One of the best ways to get experience for entry level jobs is to volunteer. Volunteering can be a great way to get some experience in an area you want to work in, and it can also help you get your foot in the door at companies that you would like to work for.

Another way to get experience for entry level jobs is by interning. Internships are usually full-time positions, so they are more likely to lead to a job offer than volunteering. You might have to pay for an internship, but this can be worth it if you get a good recommendation from your employer or if the company offers tuition reimbursement or other benefits.

Finally, if you have been hired as a part of an internship program then ask if there are any opportunities for advancement within the company’s current structure. If there aren’t any then consider applying for another position within the company once it becomes available and see if they will consider hiring you once again after seeing what kind of job performance you had during your internship period!

Experience For Entry Level Jobs

It’s time for your first job hunt!

You need to write a resume, which can be nerve-wracking if you don’t have any real-life work experience. 

You don’t know where to start, what to include, or which resume format to choose.

On top of that, most advice you find online isn’t relevant because it focuses on emphasizing professional background.

Chances are, you’re straight out of college with no experience to speak of. 

Or maybe you’re a high-school student applying for a part-time job.

Whichever the case may be, you’re probably having trouble filling in the blank space on your resume that’s supposed to be the work experience section.

• How to format your resume with no work experience
• 4 sections to replace work experience (that help you stand out)
• 2 no-work experience resume samples (guaranteed to land you the job)

How to Format Your Resume [with No Work Experience + Examples] 

A resume format is the layout of your resume.

The ideal resume format usually depends on how much work experience you have. 

But what happens when you have none?

For a no-experience resume, we recommend that you use the reverse-chronological format. 

Create Resume

It’s the most popular format amongst applicants and a recruiter favorite.  

The sections in your reverse-chronological resume will be: 

1. Header: Contact Information and Resume Statement
2. Education
3. Internships, extracurricular activities, projects, volunteer work (These sections will replace your work experience)
4. Skills

In this article, we’ll walk you through each of these sections, and explain how to write them in a way that you stand out from the crowd.

Ready?

Let’s dive in.

Start With Your Resume Header

Your resume header includes your contact information and your resume statement. 

Below, we’ll show you how to write both of these elements and how to include them in your header section.

Put Down Your Contact Information

Just like the name suggests, the first thing you add to your header is your personal and contact information.

It’s the easiest part to get right, just keep it short and to the point.

In your contact information section, mention the following:

• First and Last Name
• Phone Number
• E-mail Address
• A link to a professional profile (e.g. LinkedIn) or personal webpage (if you have one)

Make sure to use a professional-sounding E-mail.

I.e. something along the lines of “FirstName.LastName@gmail.com.” 

You’re sure to leave a wrong impression if you use an email you created back in preschool (“hotshot999@hotmail.com”).Pro Tip

Make sure to double-check, triple-check your contact information. After all, the recruiter can’t contact you if you have a typo in your phone number.

(Optional) Write Your Resume Objective

A resume objective is a short heading statement in your resume, where you describe your professional goals and aspirations.

Fun fact – hiring managers look at your resume for 5-6 seconds max.

Yep, that’s right. In most cases, the hiring manager is literally drowning in resumes. So, they have a couple of seconds to skim each one.

Well, this section is your chance to catch their attention (and let them know you’ve got what it takes).

A resume objective is usually 3-4 sentences max and includes information on:

• What your field of study is;
• What your skills and experiences are (ones that are relevant to the job);
• Why you’re applying for this position and/or this company.

As with contact information, you don’t need to label your resume objective with a title. Just write it underneath your contact information section.

Here’s an example of what a resume objective looks like:

“Recent Communications graduate looking to apply for the role of Secretary at XYZ inc. Extremely organized with good writing and multitasking skills. Practical experience in management gained through several university projects, which involved coordinating tasks between different team members and ensuring that everyone was in sync with the latest information.”

Emphasize Your Education

In your average resume, the first section would be work experience.

Since you don’t have any, though, you’ll want to omit that and replace it with the education section.

This way, you bring a lot more attention to your education, which is one of your main selling points. 

What should you include in the Education section? 

List the following features in this order:

1. Name of the degree
2. Name of the institution
3. Years attended
4. Location of the institution (optional)
5. GPA (optional)
6. Honors (optional)
7. Relevant coursework (optional)
8. Exchange programs (optional) 

As a general rule, if you studied in a prestigious university, you can add the name of the institution before the degree. This way, you will catch the recruiter’s attention faster.

All clear?

Good!

Now, let’s go through some real-life examples:If you’re a college graduate:

BA in Computer Science

Tufts University

Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts

10/2015 – 06/2018

Magna Cum Laude

• 3.87 GPA
• Exchange Program in Greenville, NY

If you’re a college student:

University of the Arts London

BA in Interior Design 

10/2017 – OngoingIf you’re a High School graduate:

Westwood High

Boston, Massachusetts

Class of 2018 

Education Section Q&A

Still have some questions about the education section? Worry not, we’re about to give you all the answers!

Do I include my GPA?

• The answer here is a “maybe.” We’d recommend including a GPA if it’s higher than 3.5. Anything lower than that, and you might be underselling yourself. Keep in mind, though, that most employers don’t care about your grades.

