How to realistically fill your resume when you have no experience

How to realistically fill your resume when you have no experienceYou need to have a job to gain experience, but you need experience to get a job. At the beginning, just about everyone faces this catch-22. Even jobs that seem like entry-level gigs require a resume as part of your application, so how do you craft your resume to make sure youre presenting a solid, hire me package even if you dont have experience yet? googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-1467144145037-0) ) Pick a friendlier formatThe good berichterstattung is that resumes have gotten more flexible over time. It used to be that everyone submitted pretty much the same resume header + objective + reverse-chronological job history + skills + extras. Now, employers are used to seeing a variety of formats. For job hunters who are forging into a new field or just starting out, it makes more sense to play up your skillsnot necessarily your experience. For that, you want a resume that prioritizes your skill s and know-how.For example, your resume might break down like thisHeaderObjective/Summary StatementBulleted list of skills, targeted specifically to this job descriptionEducation/CertificationsWork ExperienceThe whole point of your resume isnt to create some arbitrary cookie cutter version of yourself, its to show yourself off in the best possible light. So dont be afraid to switch up the sections if it means youre creating a stronger narrative about who you are as an employee.Your resume should build a narrative about you thats clear to anyone reading it, so you want to put your highlights reel first. abflug with a clear statement about who you are and what youre seeking, then emphasize the skills and strengths that you bring to the job. You should still include a work experience section even if it feels a little sparse, but you can tuck it at the end after youve played up your strong points.Realize you have more experience than you think you doYou may not have full-on work experie nce yet, at least not in the field for which youre applying. But chances are, you do have some kind of experience, and have built skills along the way. If youre a student (or a recent grad), think about courses youve taken that are relevant to this job or company. This doesnt mean you should list every class you ever took just to take up space. Think strategically, and pick courses that relate to the job for which youre applying. Internships are even better, if youve got any of those under your belt, because thats hands-on experience.And dont forget extracurricular activities. Volunteer experience is often overlooked because people tend to assume that unpaid experience isnt the same as job experience. Guess what? Volunteer experience is time spent building skills and relationshipsboth things that look fantastic on a resume. It may seem like your volunteer experience doesnt necessarily align with the job you want, but you can raffinesse it. For example, say you volunteered at a kids community center but youre applying for a marketing gig. Think about the tasks you did in your volunteer work. Did you arrange things (organizational skills)? Manage a schedule (time management)? Act as a liaison for people or groups (communication and teamwork)? Create programs or lead anything (leadership)? Take skills that employers value, like ability to work with others, leadership, organization, communication, and try to match up your volunteer experience with those skills.Resist the urge to exaggerate too muchThis is a case where fake it til you make it is not going to help you. If you include skills and experience points that arent quite true, youre running a significant risk of getting caught. Best case, no one questions your whale tales and it gets you the job. All is great until someone asks you to demonstrate the Spanish language fluency you listed on your resume or use that fancy Excel wizardry you claimed to have developed at your last job. Over-exaggerating isnt reall y a way to compensate for a lack of experience, and if youre called out on it, it will be very awkward (not to mention harmful to your prospects of getting the job).Consider certificationAnother way to make up for a lack of specific job experience is to get specific education or certification that prepares you for the job. Are there certifications in your field? Licensing organizations? By going through the process of becoming certified, youre getting an outside party to say, hey, this person is qualified. And thats something you can put near the top of your resume to show youve got the skills and trainingif not years of experience.Remember its all about emphasizing what you do have and framing your resume narrative in a way that shows youre ready, willing, and able to take the job, no matter how much experience you have (or dont have).