In the life of every person there comes a time when he or she must write their first resume. Some start doing this in advance, while others put this daunting task until the last minute.
But we all eventually have to face it, because one just cannot apply for a job without a decent resume.
Fortunately, there are multiple ways for young professionals not to miss exciting job opportunities.
If you can’t afford to take chances or don’t want to lose time, you can always rely on professional resume writers from Skillhub, for instance. Professional writers there will help you polish your first resume or CV to perfection and land an interview.
However, you still need to know how to write the first draft. So, how do you do it if you have no experience whatsoever and have no idea how to craft a winning resume?
Here are the essential things you need to know.
Before You Start: Essential Things to Know
The most important thing you need to know is that resume writing is no easy task.
As a first-time applicant, you might think that all you need to do to craft a decent document is simply to list your education, training, accomplishments, etc. – and that’s it.
However, that’s not it at all. And if it were, who would ever need a career expert, anyway?
The next important detail that hardly any would-be employee with no experience pays attention to is the immense role that the ATS (Applicant Tracking System) plays in the hiring process these days.
ATS bots sift through the applications to weed out all that seem irrelevant. Therefore, documents that are not ATS-optimized don’t even make it to the hiring manager.
Finally, you need to know all the main resume types before you start writing your own. Now, let’s dwell on this a bit longer.
Most Common Resume Types
So, there are several resume types to choose from. Here they are:
- Chronological (also known as “reverse chronological);
- Functional (also referred to as “skill-based”);
- Combination.
The main difference between them is what they focus on: the chronological one puts forward the applicant’s work experience, while the functional focuses on their key skills.
Other common job application document types are:
- CV;
- Targeted resume;
- Mini resume.
Any of them can help you land your dream job given that you use each one appropriately. So, how does one make the right choice?
How to Choose the Right Type
To get more interviews, you should choose the type that best suits your goals, experiences, education, etc.
While the most common type is chronological, it might not suit candidates with little work experience. In this case, a skill-based or combination type is usually the best choice.
Most recruiters also love it when the document is targeted. Thus, don’t send generic documents to apply for all positions.
Whichever type you choose, remember that your paper will most likely have to make it through the ATS system first; additionally, you’ve only got a few seconds to engage the recruiter’s attention.
Common Mistakes Novices Make
Candidates with no experience usually make mistakes. Therefore, it’s often best to get professional help and handle your job application process to experts.
If you can’t afford to invest in your career right now and venture to write your first resume yourself, try to avoid these common pitfalls:
- Not optimizing the document for resume-scanning software;
- Writing a generic CV without a specific career field in mind;
- Choosing the wrong type;
- Failing to highlight the main aspects;
- Not editing the document.
Surely, there are more, but these ones are crucial.
5 Ways to Craft a Compelling Resume with Zero Experience
Having said that, it’s time to move on to the ultimate ways to craft a resume with no writing experience. So, here they are.
Go to a Career Counselor
If you’re still a student, the most obvious choice would be to talk to your career counselor. Most schools and, especially, colleges, have their own career centers, which can provide all necessary help at no expense, and it would be unwise not to make use of that.
Moreover, resume writing is only one of the tasks your career center can help you with. You can also get career choice guidance and learn some important information about the current job market for new graduates.
Use an Example
It’s extremely hard to write a CV with zero experience from scratch, but having a relevant example makes the task so much easier for most job seekers.
Luckily, it’s not difficult at all to find such examples on the internet.
However, you should pay attention to the resource as there are so many amateur websites providing low-quality examples that will never land you an interview.
Needless to say, it’s crucial to make your document as personalized as possible even if you write using an example.
Hire a Professional
One of the best options that we’ve already mentioned earlier is to hire a professional writer.
This way, you can be sure you get a properly written and structured, bot-beating resume that highlights all your advantages as a future employee.
Yet again, avoid suspicious cheap services that look amateurish. It’s much better to spend more money and get what you need than waste a smaller amount and lose time.
Find a Job Coach
Sometimes hiring a writer is not enough. If you have little knowledge of the job market, are unsure what you’re worth at the moment, or haven’t chosen a particular career path yet, finding a job coach is probably the best option.
However, it’s not easy to find someone reliable.
Moreover, their services are usually rather expensive, so be realistic about your goals and budget.
Practice a Lot
Last but not least, with resume writing, like with anything else, practice makes perfect.
So, even if you haven’t got a dollar to spare to hire a professional career coach, you can always write-write-write – until you get it right.
Practice is free (counting out your time) and highly effective, and it always pays off.
Wrapping Up
While writing your first resume is always a daunting task, there’s just no way you can skip it if you’re ever going to find a job.
Fortunately, there are a number of ways to make things easier for you.
In this article, we’ve listed the 5 ultimate ways to handle the task and provided some vital information that will help you craft a winning resume even if you’ve never done it before.
Good luck!
