They say that today those who do not have professional experience have nothing to offer. In our opinion, this view is completely wrong. We always have something to offer and ideas to contribute, even with little or no experience. The baggage that we acquire throughout our lives in our personal projects is equal, if not more important, than what we learn in our academic or professional environment. Especially when we are looking for a job for the first time.
Steps to make a resume without experience
Keep it short and concise
The first thing we have to do when we embark on the adventure of finding a job – and we talk about “finding” more than “looking”, because it is always better to think positive – is to write a sheet that will summarize who we are and we have done so far. Indeed, we are talking about the dreaded CV, perfect resume , curriculum vitae or whatever we want to call it. And then we give you the first but one of the most essential tips: always always always, if it is brief, twice as good. Write the previous experience , even if it is not work in a concise way, as well as the professional objective. Truly, none of our lives, not even those of the world’s top CEOs, are so interesting as to exceed more than a page.
Apply the KISS rule
The next thing to keep in mind is that the recruiter will almost certainly spend just six seconds deciding whether to read your entire resume or discard it from the selection process. So, it is best to use the KISS rule, from English, Keep It Simple Stupid , that is, let simplicity reign. For this, there are some predetermined fields that will facilitate and invite reading.
- Photography. Not every photo is okay. The ideal is to find a balance between naturalness and professionalism. To do this, we advise you to choose a simple wardrobe and that the background is white. In some countries, like the United States, you don’t even put a picture on your resume. Although in Spain putting an image on the CV is still accepted as normal, it is not essential either.
- Profile. We will need to include our address, phone number and email. Notice to navigators, if you consider that your email is not very serious, we recommend that you make a new one with your name and surnames, simply.
- Cover letter . In a resume without work experience, above all it is important. First, because it will be the first thing that employers will read and, second, because the objective is to communicate and describe what we are looking for and what our interests are for the position in question.
- Training. This is one of the points in which we can show off the most, since we must include both our academic training – always the latest training – as well as the complementary one – courses, seminars, congresses related to the position, etc. The more personalized it is, the better we will distinguish ourselves from the rest of the candidates. This will help us find a gap among future interviewees.
- languages . In addition to indicating our knowledge of languages , it is necessary to specify the level we have in each of them (basic, intermediate, high, native) and include a certificate if you have one.
- Activities. Having carried out exchanges at other universities or volunteering, having traveled or worked abroad … is something that we definitely have to mention as it says a lot about us.
- skills . It is interesting to summarize our way of being in a few lines, always bearing in mind that the skills and abilities that we mention can be taken into account when choosing us.
- Other data of interest. The last point, but not least, has arrived. More and more companies are taking personal projects into account when recruiting. If we have one on our hands, let’s count it. Or if we have availability to travel. If we have a driving license, car…
Ultimately, it is about being able to highlight our strengths and convince the person who will potentially hire us that we are the best option for the job offered. For this reason, we omit any information that is not relevant to the vacancy for which we apply.
And, of course, once this phase of the curriculum is finished – which will take time, but the effort will have been worth it when we manage to enter where we wanted –, it will be time to look for job vacancies, and in quantity, to send it.
Also Read : How To Increase Employees Commitment To The Company