In a hurry? Use the free AI resume builder and tell the chat about yourself. These guides explain the thinking behind it.
- How to write a resume with no experience
- What to tell the chat
- How to choose a template
- Making your resume easy for employer software to read
- Resume or CV?
How to write a resume with no experience
Everyone starts somewhere. If you have no job history, use what you do have:
- Education: your school, degree or course, and the years.
- Projects: class projects, personal projects, anything you built or organised.
- Volunteering and activities: clubs, societies, community work, helping a family business.
- Skills: tools you can use, languages you speak, and things you do well.
Put the most relevant items first, and describe what you did and what changed because of it.
What to tell the chat
You do not need to format anything. Include:
- Your name, city, email and phone number.
- The kind of job you want.
- Each job or project: your role, where, when, and what you did.
- Numbers where you have them, such as followers gained, sales made or people helped.
- Your education and skills.
A rough note like "I ran the Instagram page for our campus society, went from 300 to 1,800 followers" is a great start.
How to choose a template
- Classic: a traditional single-column layout. A safe choice for almost any job, especially at large companies.
- Modern: a single column with a color accent. Good for marketing, tech and creative roles.
- Executive: a two-column layout with a dark name band. Good for experienced professionals who want a stronger look.
Pick a color that is easy to read when printed, and keep the font simple. Your content stays the same when you switch templates, so try all three.
Making your resume easy for employer software to read
Many employers use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to read resumes before a person does. To help:
- Prefer a simple single-column layout. Two-column layouts can confuse some older systems.
- Use standard section names such as Experience, Education and Skills.
- Keep text as real text, not inside pictures.
- Send a PDF unless the employer asks for another format.
No tool can promise that every system will read every resume perfectly, so follow the employer's instructions if they give any.
Resume or CV?
In the United States and Canada, a "resume" is a short document, usually one or two pages. In many other countries, people say "CV" for the same kind of document. If a job post says CV, a normal resume made here is usually what they mean. If they ask for a long academic CV with publications, add those sections in the chat.