Should I include my coursework?

• Yep, but just as long as it’s relevant. If you have no work experience, including courses can help establish your expertise in a field. Feel free to skip out on any basic courses, though. No one cares about your Maths 101 course.

Do I mention my degree if I dropped out?

• If you studied for more than 2-3 years, yes. A half-finished degree is still better than no degree. If you dropped out after a semester, though, that doesn’t really mean much.

Do I mention my high school degree?

• Only if it’s your only degree. If you have any higher education, your high school degree will only take up space.

4 Sections to Replace Work Experience [With Examples]

Now that you’ve listed your education, it’s time to fill that work experience gap in your resume.

You aren’t still worried about your lack of experience, right?

Because here are four sections you can use instead:

1) Internships

Have you done an internship that is relevant to the position you are applying for?

Now’s the time to mention it. 

Here is how you add an internship to your resume:

First, place the Internship section right after the education section. 

Title it: Internships

Second, write your internship title and role. Be specific.

If your internship was in the marketing department, instead of just “Intern”, say “Marketing Intern”. 

Third, put down the company name, location, and duration of the internship – in that order.Here’s what you should have so far:

Marketing Intern

Full Picture

New York, NY

09/2019 – 12/2019

Easy and straightforward, right?

One more step:

Last, add a list of responsibilities you had as an intern in bullet point form. 

If you have any tangible achievements, even better! Write those in as well.

Finally, tailor both the responsibilities and achievements to the role you’re applying for.

Here’s how that looks in practice:

You used to be an Advertising Intern.

Scenario 1

You’re applying for the position of Social Media Assistant. 

Here’s how you would put down your internship entry:

Internships

Marketing Intern

Full Picture Company

New York, NY

09/2019 – 12/2019

• Analyzed various social media platforms for trending content
• Managed company social media accounts
• Posted interested content on company Facebook page, increasing engagement by 25%

The listed responsibilities and achievements are directly connected to the Social Media Assistant job requirements.

Scenario 2

You’re applying for a Content Writer position. Take a look at the same entry now:

Internships

Marketing Intern

Full Picture Company

New York, NY

09/2019 – 12/2019

• Assisted the Marketing Manager in writing press releases and new blog posts, which increased web traffic by 25%.

Notice how the internship title remains the same. 

But in this case you’re applying for a Content Writer position, so you are highlighting your writing experience instead.

For more examples, check out our full guides to an internship resume and how to write a cover letter for an internship.

2) Extracurricular activities

Still have a ton of empty space in your resume?

Extracurricular activities are always a great addition!

Whether they’re related to the job you’re applying for or not, they still show one thing:

You’re hard-working and motivated.

Imagine you’re the HR manager, and you can pick between these 2 candidates:

1. Josh Johnson. Studied at Massachusetts State. 4.0 GPA, but that’s all he did in college – no extracurricular activities, internships, or anything else.
2. Suzie Activeson. Also studied at Massachusetts state. 3.2 GPA. Vice-president of the business club. Served as a student government senator for 2 semesters. Organized several events as part of the marketing club.

Sure, Josh is probably qualified, but we don’t know anything about him, other than that he studied a lot.

Suzie, on the other hand, can manage a team (business club VP), organize events (marketing club), and is passionate about making a change (student government).

So, which one would you pick?

Exactly!

Now, let’s explain how to list extracurricular activities on your resume:

1. Title of the section: Extracurricular Activities
2. Name of the organization and/or team 
3. Your role in the organization
4. Time period
5. Noteworthy awards or achievements

And here’s what this would look like on a resume:

Extracurricular Activities

Public Speaking Club

Vice-President

09/2018 – 09/2019

• Organized 10+ public speaking lectures
• Brought in speakers from all over the state
• Conducted public speaking workshops

3) Volunteering Experience

Volunteering shows dedication and passion to apply yourself. 

And there’s nothing recruiters love more than a committed employee.  

Whether you spend your free time in a soup kitchen, or you helped collect trash in the countryside, you can mention it in your resume!

But how do you list volunteering experience?

Well, it follows the same logic as your internship and extracurriculars:

1. Title of the section: Volunteering Experience
2. Name of the organization
3. Location
4. Time period
5. Relevant tasks and achievements (bullet points)

Let’s check out an example:

Volunteering Experience

Grand Archive Library Volunteer

Washington, D.C

08/2017 – 02/2019

• Performed secretarial activities, such as sorting mail, filing documents, answering phone calls, and taking messages. 
• Led a poetry reading event twice a month. 

4) Projects

In this section, you can add any relevant projects you were part of during your time in school or at an internship.

Your capstone project, graduation thesis, or research project go here. 

No need for work experience!

You can also mention any other type of project you’ve worked on in school, including:

• Business project for a real-life client
• Mock website you created in Web Design 101
• Fake magazine you created as a capstone project
• Market research you did as part of your graduation thesis
• Software you developed in Software Engineering class

…And so on!

Here’s how you put them down:

1. Title of the section: Projects
2. Project name
3. Project type
4. Related organization 
5. Time period
6. Relevant responsibilities and achievements (optional)