A Guide to Writing a Resume as a Student with No Work Experience

Are you looking for a job with no idea of where to start? How about writing a resume?

You don’t have any job experience? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!

We’ve all been there…you’ve decided to get your first job! Maybe it’s to have some extra pocket money, to help your family out, or just to gain some independence. Either way, starting a new job can be an exciting but daunting journey, especially if you don’t know what to expect.

When applying to any kind of job—part time, full time, internships, and everything in between—you’re going to need to submit a resume. A resume is used to show employers your amazing skills and experience. Put simply, your resume is what you will use to convince employers to pick you!

Work experience is one of the most valuable—and most common—piece of information for people to put on their resume. But what if you don’t have any work experience?

Although work experience is important, you can still create a good resume without it. Ask anyone who scored their first job—they were able to do so without work experience.

Read on to discover what to include on a resume when you don’t have work experience and learn about some jobs (for teens!) where you aren't usually required to have prior work experience (aka perfect for beginners such as yourself!).

General Resume Tips

Use a resume template when creating a resume
Read over job descriptions carefully when applying
Create a separate resume for each job you apply for
- This helps you create specific objectives, skills lists, and cater towards what the job description is looking for
Don’t make up skills/achievements just to add more to your resume - you may regret it later!
Try to keep your resume a single page long
- Play around with formatting to make everything important
- Only choose the most relevant/impressive accomplishments, experience, and skills

Highlight your Experience

While job experience is great to have on your resume, it definitely isn’t the only kind of experience you can have. So many other amazing opportunities you might have had in the past are perfect to put on your resume in place of work experience. Employers who are typically employing teenagers or young adults also won’t expect you to have work experience - as this is most likely your first job.

So what kind of experience could you include? Basically anything!

Volunteer experience. This is the most common thing for people to put on their resume in place of (or even alongside) work experience. It shows dedication, responsibility, and hard work. Volunteer experience is any experience you have gained while doing some sort of volunteer work. Have you volunteered for a public event? For a food bank or soup kitchen? With your elementary school? With a non profit organization (such as Integra Youth!)? Any of these and more all count as relevant volunteer experience for your resume. Having trouble deciding which of your volunteer experiences to include on your resume? Include the ones that showcase skills that your future employer will look for. For example, if you’re applying to work in customer service, it would be a great idea to include that you regularly communicated with and aided people while volunteering at a soup kitchen.
Extracurriculars. Including extracurriculars on your resume is perfect for anyone who hasn’t quite gotten involved in their community but does a lot inside their school. Are you a part of the debate team? The president of the chess team? Extra curricular roles say a lot about your initiative, leadership, and communication skills. Mention any extracurriculars you are or have been a part of that you believe showcase your skills and talents. Extracurriculars outside of school, such as being part of a city soccer team show the same skills!
Internships. Internships are a neat blend of volunteer and work experience, depending on the specifics of your exact internship. Like a job, they show dedication, a strong work ethic, and experience. They also show that you were passionate enough about a certain field that you decided to explore it further. Include any internships you’ve done in the past in your resume, along with important skills you developed and tasks that you completed.
Business/Organization experience. Do you have your own small business? Have you started your own organization or non-profit? These are amazing things to put on your resume. Much like the rest of these non-job experiences, starting your own organization shows immense leadership, communication, and organization skills. Like an internship, they are also a great way to express your passion for a certain field.

List your Skills

Skills are one of the most important things to list on your resume. They help show your employer what you can bring to the table. Make sure to have a good mix of hard and soft skills, taking special care to include skills that are relevant to the job you’re applying for.

Hard skills are skills that are often job specific and reference specific tools that one would need in a particular job. These can include technical knowledge or training and are important to include in your resume. Hard skills are easy to cater to the job you’re applying for as you can pick out skills referenced in your prospect job’s job description.

Examples of hard skills include…

Coding/Programming skills
Accounting skills
Customer service skills
Writing skills
Graphic design skills

Soft skills are skills that describe your work ethic and character. These are not job specific and can instead be applied to any job. They are still important skills to list as they can tell future employers about how you work and what your strengths are.

Examples of soft skills include…

Leadership skills
Communication skills
Responsibility
Time management
Organization

Mention any Qualifications You Have

Qualifications and certifications can really set you apart from your competition. Here are some qualifications that are great to mention on your resume!

Being proficient (or even having some working knowledge) of a second language
First aid/CPR certifications
Sports certifications
A lifeguard/sport coach certification
Technology certifications

List your Achievements

Listing your achievements on your resume is a great way to advertise your skills and show proficiency in certain fields. Here are some ideas of what you could put on your resume.

Making your school’s honour roll
Scholarships
Subject awards
Winning/Participating in competitions
- A science fair
- A math competition
- A sports competition
- A spelling bee
Having your work published/featured in a book/magazine
Anything else you’re proud of!