How to Write a Resume With No Work Experience

Use Letter-size paper, a single column and one page. Running order: contact block, professional summary, education, experience (internships, campus jobs and volunteering all belong here), then skills. Omit a photograph, your age, date of birth, marital status and Social Security number. US employers are not permitted to require those details, and volunteering them can get an application screened out.

• Internships and externships – name the team, the tool and the deliverable.
• Work-study and campus jobs – library desk, dining hall, teaching assistant, resident adviser.
• Volunteer hours – record hours per week and the running total.
• Capstone and course projects – list the software used and the measurable outcome.
• GPA and honors – include GPA when it is 3.5 or above, plus dean's list entries.

American recruiters filter on evidence. “Answered 60+ calls per shift and held average wait time under two minutes” outperforms “good communication skills”. Open each bullet with a past-tense action verb, follow it with a number, then state the result. Three to five bullets per entry is the right density, and every one of them should survive the question “so what?”

• High school student: put education first, then any job, sports team or club office you held.
• Recent graduate: lead with the degree, then internships, a research assistantship or a leadership role in a student organization.
• Career changer: add a three-line summary that names the target role and the overlapping skills, then keep the rest strictly reverse-chronological.

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