Writing a resume with no work experience: what goes on it?

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An empty work experience section is not an empty resume

The first time you write a resume, you get stuck at the same point: under "work experience" there's nothing, or maybe one part-time job at a grocery store. That feels like showing up empty-handed.

That's a misunderstanding of what an employer looks for in an entry-level position. Nobody expects ten years of experience from someone who's just starting out. What an employer actually wants to know is: can you learn, do you follow through, and do you have some idea of what you're getting into.

That can be shown, even without a career history.

Put your education at the top

For someone with experience, work goes at the top. For you, it's the other way around: your education is currently your strongest card, so it goes right below your contact information.

Don't just list the name of your program. Add what your thesis or final project was about, which courses relate to the position, and what grade you got if it was a B+ or higher. An internship belongs here too: that IS work experience, even if it was unpaid.

Part-time jobs count, even if they have nothing to do with the position

Two years of stocking shelves alongside your studies says something: you showed up on time, you kept it up while studying, and you worked with customers and colleagues.

So write it that way. Not "stock clerk, 2023–2025," but what you did and what came of it: "Worked regular evening and weekend shifts while attending school full-time; trained three new employees."

Everything you did outside of school counts too

Treasurer of a club, volunteer at a sports team, a personal project you finished, a committee in your student association. Those are places where you carried responsibility and worked with people.

Put them under their own heading — "Extracurricular Activities" or "Volunteer Work" — and describe them the way you'd describe a job. What did you do, for how many people, what came out of it.

Write a short introduction, and keep it concrete

At the top of your resume there should be a few lines about who you are and what you're looking for. That matters more for someone starting out than for someone with experience, because the rest of your resume doesn't tell the story yet.

Stay away from "motivated and eager-to-learn recent graduate" — everyone writes that and it says nothing. Write down what you've done and where you want to go: "Recent business graduate, thesis on inventory management at a wholesale company. Looking for a role where I can work with data."

What you're better off leaving out

Your high school, if you've completed a program since then. Hobbies unrelated to the position. Skills that go without saying, like "can use Word." And bars or stars next to your skills: those are unreadable for an ATS and an employer has no idea what four out of five stars means.

One page is enough for a first resume. That's not a shortcoming — it's fitting.

In short

• Education at the top, with your thesis topic and relevant courses.
• Part-time jobs count; describe what you did, not just the job title.
• Volunteer work and club involvement belong in there as legitimate experience.
• A short, concrete introduction instead of "motivated recent graduate."
• One page is enough.

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