Every year, millions of students graduate and look for a job. However, writing a CV with no experience can be very challenging, especially for students making a resume for the first time. Research shows over 75% of vitae are rejected even before they land at the hiring manager’s desk. We’ve got you covered if you’ve been looking for ways to write a job-winning resume! In this blog, we will share everything you might need to know to help you take baby steps in creating your outstanding resume.
Tricks to Write A CV with No Work Experience
Look for your most impressive qualities
Consider CV writing as an essential way to pitch your sales. Therefore, you need to figure out what you are selling. Make a list of all the things you are good at, regardless of whether they fall under the category of being professional or not. Then, match each skill with the list of expertise the employers are searching for. Remember, the length of a CV will change according to your key skills. For instance, if you are the captain of your community cricket team, this is your leadership quality. If you write for the local magazines, this highlights your creative writing skills.
Begin with a personal statement
This is the first section that your employer will read through after getting hold of your resume. Make sure that you craft your personal statement well. One of the tips from experts is to make it short and simple.
Begin your section by narrating your biography and your current education with two of your top skills. You can talk about all these things in detail later, so just provide a snapshot. Make sure that the words you choose are specific if you are looking for a specific role. However, if your search is generic, then the state shows that your search is open to all the job suggestions that are challenging for you.
Replace the roles with skills
Most of the CVs highlight the list of candidates with their recent employment. But the question is still unanswered: What to do if we have none? In such cases, unlock your potential with a list of skills you have learned and practiced till now. Employers will love viewing those skills rather than reading through your irrelevant job descriptions, like bringing changes to the supermarket shelves.
Here, the prewritten skill list will come into action. You can quickly refer to them and check for your different experiences with supporting evidence for each heading. Adding examples will make the skill-based CV more powerful and pave the way for an interview.
Add your extra-curricular activities, like a job
Writing a CV for a job with no experience is not a tricky task. You just need to be smart to reflect your skills. You attended a creative writing workshop but were not paid, which does not mean that you have not learned anything. Or you might have worked as a volunteer in an event with zero income but learned something, add them. Ask your cover letter writer to professionally narrate the duration of time you have volunteered or attended the workshop to develop your skills.
There are times when you will find your extracurricular role to match with similar jobs after graduation. Prioritize them. If you are applying for a writing job, the employer will be impressed to know that you have submitted your entry in a school magazine or that you have volunteered for an event at a welfare organization.
Don’t miss out on your obvious skills
Are you multi-talented? Do you love arranging events by running around to gather things? Are you capable of fixing technical issues? It is noticed that graduates often miss out on adding these skills to their resumes. They consider them unimportant.
If you think that these skills are beneficial for your workplace, add them. If you are social media savvy or have knowledge of programming from your high school, use them. Talk about being multilingual. These small details might seem useless, but they can help you land a job.
Use your degree knowledge wisely
Getting an answer to: How to write a CV for a job with no experience is easy for those who can reflect their education as a skill. Remember, your degrees are the best source of transferable skills. For instance, during your final years of university, you might have written your dissertation to pass out, talk it out. Tell the hiring team about your research skills. In the same way, you were assigned a YouTube video shoot as part of the assignment; narrate it. This will highlight your ability to shoot and edit videos. You can also mention the skills that you gained through group project work, independent organization and planning, and specific knowledge relevant to the role.
Never make the mistake of leaving this space blank in your CV. The main gist of the experience section is a way to demonstrate your experience and the way it is useful to future employers. You have plenty to draw from your degree, so use it wisely.
Talk about your interests
Have you ever won a marathon or a debate competition? Highlight this on your CV.
Employers view the applications of each graduate. Something that can set you out from the crowd and create a lasting memory is a big step towards being called for the interview.
However, this does not mean that you need to add every achievement. If you don’t have any of these achievements that can align with the professional ones, try avoiding them. Simply list your interests under the hobbies section rather than going into details. You aim to make it memorable and to convince your employers without jumping out of the narrative.
FAQs
What pointers should be added to a no work experience resume?
When writing such CVs, focus on adding the key skills, achievements, and potential. Justify each of them with some evidence from real life.
Can writing a dissertation in the last days of university be counted as a skill?
The research you conducted to write your dissertation is one of your key skills. Add it to the document, telling the HR that you have research skills.
What to add in the personal statement section?
You should keep it short. Just talk about yourself with your current education. The details can be discussed in the later part of the document.
Can we add extracurricular activities like a job to a resume with no work experience?
If you have attended a workshop or worked as a volunteer at any organization, highlight those as your jobs. After all, you have learned something in those days.
Get a Job Interview Call without Any Experience
As you are moving on the journey towards your first job or taking a turn in your career, consider writing a CV without any experience as a challenge. All the highlighted sections of the resume content will help.
After reading through it, you can get answers to the following questions: How do you write a CV with no experience? Follow these strategies and increase your chances of getting a job interview call. Reflect on the key skills you can add to your document, highlighting the key skills employers seek. This CV will act as the first brick in building your presence in the organization.