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What can I include in my CV if I have no experience

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Darakhshan’s Answer

Hi Nester,
It's a quite normal for students or fresh graduates to have no experience.
- What I'd suggest is you do a few readily available virtual internships. For that, there's The Forage website where you've
multiple self-paced internships regarding many fields.
- You can also add some courses into your CV, which would depict your devotion to learn. For that, you've Coursera or Udemy where hundreds of courses are available free of cost.
Beside these two points, there are other aspects that you can add that you already have under your belt.
- Mention projects you've done in your college, education, participation in extracurricular events, hobbies, languages and any clubs that you've been part of.
- Add little details of everything, so that it covers up your CV. For that, let me suggest a good CV/resume making platform which is https://novoresume.com/
Cheers!!
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Lauren’s Answer

We've all been there! Companies will understand if you don't have a ton of formal employment experience to start out with. Here's a few things to add to help with resume/CV

1. Include clubs/extra-curricular activities that you've been a part of. Most or all of these have leadership/collaboration skills that you can highlight
2. Include jobs that aren't formal like babysitting, these can show leadership too!
3. Lastly, highlight any course projects that could be relevant to the job you're applying to

Best of luck!
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Dr. Shaul’s Answer

First you should realize everyone starts with no experience! When you apply for your first job the recruiters are probably aware you have no experience, and will evaluate your CV accordingly.
Try to put on it anything that presents either skills, personal qualities or non-job experience that is relevant to the job you are applying for or in general. Examples include:
- Education + degrees
- Excellence of any kind (e.g. if applying for CS or math related job worth mentioning you are a chess master or participated in Math Olympics).
- Self learning (e.g. MOOC or other online courses) + if you acquired some certification
- Delivered newspapers - shows initiative and willingness to work hard.
- Social activities and interests, e.g. participated in volunteering activity. Everyone wants to work with colleagues who are social, caring and communicate well.
In general, try to swap the chairs and read your CV through the eyes of the recruiter. What would he (s)he like to see in your CV?
Don't be afraid of exaggerating, but refrain from bragging.
As a rule of thumb, your CV should have some substance, not a single paragraph, but not longer than one page.
You may include an opening statement, or write a separate letter, highlighting what you ae looking for, your passion, and that you are curious, happy to learn new things (and are good at it), are a team player etc.
Good luck!
-- Shaul
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Alejandra’s Answer

Hi Nestor,

I totally feel where you are coming from this happened to me when I decided to pivot careers. Depending on what sort of job you want, I recommend creating a mini portfolio to go with your resume that shows your passion or care about the job role.

For example, I knew I wanted to work in branding or marketing or something with products, but had no experience to show that I could in fact get a job in that field. So what I did is I started a Shopify store and created a clothing brand from the ground up. This included website design, brand ideation, sourcing product, and putting in the hours to make it all happen. It was a big task and I literally did not sell 1 item! But, when I went to my first product development interview for an internship, I showed up with tangible evidence that A) I have a real passion for branding/product B) I could learn anything thrown at me. I even showed up to the job with printed-out explanations of how I developed the brands, how I did the website, and more. I had something to show for my passion.

This is a tip I learned from my mentor which basically is practicing what you preach. if you're passionate about job X, but have no experience, what do you have to show for that X passion? have you tried learning X on your own? have you taken an online course in X? have you written an article about X and posted it on LinkedIn showing your expertise and understanding of the field?

Think tangible things that you can add to your resume to make you stand out, and what physical things can you print out, pass out, etc. (if in person, if over zoom email or link to) Last thing, don't be afraid to shine bright!
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Alejandra’s Answer

It is totally ok not to have experience while you are in high school or college. My best advice would be to list the college projects or courses you have done. When listing the projects, be sure that they are relevant to the field or internship you are seeking.
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Matt’s Answer

Everyone's answer has been great so far, I would just double mention the projects in school. Most likely when you enter the workforce, you'll work on projects (either as a whole assignment or maybe as a part of a larger account that is broken up into projects), so showing what roles you've played in project leadership or creativity is important. Be specific about the roles you held, and how you approached them, showing how you lead projects is as valuable as someone who was a strategic contributor, all have application in the real world.
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Nicole’s Answer

Hi Nestor P.,

I know a lot of people who do no have any work experience but still getting some offers. If you don't have any work experience, you can put your volunteer/community involement experiences. If you are also participating in clubs/organizations at school, you can definitly include it there. The things you've done in those can be applied to your dream job. I hope it helps.
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Verginie’s Answer

Hi Nestor.

