Writing a No Work Experience Resume

Recent graduates often ask the same question: How to Write a Resume with No Work Experience? If you’re applying for your first specialized job, use our tips to write your own resume.

no work experience resume

The first resume no Work experience writing process can be a daunting process, even if you haven’t work experience. You might be dealing with a special circumstance that requires some proactive copywriting. For instance, your most recent position may be a demotion because of corporate downsizing, or you might have a nontraditional title that may cause readers to be confused about the level of responsibility you hold. Here are a few solutions to these issues.

Recently Demoted

Many companies have experienced merger mania or a major reorganization, the result of which has been the elimination of middle management and other positions. If you have been a casualty of company cutbacks or branch closures, you’ll want to avoid the appearance of being demoted for reasons of poor performance. This was the case with John, a branch manager who took a cut in title and responsibility rather than relocate with the reorganization of his com pany. An excerpt from his Before resume follows.

Resume with no work experience – Before

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Z-BEST CORPORATION, San Francisco, California 1996—Present
Sales Executive (2003-Present): Responsible for sales to government and commercial accounts in the northern California region. Branch Manager (1996-2003): Managed strategic planning, sales forecasting, budgeting, expense controls, operational strategies, purchasing and inventory management, sales training and development, marketing, and sales/business development.

  • • #1 Ranking: Reversed branch’s historically poor performance from ranking of #33 out of 35 units to #1 in the nation for sales, with added honors as Top Service Branch.
  • 50% Increase: Recruited, trained, and motivated customer-driven sales force that achieved a nationally unprecedented 50% increase for product placed in field.
  • 50% Expense Reduction: Reduced expenses from more than 150% of target to goal attainment in all four major expense categories.
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The solution to John’s slope is to eliminate dates and present the information in a narrative format. Note in the following revision how I began with his Branch Manager position, mentioned the number of years of experience in management, and de-emphasized his present position as Account Manager by placing it at the end of the job description.

Resume with no work experience – After

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Z-REST CORPORATION, San Francisco, California 1996—Present
Recruited as Branch Manager, serving seven years in this capacity with full P&L accountability for branch sales performance. Managed strategic planning, sales forecasting, budgeting, expense controls, operational strategies, purchasing and inventory management, sales training and development, marketing, and sales/business development. Presently responsible for sales to large government and commercial accounts.

Accomplishments as Branch Manager:

  • #1 Ranking: Reversed branch’s historically poor performance from ranking of #33 out of 35 units to #1 in the nation for sales, with added honors as Top Service Branch.
  • 50% Increase: Recruited, trained, and motivated customer-driven sales force that achieved a nationally unprecedented 50% increase for product placed in field.
  • 50% Expense Reduction: Reduced expenses from more than 150% of target to goal attainment in all four major expense categories.

To eliminate any possible perception that John was demoted, he used this closing paragraph in his cover letter.

Z-Best has been extremely pleased with my performance—I have managed the number-one branch in the nation for the past several years. With the reorganization of districts, my responsibilities have been moved to Los Angeles. Rather than relocate, I have requested a direct sales position to stay in the area (my wife and I are long-time residents of San Francisco). Given my management track record, I am taking this opportunity to explore sales-management opportunities such as the one with your firm.

Recent College Graduate Resume

Recent grads can go heavy on this section. In other words, if education is your biggest selling point, don’t be afraid to let it take up the visual center of the page. Richard leveraged his lack of paid experience by positioning an impressive Education category at the center of the page; he then stretched it to more than three inches of vertical space by using a variety of subheadings.

EDUCATION

UNIVERSITY OF THE PACIFIC

Dual Major:
Bachelor of Science Degree, Business Administration—Option in Finance [year]
Bachelor of Arts Degree, French [year]
Course Work Highlights: Entrepreneurial Finance; Portfolio Management & Theory;
International Finance; Business and Real Estate Economics; Monetary Policy and the Banking System
Honors: John Bradford Scholarship Recipient (based on academic performance)

Solutions for Downplaying Less-Relevant Positions

If you have a category with just one item in it, such as an award, interest or affiliation, avoid listing it under a separate category. A single item can look lonely on its own, diminishing its impact. It also wastes two additional lines of space on the resume: the heading line and the line space between the heading and the item. Extra space, called white space, also draws the reader’s eye to the item. If the single item is fabulously impressive, fine. List it by itself. If it isn’t, you have probably succeeded in drawing attention away from some other feature on your resume that should have earned more recognition.

This doesn’t mean you need to exclude one-liner items from your resume. If including the item will support your candidacy, look for another category to weave it into, such as a Qualifications Summary or Accomplishments section.

Resume sections to Highlight

Highlight the relevant data related to Affiliations, Awards or Interests. All sections should have information that relates to the position you’re applying for.

AFFILIATION Samples for No Work Experienced Profiles

Sales profile
I had more than 200 volunteer hours in a Volunteering Service. This year, I am on track to earn the Best Volunteering Awards.

Public Relations profile
– Southeast Community Alcohol Center
– President, Board of Directors (2006)
– Member of Board (1999–Present)
– Marketing Society as a specialist in maintain a favorable public image for organizations
– Public Relations Club

Sociologist
I was affiliated with the Peer Advocates of Tennyson High School. I am a member of Champions Area Church Service Society. 

