Free Resume Builder

No Real Experience: New Graduate Resume Tips

Without any real workforce experience, it can be tough to compete for positions with mid-career job seekers who have been on the professional circuit for years. New graduates everywhere face this same challenge. You'll get your foot in the door eventually, and at that point you'll be on your way up the career ladder. But how can you get over the wall between here and there? How can you craft a resume that appeals to employers in spite of a thin-to-non-existent "work history" section? Here are a few helpful tips.

Creating a Resume with Minimal Job Experience

1. Instead of a section titled "work history", try one titled "skills". Use this section to list and bullet point specific areas in which you excel, and follow each bullet point with a brief (one-line) elaboration. For example, list "programing languages". Then follow that heading with each of the languages in which you're fluent. "Initiative" can be followed by the clubs you founded and charitable projects you launched while you were in school.

2. Highlight your educational credentials. Devote a section of your resume to the relevant courses you've taken, and discuss your most ambitious and successful class projects.

3. If you have any paid employment experience at all, include it even if it doesn't seem relevant. If you're looking for a job in marketing and you once spent a summer working on a farm, include this and state any responsibilities you held that suggest you're a valuable and hardworking employee. Commitment, punctuality and determination are an important part of any paid position.

Having trouble? We've been helping young employees craft resumes for years, and we know what works and what doesn't. Put our experience to the test.