A person who does not have work experience should not try to create a voluminous resume. Let it be one page, but filled and corresponding to the design requirements. And here is a list of those points that you can safely include in the document, telling the potential employer about yourself.
Professional summary (general information about yourself and purpose)
At the beginning of his career, any valuable employee was an entry-level employee. All employers know this. If a person with work experience is not required for a vacant position, priority is given to the personality traits of the candidate and his ability to learn. Sociability, optimism, resistance to stress, punctuality – all these qualities are welcomed by the leadership of any organization.
Caution should be exercised in formulating your goals. It is not recommended to expressly express a thirst for personal enrichment, the solution to one’s financial difficulties and the satisfaction of ambitions. It would be more diplomatic to mention the desire to gain work experience, the desire to increase the level of professionalism, to work in a friendly team.
Key skills you’ve learned in school and other experiences
In summary, it is necessary to report on those skills that are valuable for a specific professional activity. It can be:
- teamwork skills;
- knowledge of a foreign language;
- experience in public speaking;
- computer literacy;
- ability to convince the interlocutor;
- ability to drive a car.
Education and Academic Achievements
When applying for a job, be prepared for the fact that the manager will be interested in information about the education you received (what educational institution you graduated from, what were the successes in mastering the program).
Classes, training and certifications
This includes courses and training relevant to professional activities. If their passage is confirmed by a certificate, mention should be made of this in the summary.
Awards and Achievements
Many worthy people miss their chance because they do not know how to praise themselves. It’s stupid to be silent about the awards received when studying at school, college, university, on the part of a person without experience. There is something to brag about – feel free to write about it in the resume. Different kinds of contests, subject Olympiads are an opportunity to declare oneself. To participate in them, and even more, to win, is to increase your personal growth.
Extracurricular activities, sports, and clubs
A positive attitude to sports always speaks in favor of a person. A healthy lifestyle is in fashion, and the management of the company is pleased to see energetic and fit people in their environment. Therefore, you can safely add a couple of lines to your resume about your sporting preferences. If there is a significant success in this area, then it will be appropriate to mention them.
People who own a musical instrument are treated with greater respect than others. Do not hide your talents, especially if they will be useful in the area where you plan to work.
Volunteer work and activities
Working voluntarily is an invaluable experience for any person. The activities of the volunteer make a good impression and increase the chances of the applicant for employment.
How to format a resume with no experience
When writing a resume, applicants use mainly a chronological or functional format. The first is based on a listing of places of work and positions. As for the functional format, it is characterized by coverage not of work experience, but of those professional skills and achievements that a candidate for a vacant position already has. You can turn to the third type of format – hybrid. It successfully combines the signs of chronological and functional.
When preparing a resume, pay attention to the following points:
- Font. You should choose one of the traditional options – Arial, Times New Roman. Combining multiple font types in business documents is not recommended. You can vary its size (the headings are larger, the main text is smaller).
- The choice of colors. The optimal combination of colors, in this case, is black (text) and white (paper).
- Paper. The standard sheets used for printing on a printer are suitable. Spending on colored, glossy, heavy paper, in this case, is not advisable.
It is important to divide the text into paragraphs. Thanks to the formatting of the sections, it will be easier for the manager responsible for the recruitment to perceive information and extract the most important from it.
When compiling a resume for the first time, I’m not ashamed to use a template to build this document. In this case, you do not need to format the text yourself. It will be possible to pay more attention to its filling.
