix of hard (curriculum development), soft (communication skills), and technical knowledge (innovative teaching methods) skills. It also tells the potential employer exactly what the job applicant’s goals are: “Eager to support students’ academic and personal growth….”

Explore our library of student resume examples and templates for ideas on how to write a resume objective for a student resume.

STEP 6Make a no experience resume skills section

A recent survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) shows that employers value skills more than GPAs on student and graduate resumes, so when writing a resume with no experience, put your skills front and center.

The NACE survey revealed that 90% of employers seek job candidates with problem-solving skills and 80% want to see good teamwork skills.

According to the survey, additional top skills to put on a resume with no experience include:

Written and verbal communication
Strong work ethic
Technical skills
Analytical skills
Initiative
Attention to detail
Computer skills
Leadership
Organization
Strategic planning
Friendly personality
Creativity
Tact
Entrepreneurial skills
Foreign-language fluency

For a beginner resume, we recommend focusing on 5 to 10 relevant skills in your resume skills section. This way, you’re emphasizing your qualifications without overwhelming the recruiter or hiring manager. Customize your skill section to match the job requirements.

Take this beginner job sample resume skills section, for instance:

Relevant Skills

Software development

Coding (C++, Java, Python, CSS)
Basic testing procedures
Cryptography
Cloud platforms
Advanced Excel sheets proficiency

Soft skills

Times management
Problem-solving
Teamwork
Adaptability

Browse our collection of resume examples for more ideas about how to write a resume with no job experience. You’re sure to find several resume examples for a first job to inspire you!

STEP 7Emphasize your education in your beginner resume

Display your education prominently to emphasize your readiness for the job. On resumes with no experience, especially student resumes with no experience, highlight relevant coursework, academic awards and honors, scholarships, or participation in study abroad programs in this section.

Your education section should look like this:

Bachelor of Science in Media Writing, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA – 2012-2016

Graduated magna cum laude
3.95 GPA
University Honors

STEP 8Add a section for licenses and certifications if needed

If you are working toward or have specialized certifications and licenses for a job like nursing, accounting or teaching, you can create a separate section on your no experience resume labeled “Licenses and Certifications” and place it just below your education section.

Here’s how to make an effective licenses and certifications section for a resume with no experience:

Create a bullet point for every license or certification you have and list them in reverse-chronological order with:

The title of the certification, course or license.
The name of the certifying agency or body.
The date you obtained each certificate.
The expiration date of your certificate, if applicable. If you have not yet finished the course, write “In progress” and the expected date of completion.

For example:

CPR Certificate

American Red Cross, October 2021
Expires: October 2023

STEP 9 Add relevant experience

While there won’t be a work section in your resume, it’s still important to highlight all the work-like responsibilities and tasks you’ve had throughout your high school and university career.

Even if you haven’t officially been part of the work force, experience is experience. Employers are looking for skills, adaptability, teamwork and communication, among many others. At the top of this guide, you thought about all the activities you participated in and the tasks you carried out. Now, it’s time to add those tasks.

Remember that relevant work experience can come from:

Internships
Student teaching
Coaching or mentoring
A role in a student organization
Community service
Volunteer experience
A personal project

For each of the roles you include, add one to three bullet points that highlight measurable accomplishments. For even more impact, start every bullet point with an action verb.

For example,

"Implemented a new customer feedback system, resulting in a 20% increase in overall customer satisfaction scores within the first three months of its launch."

Excellent Action Words for a Resume With No Experience

STEP 10Add optional sections to enhance your no experience resume

Want to know how to make a resume with no job experience and stand out? Add optional resume sections on your resume. If you have room on a one-page resume, don't be shy! Show off your academic or community awards, scholastic honors or scholarships, personal or school projects, language proficiency and job-relevant hobbies.

Here’s a no experience resume sample for an optional awards section:

Awards

George Polk Award for National Reporting (2020)
Conscience-in-Media Award (2018)
Clio Awards (2016)

If you're still in high school and looking for an example of a resume for students with no experience, browse our collection of high school resume templates and examples for guidance.

STEP 11 Proofread your first resume

Typos and grammatical errors are the most common and costly beginner resume mistakes. According to recent surveys, around 77% of hiring managers reject resumes that contain errors, so don’t set yourself up to fail. After you finish writing your resume, proofread it more than once and ask someone else to check it for you before sending it to a potential employer.

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STEP 12 Save your resume

Making a resume with no experience is about more than how you organize and write it. Is more than writing and organizing your qualifications. A polished first-job resume means you also have to name your document professionally and save it in an appropriate file format for the job.

To save your first resume, check the job description for the best file type. If a file type is not requested, .doc or .docx are safe choices because most ATS can read Microsoft Word files and most companies prefer them. Be sure to check and edit each format individually, as exporting can alter your template.

Use this formula to name your resume: Your Name-Job Title-CV-Company Name-Date.

Create cover letter for your first job

Landing a job interview takes more than a perfect first job resume. If you want to beat the competition, you need a strong cover letter to complement your resume.

Approximately 53% of hiring managers prefer candidates who write cover letters because they show motivation, so writing one for every no experience resume you send can boost your chances of getting hired.

