How to improve your resume with no working experience

Include a summary of yourself

A resume summary is a brief introduction at the top of your resume to outline who you are professionally in one or two sentences.

Review your skillsets and qualifications. Choose qualifications and experience that complements the job description.

You should also mention achievements and specialized knowledge you want to highlight to your potential employer.

This may seem trivial, but do not let it fool you. Compare the following and you will come to realize the importance of it.

"A fresh graduate seeking to leverage acquired academic knowledge"

"An independent, confident and self-driven business student with sales and marketing skills, committed to continuous improvement to support the growth and success of high performing organizations."

A summary also acts as the first impression you give to entice the reader to keep on reading.

Include skills you learned in school

With the lack of working experience, it is better to focus on the education section on your resume to showcase the valuable skills you have developed.

Start by asking yourself what have you done or studied in school that has prepared you for this job? What skills or knowledge have you learned in school that you can transfer onto this job?

You should include relevant skills that demonstrate your ability to apply these skills to a professional work setting. Leadership, teamwork, creativity and specialized knowledge are only a fraction of what you can include in your resume.

Include awards

Awards are recognition of your outstanding performance and achievements and including them on your resume will help you distinguish yourself from the rest.

You can include relevant and noteworthy awards such as GPA-based awards or scholarships which indicate to employers that you are hardworking, self-disciplined, have exemplary time management skills and goal driven.

You should include your awards in your education or experience section and mention it in the first or last sentence to draw more attention to it.

Alternatively, you can dedicate an awards section if you have multiple relevant awards to showcase or if they do not link with the aforementioned sections.

Fret not! You got this.