All of us have started with a CV which includes no work experience. You can start by putting your degrees, certificated which you have completed and even social activities which you think include skills that will be of use of day in your job.
At this level, I highly recommend completing online self-paced courses and getting their certificates.
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Shubham’s Answer

Hi Nester,
Let me start with a fact every guy working in the industry was fresher once with no experience. Experience will come eventually while working with the organization.
Now coming to your question-
You can include those activities that you have done in your school and college which reflects your passion and also relevance to the company
Example Your coding skill can be your passion and very important skill from company's perspective also.
Likewise you can built your resume

Thanks
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Joy’s Answer

Hi Nestor,

I have listed a few section topics that helped me fill my resume when I didn't have a lot of experience yet. Hope this helps:)
- Extracurriculars
- Volunteering experiences
- Skills
- Any Registered Student Organizations you are a part of (maybe you even held a leadership position?)

Good luck!
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Pamela’s Answer

Hello !!

Well if you don't have any work experience, there's a lot of things that can be added to a CV.
You can add your academic and university degrees plus any certifications or courses completed.
You can also add social activities that you were involved in or any volunteering work done.
In addition, you can the technical skills you have earned and your interests.
In conclusion, you can add to the CV anything that you find relevant and helpful to support your profile while looking for a job.
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Dale’s Answer

Great question! As other responders stated, it's common that students haven't had the opportunity to build significant or any business experience. Even so, that experience is likely not an exact fit against a prospective job role. An employer is most interested in what you can do for them, versus what you did for others. Citing your talents, what you enjoy doing (including hobbies or extra-curricular work), and especially, what distinguishes you from other students taking the same courses, provides the employer with a sense of your capabilities. Help them determine if you are a good fit for their job. Do you spend significant time engaging with others, do you tend more to strategic or tactical tasks, what's your balance of competitive and collaborative skills? It's what you gained from whatever experience you had that is brought forward to your next job. I suggest you elaborate on skills you mastered, or those you want to hone, to supplement any lack of specific job experience.

Dale recommends the following next steps:

Elaborate on skills you mastered, or those you want to hone, to supplement any lack of specific job experience
Help them determine if you are a good fit for their job
Cite what you have learned or what to learn
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Dan’s Answer

Fear not, it's absolutely normal to have limited experience at the beginning of your career journey! You have so much potential to grow and make a real impact. Take heart in knowing that you can definitely make yourself stand out from the crowd. I wholeheartedly encourage you to craft a clear and inspiring career objective, illustrating how this specific role you're applying for will serve as a stepping stone towards your ultimate career goals. Believe in yourself and seize this opportunity to shape your future!
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Jeff’s Answer

When I started, I added the courses I have taken & awards I have received; mostly to emphasize what my skillsets are.
Later I realized many other things that can help as well -
(a) Who you truly are: for example, open-minded, independent, problem solver, thinker, hard-working, easy-going..etc
Sometimes interviewers are not necessary always looking for people with good grades or strong in certain skills.
They could be looking for someone with long-term potentials and can fit into the existing team.
Even the time you have spent on volunteering work could differentiate you from others.
(b) Interests, hobbies, i.e. your passions, what you've spend your time on
(c) Attitude: Are you a risk-taker? or are you a thinker, or you good at execution or planning?
What role you usually play in a team project? Team work?

Hope these help a bit on brainstorming what to put in CV. Making messages short and strong helps.

Another angle : you get a chance to assemble a team for a semester project and you will need to select teammates through brief application notes from students at school, whom would you like to invite based on what they put on the note?
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Sam’s Answer

Think of this way, you always have experience!

It's just that you may not directly or lately worked in a particular you may be interested in, and that's okay. Professional recruiters and hiring managers understand that you may not have accumulated the necessary experience yet.

Here are few ideas to consider:

- Make sure you clearly understand that skills required to do the work needed (read the job posting well, make necessary effort to digest the Job Description and what skills and knowledge are required.

- Now look at your volunteer work, part-time or school work you were involved in. Also consider your project/assignment work back at school, and find where you used the skills indicated on the Job Discerption and on the Job posting.

- Bring up and highlight those skills you used in your resume.

- Showcase how you were a team player and collaborator (one of the top skills and attributes needed in many jobs and careers), in your pervious work, school work or volunteer work.

- Don't forget to include course work, certificates or certification you gained (particularly those that are relevant to the skills and knowledge required in the job you are applying for!

Good luck!
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弘埕(Jefferson)’s Answer

Hi Nester,

Let me give the different angle to this question.

Basically I prefer to look at the CV with the award or scholarship if any or the previous successful story on the candidate habit like running, playing the online games or anything. The reason is we should demonstrate our desire and learning curve through the records instead of the 100% matching experience.

Sometime if you can show how you plug in a club and develop the relationship to certain achievement that is also a good reference from my view. Many candidates are having his story on CV that I will prefer to know how the candidate to develop himself in the new area. This is important to your reference.

Regards,
Jefferson

弘埕(Jefferson) recommends the following next steps:

Check out if any award or record that could include into CV.
Any special skills that could also include like speaking Japanese.
Think about if any successful story that could put into CV.
Check your campus club experience and see if that could include into CV as well.
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