How to Write a Resume With No Work Experience in 2026 (+ Free Template)

If you have never had a formal job, your resume should not try to hide that fact. Instead, it should show employers what you can already do based on school, projects, volunteering, activities, certifications, informal work and everyday responsibilities.

A strong first resume does not depend on fake experience. It depends on presenting your real skills in a clear, honest and job-relevant way.

Can you make a resume if you have never had a job?

Yes. Paid employment is only one type of experience.

Employers also care about evidence that you are reliable, organized, able to learn and capable of handling responsibility. That evidence can come from school projects, volunteer work, extracurriculars, tutoring, babysitting, helping in a family business, personal projects or certifications.

Useful experience can include:

• Volunteer work
• School or college projects
• Student clubs and organizations
• Sports and team activities
• Babysitting or caregiving
• Tutoring
• Helping in a family business
• Church or community activities
• Fundraising
• Personal websites, coding projects or portfolios
• Managing a social media page
• Helping organize events
• Freelance or informal work
• Relevant coursework and certifications

Harvard's guidance for first-time job seekers also recommends using coursework, volunteer work, extracurricular activities and leadership roles to demonstrate value when formal work experience is limited. Read Harvard's first-job guidance .

Should you use a functional resume with no experience?

A functional resume emphasizes skills rather than employment history, so it sounds appealing if you have never had a job. However, a completely functional resume can sometimes be harder for employers or applicant tracking systems to interpret.

The CareerOneStop resume guide warns that a heavily functional format may be less effective because employers want to understand where your skills came from.

For most first-time applicants, the best option is a skills-first hybrid format: highlight your strongest skills, but also show the school projects, activities or volunteer work where you actually used them.

The best resume structure when you have no work experience

A strong first resume can follow this structure:

1. Contact information
2. Target role or short objective
3. Relevant skills
4. Projects, volunteer work and relevant experience
5. Education
6. Certifications, languages or additional information

This is also the structure used in the free Empregara template .

1. Start with simple contact information

You normally need only:

• Your full name
• City and state
• Phone number
• A professional email address
• LinkedIn or a portfolio, if relevant

You usually do not need to include your full street address. CareerOneStop recommends city and state, along with your phone and professional email. See CareerOneStop's contact section guidance .

2. Put the job you want near the top

Employers should understand the type of position you want within a few seconds.

or:

When possible, use the same or a very similar job title to the one in the posting, as long as it accurately reflects the role you want.

3. Write a short objective that helps the employer

A weak first-job objective sounds like this:

The problem is that it focuses only on what the applicant wants.

A stronger version connects your background to the employer's needs:

Keep this section short. Two or three lines are usually enough.

4. Read the job description before writing your skills section

Do not begin by making a generic list of positive-sounding traits. Start with the actual job posting.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Resume Essentials guide recommends identifying the employer's required skills and keywords first, then tailoring the resume to match them truthfully.

Suppose a retail posting asks for:

• Customer service
• Communication
• Cash handling
• Teamwork
• Weekend availability

If those qualifications genuinely match your background, your resume should make them easy to find.

5. Do not just list skills — prove them

This:

is less convincing than this:

The second version gives the employer evidence rather than empty labels.

6. Turn school projects into resume experience

A school project can absolutely count as relevant experience if it demonstrates skills used in the job.

Instead of:

write:

7. Volunteer work counts

Volunteer experience can show many of the same qualities employers want from paid work: reliability, teamwork, communication, customer interaction and responsibility.

8. Informal work can belong on your resume too

Not every meaningful responsibility comes through a formal employer. Babysitting, tutoring, helping in a family business or managing freelance tasks can all be valid experience.

9. Make education work harder for you

If you have little formal experience, your education may deserve more space than it would on a mid-career resume.

You can include:

• School or college
• Degree, diploma or program
• Expected graduation date
• Relevant coursework
• Strong GPA, if useful
• Honors or awards
• Relevant academic projects

10. Use numbers whenever they are real

Numbers make your examples stronger because they show scale and context.

Compare:

with:

CareerOneStop also recommends describing results and scale whenever possible. See CareerOneStop's guidance on writing experience .

