Write the perfect resume even if you don’t have a ton of experience
Olivia Attwood
Certified Professional Resume Writer ● Career Coach ● Executive Resume Writer ● MBA, BEng, CPRW, CPCC
There is one thing that most employers look for on a resume: potential. Even if you have twenty years of experience portrayed on your resume, if you haven’t showcased your potential for improvement, employers will be seldom interested in meeting you. The key to writing a successful resume is showing employers that you have the potential to become what they want.
If only experienced candidates were hired for jobs, every graduate who applies for jobs will be unemployed. But that isn’t the case in the real world. Every day we see experienced and inexperienced people get hired by all sorts of employers. Today, we will discuss how they manage to get hired, even without the right experience.
Experience doesn’t come from just work
If you are a recent graduate, you may have a few jobs to show for your work experience on a resume, and that is okay. Even if you have not done any volunteer work, there are ways to showcase experience on a resume . Use examples from your college days to show employers you know how to organize and execute projects. Here are some excellent things that will add value to your resume as a recent grad:
For some professions, experience comes from knowledge
If you are writing a resume for academia, hiring managers will hardly be interested in your industrial experience. They will be more interested in hearing about your latest research, what kind of experiments you have done in the lab, or the quality of your publications. If you have authored literature, that will be a bonus for your resume. For these kinds of professions, even the hobbies and interests you include in your resume (Ex: robotics, molecular biology, kinesthetics, etc.) will be valuable. If you are writing a resume for this kind of job, this article we have written on adding publications to your resume will be an excellent read.
Some employers like it when you mention qualifications
There are some jobs for which you can be qualified by the things you have learned and the skills you have sharpened. If you have earned multiple licenses and certifications related to a profession, these qualifications will improve the value of your resume. For management positions, your master’s in business management will be an added advantage. Here’s an article that teaches how you can add certifications to your resume .
Then, there’s the work experience you gain from different kinds of jobs
You don’t need to have been employed formally to add work experience to your resume. Helped manage your uncle’s restaurant last summer? That’s some valuable work experience for your resume. You can use volunteer jobs to emphasize how you have some experience working with others. If you have done any part-time jobs or temp jobs while searching for your dream opportunity, those can also add experience to your resume. Then, there’s freelance experience. Your entrepreneurial experience too is very important for a resume, so don’t forget to mention that.
Our professional resume writers can put together a top-quality resume for you that highlights work experience no matter your career level. Visit www.resumemansion.com and learn how we can make a difference in your job application.