How to Write a Resume With No Work Experience (Students, Graduates, First Job)
What to put on a resume with no work experience: education, projects, internships, volunteering and student jobs, with a structure and before/after examples.
Writing your first resume feels like a paradox: you need experience to get a job, and a job to get experience. In practice, employers hiring students and graduates don't expect a long career — they expect evidence that you can learn, deliver and work with others.
This guide shows what to put on a resume when you have no formal work experience, how to structure it, and how to turn everyday activities into convincing proof.
What to put instead of work experience
- Education: degree, school, years, and relevant courses or a thesis topic if they relate to the job.
- Projects: academic, group or personal projects — a website, a market study, an app, an event.
- Internships and placements, even short ones.
- Part-time and student jobs: retail, hospitality, tutoring, delivery. They prove reliability and customer skills.
- Volunteering and associations: roles with responsibility (treasurer, event organiser, team captain) are especially valuable.
- Certifications and online courses related to the role.
A structure for a first resume
- Header: name, target job or field, email, phone, city, LinkedIn or portfolio.
- Summary: two lines on what you're studying or have just finished and what you're looking for.
- Education: first, because it's currently your main qualification.
- Projects: two or three, chosen for the job.
- Experience: internships, student jobs, volunteering.
- Skills and languages: precise tools and levels.
Keep it to one page. If you're unsure about length, see our article on one-page vs two-page resumes.
Turn activities into evidence
Describe each activity the way you would describe a job: an action, what you did, and what it produced.
Before: "Member of the student association."
After: "Treasurer of a 60-member student association: managed a €4,000 annual budget and organised the yearly fundraising event."
Before: "Group project in marketing."
After: "Led a 4-person team on a market study for a local business; presented recommendations to the owner, who adopted two of them."
Before: "Cashier at a supermarket."
After: "Handled checkout and customer questions during peak hours, 15 hours a week alongside full-time studies."
These examples are illustrative — use your own facts and numbers, and only the ones you can explain.
Skills: show, don't just list
List hard skills precisely ("Excel: pivot tables", "Python basics", "Canva"), state language levels clearly, and let soft skills appear through your activities. "Organised" is a claim; "organised a 150-person event" is proof.
Tailor your first resume too
Entry-level postings still list specific skills. Read the posting, note what it asks for (our guide on how to analyze a job posting helps), and choose the projects and activities that prove those skills. Two well-chosen projects beat six unrelated ones.
CVixeo's AI CV builder helps you structure a first resume and phrase your activities professionally, and it's free to start.
Conclusion
A first resume isn't judged on the length of your career but on the evidence you provide. Choose the activities that match the job, describe them with concrete actions and results, and keep everything on one clear page. That is enough to get the conversation started.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Should I include part-time or student jobs that aren't related to the role?
Yes, briefly. They show reliability, time management and customer contact. Put the details on the experiences most relevant to the job.
Should I put my grades on my resume?
Include them if they are strong or if the employer asks. Otherwise, relevant courses, projects or a thesis topic are usually more useful.
Do I need a summary on a first resume?
A short one helps: two lines stating your field, your level and the kind of role you're looking for orient the recruiter immediately.
Should I add a photo?
It depends on the country and the employer. In the US, UK and Canada, photos are generally left off; in parts of Europe they are common but optional.
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