Psychology Researcher
– Secretary, Psycho-Lemonade Department, University of Florida
– Student Caucus Representative, American Psychological Association
– I am a member of Theta Xi fraternity the Psycho-Lemonade  at Florida where I served as the associate member treasure for the fall semester and helped in planning multiple events to help better the fraternity.

Elementary School Teacher
– Developed and presented lesson plans for Kindergarteners at First United Methodist Church in Salem, VA.

Sales and Marketing profile
Southeast Community Alcohol Center
Society on Chemical Dependency
Future pledge of the RichmondsFraternity

Aerospace Engineer
Society on AerospaceDependency
Aerospace Engineers Club
USA Aerospace Association
Illinois Young Scholar

Financial Analyst
Society of Women Scholars
Association of Financial Experts. Member
Treasurer, Finance Southeast Community

Biotechnologist
Association of Mechanical Biotechnologist, member
Interact
Biotechnologist Home Owner’s Association Manager

Technical Engineer
– Member in Technical Engineer Association USA.
 Volunteer and mentor children at the West End Center for Youth.

AWARDS for No Work Experienced Profiles (Examples)

Artist Event Planner
National Arts and Humanities Award – 2011
Event Art Award – 2012
Fine Art Award – 2013

Professional Clarinet Musician
2010 Music Award
2011 Chicago Clarinettist Award
2012 Chicago Clarinetist Award
2012 Illinois Award
2013 Illinois Scholarship Award

Military
Awarded Army Medal for outstanding leadership and exceptional performance with the ability to mentor and instruct other Soldiers.

Web Developer
Best Web developer Award in different colleges.

Physical Education Teacher
Physical Education Award in 2016. I have got myself in news articles.

Teacher of Secondary
Nevada Secondary Teacher of the Year 2015
I received this award from Nevada University for my involvement within the Secondary Education.

Vet
– Excellence in California Veterinary Awards 2014
– Petplan Veterinary Awards 2016

– North America’s veterinary medicine Award 2017

Teacher of Secondary
Teacher of Secondary Adward 2012
Student Teacher Award 2016
Awardee in the 16th Letter to Parents – Grand Celebration 2010

Receptionist
Merit for Visual Arts 2012
Receptionist Hotel Award 2014

Robotics Technician
Scottish Club of Robotics Scholarship Award Winner
FIRST Robotics Competition Award
IEEE Robotics and Automation Award
UAE AI and Robotics Award
JPL Robotics Award

Phone Sales
Designed and hosted websites for a company.
Top Sales & Marketing Awards
Stevie Awards for Sales

Pharmacist
Degree, major and year awarded.
Received Clinical Pharmacy  Minneapolis Congress award
Pharmacist Academic awards

Psychologist

American Psychological Association‎ Award
Behavioral Science Research Honors
James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award

Police Officer
New York Police Service Cross Award – 2014
Bravery Award – New York Police Federation – 2015
New York enforcement decoration – 2017

Personal Trainer
Gold Standard Personal Trainer Awards. Charleston. 2013
Personal Trainer of the Year Award. Coos Bay. 2014
IFS Award. Salem. 2016

Executive Chef
Honor’s List (2014)
Reno Chefs’ Choice Award (2016) 

Silver Springs Chefs’ Choice Award (2017) 

Banker
Investment Banking Award (2013)
Bank Technology Implementation Award (2015)
The Banker Middle East Industry Award (2017)

Sample INTERESTS for No Work Experienced Profiles

Sociologist
Race, Nationality, and Ethnicity
Mass Media
Sociology of Food
Youth Cultures
Sociology of Gender and Sexuality
Social Movements
Cults, Clans, and Communities
Class Conflict and Inequalities
Spirituality, Superstition, and Legends
Consumerism
The Family

Fast Food Company Candidate
Culinary arts, Food demonstration and display, Food science and Food service management..

Web Developer Engineer
I am Very interested in CSS, JavaScript, Responsive Web Design, Version Control and Web Performance.

Musician
Proficient in music field. I love Perform music for live audiences and recordings. Travel, sometimes great distances, to performance venues. Find locations for performances or concerts..  

Software Developer
Windsurfing
Cake Decorating
Canoeing
Volunteer
Walking
Lacrosse
Snorkeling

Healthcare Student Profile
Mountain Climbing
Taxidermy
Nail Art
Sky Diving
Football

Bank cashier
Leathercrafting
Kayaking

Professional Swimmer
Understand both Windows and Mac OS
Papermaking
Leathercrafting
Kayaking
Golf
Play Guitar

Waiter
Modeling Ships
Letterboxing
Listening to music
Locksport
Pottery

Waiter candidate
Leathercrafting
Mountain Biking
Paintball
Saltwater Aquariums
Skateboarding
Surfing

Financial Teller
Collecting Music Albums
Electronics
Astrology
Origami
TV watching
Violin
Writing Music

Writer
Poetry
Writing
Surfing
Trekkie
Volunteer
World Record Breaking
Yoga
Windsurfing

Proofreader
Renting movies
Piano
Guitar
Compose Music
Playing team sports
Kite Boarding
Gymnastics

Telecommunications Technician
Online Games
Guitar
Gymnastics
Dancing
Bowling
Chess
Animals