How to write a resume with no experience

You do not need a job history to write a resume with no experience that works. Employers hiring for entry-level roles look for evidence of reliability, learning and basic skills. Show it with education, projects, volunteering, clubs, part-time or informal work, and a short summary that says what job you want.

At a glance

• Put education and skills near the top.
• Use projects, volunteering, school activities and informal work as experience.
• Describe what you did and what resulted. Do not invent anything.
• Keep to one page.
• Add contact details that work and a professional email address.

Recommended section order

1. Contact details
2. Summary (two lines naming the role you want)
3. Education
4. Skills (tools, languages, certifications)
5. Projects, volunteering or activities
6. Part-time, informal or seasonal work, if any

What counts as experience?

Example bullets

• "Organized a charity event for 40 attendees, managed the sign-up sheet and budget."
• "Built a simple website for a local club using HTML and CSS."
• "Worked weekend shifts at a family shop, handling cash and customer questions."

Use only figures that are true.

What to leave out

• Photo, age and marital status unless the country's norm requires them. In the US they are generally left off.
• Long objectives like "seeking a challenging role".
• Skill rating bars.
• Every school activity. Choose the most relevant.

Step by step

1. Collect your material. List school projects, clubs, volunteering, courses, informal jobs and any awards.
2. Match to the job. Read the posting and circle the skills it names. Select the activities that show them.
3. Write the summary. Two lines: the role you want and two strengths.
4. Write bullets. Verb, task, result. "Organized," "built," "handled" are better than "responsible for."
5. List skills honestly. Only what you can show in a short test or conversation.
6. Check the layout. One page, plain headings. See the ATS guide.
7. Ask someone to read it. A teacher, mentor or friend can catch typing errors.

Before and after

Before: "Helped at school fair."

After: "Ran the ticket table at a school fair for 200 visitors, counted cash at the end of each shift and reported totals to the teacher in charge." (Use only numbers that are true.)

Should you include a photo or your age?

In the US, resumes generally leave out photos, age and marital status. The EEOC, the US agency that enforces workplace anti-discrimination laws, advises employers to limit pre-employment questions to what is essential to judge whether someone is qualified, and not to ask for a photo before an offer. That is why US resumes omit them. Norms differ in other countries, so follow local practice if you apply abroad. Source: EEOC, accessed 31 October 2026, US federal guidance.

Common mistakes

• Padding with duties you did not do.
• A long objective instead of a short summary.
• Typos in the email address or phone number.
• Listing every class or club, not the relevant ones.
• Using a casual email address.
• Leaving a gap in the timeline unexplained. If you stopped school or took time off, a single line is enough.

After the resume

Complete your profile and keep your resume current in one place, then set alerts for entry-level titles. See job alerts. Prepare for the "tell me about yourself" question. See behavioral STAR answers.

Frequently asked questions

What if I have nothing to list? Start a small project or volunteer for a few weeks, then add it. Real activity beats padding.

Do I need a cover letter? A short one helps, because it explains your interest. See how to write a cover letter.

Can I use a template? Yes, if it is a simple one-column layout. See ATS formatting.

Next step

List five activities from the past three years, then write one bullet for each.

This page is general career information.

Related: How to get hired with no experience.