How to Write an Effective Resume With Minimal Work Experience

Writing a resume is hard, and it’s often not something that is taught in school, so many students or recent graduates struggle with writing an effective resume. Candidates transitioning into another field of work might also face similar challenges. If this sounds familiar, keep reading, because I’m going to show you how to write an effective resume with minimal work experience.

When you’re figuring out how to write an effective resume with minimal work experience, it is important to figure out what you want to gain from the document. What are you going to use it for? Will you be applying to higher education programs, internships, or jobs? If you’re already in the workforce, do you want to stay on the same career path or do you want to transition into something different? Your resume will differ greatly depending on what you will be using it for, so it’s crucial to figure this out before getting started. Next, you’ll want to gather your information.

Start with the basics

When you’re figuring out what information to include on a resume, start with the basics. You should always create a header with your contact information including your phone, email address, and location. Just include your city and state; no need to write down your exact address. If you do have a personal website, include that as well, but do not include the link to your LinkedIn profile. People have different opinions on this, but I find that this can clutter the header. If you’re using LinkedIn correctly, you will be easily searchable, so there’s no need to include the direct link on your resume.

List your skills

Putting your skills at the top of the document immediately increases the effectiveness of your resume.

Recruiters look at each resume for an average of six seconds each. That means you have six seconds to show that you are qualified and what you can bring to the table. When you put your skills matrix up at the top, this shows the reader exactly what you have to offer and highlights that you are qualified for the position right off the bat.

The quicker you grab someone’s attention and persuade them that you’re the right candidate for the position, the more likely you’ll be to get past the initial influx of applicants.

When you list your skills, do some research to ensure that you’re listing the right skills based on the kind of jobs you’re interested in applying to. You want to list skills that highlight your qualifications that relate to the job(s) you’re trying to obtain. If someone can’t see how you’d excel in the role you’re applying for, your resume won’t be very effective.

Gather your employment information

Note that I used the term “employment information”, but if you have minimal work experience, your information might be less traditional than typical employment information. If you do have traditional work experience, gather your dates of employment (month and year), job description, projects you worked on, and metrics and achievements you can include like how many people you worked with.

If you’re in school, are just starting out in your career, have been out of work for a period of time, or are trying to make a career change, you’ll want to include volunteer work and/or internship information. If you’re in school or recently graduated, including information about relevant school projects you worked on will help highlight your ability to work on a given project under constraints, and will help highlight your relevant industry knowledge.

If you’re listing class projects on your resume, use the school name in place of the company name, and include something along the lines of “[Class Title] Project Manager,” “Student Project Manager,” or “[Class Title] Student” in place of a job title.

Want a more in-depth explanation of this? Click here to learn exactly how to craft the perfect job description for your resume.

Consider what you’ve done in your life, and how it can add value to you as a candidate

While most people know what traditional information to include on a resume, (job history, education, skills, etc.) there are some unexpected items you can add to add value to your document.

Advocacy is one of the most beneficial and underutilized pieces of content to include on a resume.

Have you advocated for a family member or for an underrepresented group? (i.e. have you advocated for someone who has specific medical needs, learning disabilities, or participated in social justice movements?) This is something that you should absolutely include on your resume! If you’re versed in communicating with medical professionals, education administration, executives, with local community members, etc., this is a skill that is highly covetable.

Not sure how to word it on your resume? Put “Freelance” in the space where you would write the company name, and use a title along the lines of “Medical Advocate”, “Mental Health Advocate”, or “Student Advocate” where you would write the job title.

For an example of what to put in the job description, try writing something like this:

“Advocate for students to ensure that each individual obtains the education techniques they need to learn and thrive in a school setting.”

Any work that you’ve done to advocate for underrepresented groups can be used on your resume as well. To do this, you could use a similar tactic. Put “Freelance” in the space where you would write the company name, and then put “Social Justice Advocate” in the job title.

For an example of what to put in the job description, consider writing something like this:

“Rallied social justice advocates, clarified messaging, and participated in a peaceful protest to support [scope of protest].”

Travel is a great way to highlight adaptability, time management, international relations, and communication on your resume, especially if you have minimal work experience.

If you’ve traveled in the past or took a gap year to explore the world, you can add this information to your resume.

To add this to your resume, put “Freelance” in the space where you would write the company name, and use a title along the lines of “World Traveler” or “Freelance Travel Coordinator” in the job title slot. Examples of information you can include in the job description are:

“Navigated international travel regulations on a solo trip, and explored various regions by foot and public transportation.”

“Cultivated relationships with local residents to gain a better understanding of local culture and customs.”

“Researched and maneuvered local currencies, exchange rates, and economic requirements.”

Take Advantage of Free Resources

In a society where everything seems expensive and many are on tight budgets, there are a lot of free resources available that seem to be completely underutilized. You may have to work a job when you’re first starting out that is unrelated to your desired career, but that should not stop you from learning about your desired industry and building skills that may be learned through an internship.

A great example of this is social media marketing (SMM). If you don’t have the luxury of working to learn about SMM, take advantage of free resources and articles to learn the tools you might learn through an internship. There are a lot of great articles on how to build content and utilize SMM platforms out there. You just need to find the right articles to benefit you.

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If you’re struggling with how to write an effective resume with minimal work experience, try not to psyche yourself out, and remember that there is a lot of non-traditional information that is very beneficial to include. Non-traditional experience such as volunteer work, school projects, and travel will help highlight both hard and soft skills that articulate your value to a potential employer, and paint a well-rounded picture of you as a candidate.