A simple bullet formula that works

Try this structure:

Examples:

• Organized inventory for a school fundraiser, helping the team distribute more than 200 items.
• Created a spreadsheet to track expenses for a student project with a $1,500 simulated budget.
• Tutored two classmates in algebra twice a week during the spring semester.
• Managed social media posts for a student club and created content for three weekly updates.
• Coordinated practice schedules and team communication as captain of a 15-member sports team.

Skills to put on a first resume

The right skills depend on the job. Here are examples to help you identify what may be relevant. Do not add a skill simply because it sounds impressive.

For retail and customer service jobs

• Customer service
• Communication
• Cash handling
• Point-of-sale systems
• Product organization
• Teamwork
• Problem-solving

See current Customer Service jobs on Empregara

For administrative and office jobs

• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Excel
• Google Docs and Sheets
• Data entry
• Email communication
• Scheduling
• Document organization

Browse Administrative jobs on Empregara

For warehouse and operations jobs

• Inventory organization
• Attention to detail
• Following safety procedures
• Teamwork
• Reliability
• Basic computer skills

Explore Warehouse jobs on Empregara

For hospitality and food service

• Customer service
• Food safety knowledge
• Cleaning and sanitation
• Teamwork
• Working in fast-paced environments
• Time management

See Hospitality jobs on Empregara

Resume example for someone who has never had a job

How to make your resume ATS-friendly

Many employers use applicant tracking systems to organize or screen applications, so formatting matters.

CareerOneStop recommends a clean, single-column layout and warns against complicated tables, text boxes, logos, graphics and columns because they may make the resume harder to parse. View CareerOneStop's formatting guidance .

• Use one column.
• Use standard headings like Education, Skills and Experience.
• Use a readable font such as Arial, Calibri, Georgia or Times New Roman.
• Avoid graphics, icons and decorative text boxes.
• Do not use skill bars or star ratings.
• Keep keywords natural and truthful.

Tailor the resume for every job

You do not need to redesign the whole document every time, but you should adapt the content.

Keep a master resume with all your projects, skills, activities and experience. Then create a targeted version for each application.

1. Read the job posting carefully.
2. Identify the required skills and keywords.
3. Move the most relevant evidence higher on the page.
4. Remove filler that does not help with that specific job.

You can browse current jobs on Empregara and compare your resume directly with employer requirements before applying.

What not to put on a no-experience resume

• Fake work experience
• Long explanations about having no experience
• Random hobbies that do not support the application
• Unproven skill ratings
• Keyword stuffing
• Complicated graphics or layout elements
• Unnecessary personal details

Should your first resume be one page?

For most first-time job seekers, yes. One page is usually enough and often stronger than a stretched two-page resume with filler.

Should you send a PDF or DOCX?

Always follow the employer's instructions first. A practical approach is to keep a master DOCX file, customize it for each application and export a PDF when appropriate.

First-job resume checklist

Frequently asked questions

What do I put for work experience if I have never worked?

Use a section such as Relevant Experience, Projects & Activities or Volunteer Experience and include real examples that demonstrate useful skills.

Can I put babysitting on a resume?

Yes, if it was a real responsibility and relevant to the job. Babysitting can show reliability, communication, scheduling and responsibility.

Can school projects count as experience?

Yes. A relevant academic project can show teamwork, communication, research, organization and technical skills.

Should I use a functional resume with no work experience?

A skills-focused structure can help, but a fully functional resume with little context may be less effective. A skills-first hybrid is usually safer.

What skills should I put on a resume with no experience?

Use skills that are relevant to the job and that you can genuinely prove through projects, volunteering, schoolwork or informal work.

Should I include a GPA?

It is optional. Include it if it is strong and genuinely helps your application.

Should I include references on my resume?

Usually no. Keep references on a separate list in case an employer requests them.

How do I get experience if every job asks for experience?

Start with entry-level roles where experience is preferred rather than strictly required, and use volunteering, projects and certifications to build evidence of your skills. Browse current openings on Empregara.

Bottom line

A blank employment history does not mean a blank resume.

Your first resume should answer one question: what evidence do I already have that I can do this job?

Use your education, projects, volunteering and real-life responsibilities to answer it clearly. Keep the document simple, honest and tailored to the role.

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Editorial methodology: This guide was prepared using current resume guidance from CareerOneStop, the U.S. Department of Labor and Harvard. Resume expectations vary by employer, so always follow the instructions in the job posting.

Last updated: September 20, 2026.