7 Resume Writing Tips Without Job Experience

Be it applying for your first job or your first internship, preparing yourself for the next big life adventure may seem intimidating. While you’re searching through job sites, you notice that almost every job ads required one to have a long list or years of job experience. However, how can a fresh graduate like yourself land a job if you have no job experience at all? Here’s where a killer resume plays a role. You can still land a rewarding job related to your course with this 7 resume writing tips without job experience.

1. Choosing the right resume format

There are a few types of resume format to suit your job applying experience namely chronological, functional, and hybrid which is the combination of the two formats. As for job seekers with little to no job experience to list down, you can still opt for the chronological or the hybrid resume format as most employers prefer it that way. Below would be the summary of 7 resume writing tips without job experience:

• Include contact details at the top of your resume.
• Write a brief resume objective statement.
• Elaborate on your education and relevant skills obtained.
• Highlight your achievements and awards.
• Include internships, extracurricular or volunteer activities.
• Highlight the keywords and tweak your resume accordingly.
• Write an impressive cover letter.

2. Include resume objective

Writing about your career objective on top of your resume is getting quite old-fashioned. Instead, you can include your resume objective or resume summary as another alternative. This is where you will emphasise transferable skills from your related coursework and write it short and simple in about 2 to 4 sentences. For example:

“A recent architecture graduate from one of the top universities in Malaysia. I managed to obtain outstanding grades in my coursework. I am seeking opportunities to leverage my talent and start my career by growing with Global Architect.”

3. Focus on your education and skills

One of the 7 resume writing tips without job experience is to focus on your education and the skill sets that you have obtained during your study years. Afterwards, relate it closely to the job description on the particular job ads. Look for the keywords used by the employer and incorporate them into your writing. Ask yourself these questions for reference:

• What are the skills that can be useful to the hiring company?
• What can you contribute to the hiring company?
• Does your coursework help prepare you for the work?

4. Include an outstanding skills section

Among the 7 resume writing tips without job experience is to include an outstanding skills section. Although without job experience to include in your first resume, you can tailor your skills accordingly to the job listing but avoid lying! Just list down all your hard skills and soft skills in a paper or Excel sheet, then choose those that are relevant to what the employers are seeking in a candidate.

5. Recall your experience

Having a full-time job is not the only experience that you can incorporate in your resume. Think about internships, your part-time jobs, and even freelance jobs count as job experience. If the hiring company seeks particular requirements, then why not gain some certifications? There are multiple online courses like Udemy or Coursera that you can take to make you an eligible candidate regardless of the lack of job experience. 

6. Include ‘other’ section

Another 7 resume writing tips without job experience is that you have an added advantage wherein there is more space for you to include the ‘other’ section in your resume. This section will help highlight your unique traits to tell or show the employee what you could offer as an eligible candidate for the said post. Some of the things that you can include are:

Volunteer work: Think about all of the volunteer work that you have participated in during your study years. It counts as a working experience as well.

Certifications: For a fresh graduate like yourself, it is beneficial if you can include each certification that you find relevant to the job posting as it can help showcase your skills.

Hobbies and interests: This one is optional, but somehow can help showcase the human side of you. Here’s how you can include hobbies and interests in your resume.

Languages: Think you can write or speak more than one or two languages? You can include it in your resume as well.

Awards and appreciations: You can include all the awards and appreciations that you had received in college or university in your resume.

7. Don’t forget to attach a cover letter

Not many candidates realise that a cover letter is much needed when you want to submit your resume to a potential employer. Cover letter is necessary as it showcases the first impression that you have as an eligible candidate for the job post. An impressive resume would not be that impressive without a cover letter. So, you should craft one now for better job employability. Here’s how you can write a good cover letter.

You don’t need to have a long list of job experience for you to write a good resume especially if you’re a fresh graduate. You can use these tips as a reference. Let us know your thoughts on the comment section below. Head over to Jobstore.com for career insights, job opportunities and more!