Plus, a well-written and correctly formatted cover letter can give you the chance to tell employers more about your background than a resume can — a bonus for first-job applicants. Use a cover letter as a chance to introduce yourself and connect with prospective employers by telling them why you want the job and why you are the best match for it.

We can show you how to write a cover letter inspired by our professional cover letter examples. When you’re ready, choose a template and use our Cover Letter Generator to effortlessly make a professional cover letter with no experience.

Key takeaways

Now you know how to build a resume with no experience! But before you run off to build the perfect resume and cover letter, take these key points about writing a resume with no experience.

The functional resume format is the best option to make a resume with no experience because it highlights your relevant skills over work experience.
When creating a resume with no job experience, transferable skills are your best friends.
Most companies use ATS to screen resumes which can only read resumes with standard formatting.
Add optional resume sections like awards or important coursework if they apply to you, and you can’t fit them into other sections of your resume.
A resume template, combined with our Resume Builder, is the easiest and fastest way to make build a resume with no experience.

FAQ

Should I use a resume template?

If you want to know how to write a resume for a job with no experience quickly and easily, a beginner resume template is the way to go.

Templates organize your qualifications in a way that ATS can understand and potential employers can read easily. Templates also make it easy to tailor your resume for every job and they add style to your no experience resume with professional designs.

When you use one of our resume templates with our Resume Builder, you’ll get professionally written suggestions for every section of your resume, eliminating guesswork.

Plus, you can edit your resume as you go along and after you proofread it. You will be able to create and send your no experience resume in minutes.

Which skills should I include in a student resume with no job experience?

To make a resume with no experience if you are a student, display a mix of skills and focus on transferable skills that translate to any job title and industry.

Top skills for a beginner resume in 2024 include:

Interpersonal skills
Creativity
Collaboration
Problem-solving
Innovation
Leadership
Verbal and written communication
Active listening
Analytical thinking
Intercultural competence
Written and verbal communication
Problem-solving
Flexibility
Collaboration
Time management
Customer service
Attention to detail
Tech savviness
Critical thinking
Initiative

Review our high school student resume examples and templates for ideas on how to add your skills to your resume effectively.

What should I put on a resume for a first job?

When writing a first-job resume, cover all the basics: your contact information, an objective statement, education, relevant skills, and experience. Experience does not have to be in the form of a professional job. You can put volunteer experience on your resume, as well as community experience, school activities, and projects. For ideas, review resume examples for a first job. If you’ve recently graduated high school, check out our high school graduate resume examples and templates to jump-start your professional resume.

Should I put references on a no-experience resume?

Never add job references to your resume for a job with no experience. Save the extra space on your resume for details about your qualifications. If a hiring manager wants references, they will let you know. Writing a resume for an internship? See how to write an internship resume for additional guidance.

How do I write a resume with no experience for a specific job?

Research the skills and qualifications required for a specific job and tailor your resume accordingly. Highlight any relevant coursework, projects or certifications that align with the job requirements and detail the most relevant or important tasks.

How do I write a resume as a teenager with no job experience?

If you’re applying for your first job as a teenager, we recommend looking at our teen resume examples to get started. As with any resume, you’ll start with your contact information, a resume objective and then choose to prioritize either your education, your skills or any extracurricular activities.

Even without having a job before, there’s a lot of experience in school, volunteering, sports and more. Add your responsibilities and accomplishments in any role you’ve had, as some of these will apply to most jobs, such as making inventory, planning school events or organizing study groups.

What is your advice for writing a resume with no experience for a college student?

Writing a resume with no job experience can seem daunting for college students, but it’s an opportunity to highlight other valuable qualities and experiences. Here’s how:

Begin with a resume template in a functional resume format.
Review an example resume for students with no experience.
Create a header with your name and contact information, including a professional email address and phone number.
Next, include a concise objective statement that highlights your career goals and what you bring to the table.
Focus on showcasing relevant skills gained through coursework, extracurricular activities, internships, volunteer work, and any projects or academic achievements.
Emphasize transferable skills such as communication, teamwork, leadership, and problem-solving.
Use action verbs to highlight your achievements.
Include a section for education, listing your degree, expected graduation date, GPA (if 3.5 or higher), and any relevant coursework or academic honors.
Consider adding sections for relevant extracurricular activities, volunteer work, hobbies, awards, honors, scholarships, publications, or projects to further demonstrate your skills and interests.
Proofread your resume carefully to ensure it is error-free and presents you in the best possible light.

How we reviewed this article

Since 2013, we have helped more than 15 million job seekers. We want to make your career journey accessible and manageable through our services and Career Center’s how-to guides and tips. In our commitment to bring you a transparent process, we present our Editorial Process.

Sources

Finances Online. No Author. 83 Must-Know Resume Statistics: 2023 Data on Length, Cover Letters & Valuable Skills
Flair HR. Jendriks, Tom. 165 Resume Statistics: Cover Letters and Valuable Skills
TestGorilla. No Author. The State of Skills-Based Hiring 2023

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Kellie Hanna, CPRW

Career Advice Expert

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Kellie is a Certified Professional Resume Writer with extensive experience in digital media. She is passionate about helping job seekers navigate their careers. She earned a B.A. in English and writing from Temple University.

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