How to Beef Up a Resume When You Have Little Work Experience

If you're fresh out of high school, college or university and you have little or no work experience, when it comes to writing your CV or resume you may think you'll end up with very little on the page. This should not be the case! A CV or resume is a marketing tool, which allows you to market your skills and experience; it is not simply a record of your employment. As long as you remember this fact then your CV or resume can be as full and as positive as that of someone who has been employed for fifty years.

A standard CV will start with a personal profile; this can sometimes include a summary of your work experience, an outline of your key skills and your objectives and goals for the future. With little or no work experience this summary paragraph is still possible, but it should focus primarily on your skills and abilities. These skills can be identified from any part of your life, perhaps you are a full time mother with exceptional time management skills, or a keen footballer who has demonstrated commitment and skills as a team player? These and other experiences outside of the workplace all contribute towards developing skills that are sought after within the workplace.

The next section of your resume should detail your education and qualifications, and the third section is where ordinarily your employment history should be recorded. Remember that employment does not have to be paid employment, so if you have undertaken any charity or voluntary work then this should be listed here, in exactly the same way as paid employment. If you have no work experience whatsoever then you should use this section to detail ways in which you have developed skills or achieved success.

For example, you may have been a key player in your school's theatre production, demonstrating creative ability, organisational skills, confidence etc. In the same way, you may have cared for a sick relative for a long period of time, showing compassion, people skills, multi-tasking abilities, prioritising etc. Again, these are all highly sought after skills, known as transferable skills and these should be marketed as such in your resume or CV.

Finally, for those with little work experience, this is where the 'hobbies and interests' section of the CV is a great place to give the potential employer a little more information about yourself, what makes you tick, and how you spend your time. Make this section as compelling as possible, to show that although you haven't had much employment experience you do still live a full and productive life which can be transferred to the workplace.

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