How to Write a Resume with Little or No experience

Perhaps you’re a student or just switched careers; but, candidates must never leave the resume experience section blank in a resume as it automatically raises a red flag.  To avoid submitting an empty resume, there are many tips to write a resume with no experience at all, and still get the job!

Writing a Resume with No Experience for Freshers

The biggest mistake when writing a resume for freshers or college student is submitting an empty resume. To avoid this you can’t just fill up the profile with irrelevant or fabricated information. In such a situation, what can you fill your resume with no experience? Here is the quick list of 18 Things You Need to Know About Writing A Resume With No Experience for entry-level or college pass-outs.

1. Pick the Best Design

It is important to create a resume that stands out. To do so, candidates must select a creative and enticing layout for the resume. By choosing a sans-serif font that makes the content readable and legible, it is easy to create a winning resume with no experience.

2. Create a Functional Summary of Qualifications

Placed right after the contact information of the candidate, a summary statement is more important than a career objective for a resume without any experience or education. An ideal summary in a student or zero experience resume must list your core values as well as goals such as securing an internship.

Also called the elevator pitch, your summary statement should focus on competent skills and expertise that you bring to the table by using action verbs.

3. Reorder the Education

An educational section in student resume holds a vital role than Experience. It must be placed above other sections, beneath the summary statement, and in detail. You must list your highest degree followed by lesser important or elementary degrees in length, as your resume is entry-level.

4. Demonstrate Relevant skills

Just like the resume of a mature professional, it is important to find, shortlist and add relevant skills that make you ideal for the position offered by the employer. From hard skills to soft skills, you can list multiple skills under specific headers. Moreover, if you were worried about leaving the resume blank because you just switched careers, it is best to include your transferable soft skills in this section.

5. Make a Hobbies & Interests Section

The extracurricular activities that reinforce the expertise of the candidate as a fitting professional can be added under the header of Hobbies and professional interests. Even if you have a resume with no relevant experience, it is ideal to list your best hobbies to imply your learning aptitude. You must also mention prestigious memberships and the transferable skills you learned from the same to avoid submitting a resume with zero experience.  

6. Maintain Clarity and Professionalism

To update your entry-level resume to one that catches the attention of the recruiter, you must break lengthy paragraphs into short bulleted points. Your aim is to keep it brief and concise in the resume. Hence, break up each point to make it lucid as well as easy to read or scan as well.

7. Mention Awards and Accomplishments

Another must-have section in a resume without any experience is that of accomplishments and awards. If you have numerous meritorious awards, honorable mentions or even publications, this is the best section to inflate and use it to captivate the hiring manager.  It is important to narrow down your achievements to relevant entries, in case there are one too many points to add.

8. Don’t Forget Computer and Social Media Skills

Most students grew up with Instagram filters and Facebook Likes or Twitter Reposts. In this golden age of the internet, computer skills hold a pivotal role in establishing candidacies during a hiring process. Before submitting your resume with no experience at all, round up relevant computer application skills from prominent resumes similar to yours. Even managing or knowing how to work with Facebook Ads or Groups are excellent bonuses to your resume.

9. Personalize the Resume

It is important to update your resume with upgrades and edits that match your personality. Adding your personal touch to the resume using design or layout is excellent; but, candidates must avoid listing too-personal information in the resume as well.

10. Add a QR Code or Online Profile Link

To establish your preoccupancy with technology, candidates can add URLs or barcodes on their resume. QR Code refers to a customized barcode that helps the employer access additional details about the candidates via Image, SMS, Text, PDF, App or similar other methods to upgrade your resume. In addition, online profile links such as that of LinkedIn is ideal to list on your resume to remove any discrimination based on age in your job.

11. ATS Compatibility of your Resume

The quickest way to pass your resume through ATS without any experience in the initial tests is using standard sections and headers in the resume for easier scanning. You can also use at least 50% keywords directly from the job application to seem relevant to the position. Moreover, any more than 95% keywords are subject to penalization in a hiring process.

12. Back up Facts with Anecdotes

Every skill, accomplishments and educational qualification that emphasizes your expertise as a professional must be accompanied by a competency story to fill the resume experience section. It is best to prepare at least three competency stories, in short, to add to the professional resume or for using in the interview session.

13. Request a Recommendation Letter from Professors

It is natural to have an empty reference column if you’re a fresher, graduate, student or candidate with no experience in the resume. To avoid listing blank reference or quoting “References Available upon Request”, it is best to request a professor or official from your college to vouch for your professional skills.

Candidates must necessarily request the references permission to share contact information, availability and explanation of how dearly you want the job.

14. Fill up the Blank Work Experience Section

Yet another common mistake of most newbie professionals is the blank resume experience section. Also referred to as “Projects”, you must list the entire business-related work file from before under this header. From volunteering work to odd jobs and scholarships, there are many ways to captivate the manager to prove your dedication regardless of monetary or fame-related benefits.

15. Stick to the Page Limit

Candidates must always stick to the minimum page limit depending on their work experience. It can be enticing to list relevant and irrelevant information when you’re a candidate with no experience at all. For graduates and freshers, one page is recommended as the best length for resumes. However, experienced professionals must not increase the length of the resume more than 2 pages, provided you’re not writing a CV.

16. Do not Fabricate information

Knowing how to embellish information might get you a good job in marketing or acting, but not in a corporate hiring process.  Moreover, exaggerating educational qualifications signed by the candidate is liable to punishments as it is considered a crime in a court of law.

17. Add a Cover Letter

The Cover letter behaves akin to a jacket to introduce the core points in your resume that makes the better.

18. Proofread the Document

Yet another important part of submitting a graduate resume is ensuring that the document has no typographical, grammatical or semantic errors. To do so, request a friend, colleague or family to scan the resume once you’re done writing it. Follow the Tips and Tricks to build a great resume.

Conclusion

Writing a winning resume without any work experience is tough. On a closer evaluation, you will find many relevant skills that can actually profit your technical worth in the resume. Follow the above steps and tips to write a great resume that highlights your abilities even if you have no working experience.