What do I put on a resume if I have never had a job?

Education, projects (school, university or personal), volunteering, clubs and sports, informal work such as babysitting or tutoring, certifications and skills. Anything where you took responsibility and something happened counts.

Should a first resume be one page?

Yes. One full, well-organised page is ideal. Don't stretch thin content to two pages.

Do I need a summary with no experience?

A short one helps: two or three sentences on what you are studying, one thing you have achieved and the kind of job you want.

Can I include babysitting, tutoring or helping in a family business?

Yes. Describe them like any job: what you were trusted with and what you achieved. "Tutored two Year 9 students in maths weekly for a year; both moved up a set" is real experience.

How to Write a Resume With No Experience

By the MakeCV team · Updated October 27, 2026

Everyone's first resume has no "real" job on it, and employers hiring for entry-level roles know that. What they look for is evidence that you are reliable, can learn and can take responsibility. That evidence is in your education, projects, volunteering and everyday commitments; this guide shows how to present it.

What counts as experience

Volunteering: food banks, charity shops, events, community clean-ups, religious or youth groups.
School or university projects: group projects, science fairs, coursework with a real output.
Clubs, societies and sports: especially roles like captain, treasurer or organiser.
Informal work: babysitting, pet sitting, tutoring, mowing lawns, helping in a family business, reselling online.
Personal projects: a website, an app, a YouTube channel, a small online shop, a podcast.
Short placements: work experience weeks, job shadowing, summer schools.

Put the strongest of these in MakeCV's Work Experience section (use the organisation as the "company" and a clear title such as "Volunteer, Weekend Food Bank") or in Projects.

A section order that works

Contact details with a professional email address.
Summary: two or three sentences (examples below).
Education: school or university, expected graduation date, relevant subjects or grades if good.
Experience: volunteering, informal work, placements.
Projects: up to three, each with a result.
Skills and languages.
Certifications: first aid, food hygiene, online courses with certificates.

Examples

Summary: high-school student

Organised and dependable high-school senior with a 3.6 GPA and two years as treasurer of the debate club, managing a $1,200 annual budget. Looking for a part-time retail or café role on weekends and school holidays.

Summary: university student

Second-year psychology student with experience running survey research for coursework (n=240) and volunteering weekly on a student helpline. Comfortable with Excel and SPSS. Seeking a summer research or HR internship.

Experience entry: volunteering

Volunteer, Riverside Community Food Bank (Sep 2024 – Present)
Sort and shelve donations and help serve around 150 families every Saturday. Trained four new volunteers on the stock rotation system.

Project entry

School fundraising website (HTML, CSS, Google Forms)
Built a simple site for the Year 12 charity week; collected 300+ sign-ups and helped raise £2,100.

(Fictional examples; use your own details.) More in resume summary examples.

Skills employers look for in first-time candidates

Reliability and punctuality: show it with attendance or long-term commitments.
Customer-facing communication: from volunteering, events, sports coaching.
Basic digital skills, worded specifically: "Google Sheets", "Canva", "Microsoft Word".
Languages, with a level.
Certifications: first aid, food hygiene, lifeguard, driving licence.

See the resume skills guide for how to choose and word them.

Choosing a template

Use a clean, single-column design so the page looks complete rather than sparse. The Student template is built for this: it puts Education and Projects above Experience. Classic and Harvard are good alternatives. If you have a portfolio (design, coding, video), the Tech or Creative templates can show personality when you are sending your resume to a person.

Mistakes first-time job seekers make

Leaving it at half a page. Add projects, volunteering or a stronger summary.
Listing duties ("helped at events") instead of results ("welcomed 200 guests and ran the cloakroom").
An unprofessional email address. Create a simple firstname.lastname one.
Typos. Ask someone to read it aloud to you.
One resume for every job. Adjust the summary and skills to each advert.