How to Write a Resume for Your First Job

If you are a current student or recent graduate, you may feel you lack enough experience to draft a resume for your first job. It is important to remember you can use personal life experience, skills and activities for your resume. By using those experiences, and emphasizing the skills employers are looking for, you can find writing your first resume easier than it may seem.  This article explains the steps to help draft your first resume along with some tips to get your resume noticed by the hiring manager.

How to write your first resume

When creating the first draft of your resume, you should get all of the information you can into each section and then edit it down to what is relevant. 

When writing your resume, you will need to include these items:

1. First, include contact information in your resume

The beginning of your resume should include all of your relevant contact information. Your contact information should be included below the header of the resume in case it is put through recruitment software, which may disregard headers and footers. Contact information should include:

  • Your name
  • Email address
  • Phone numbers
  • Home address, if you choose

2. Second, include an opening statement in your resume

Your opening statement will be a summary of who you are and briefly where you studied or worked that make you a good fit for the job you are applying for. This is the section where you will need to tailor each resume to the job you are applying for, making sure it is relevant to the industry or position.

This section should be between five and seven lines and written in the first person. The opening line will need to be a strong statement of who you are and why you are applying. The following sentences should be supporting information, such as skills and attributes you have that make you the ideal candidate.

3. Third, include strengths and skills in your resume

In this section, you should include between 10 and 15 skills you possess that make you a promising job candidate. Make sure you thoroughly read the job posting so you know the relevant skills to include. Make sure you address key skills that match the required or essential job skill list, then delve into skills that they desire in a potential candidate. If they have not listed many skills, choose skills you believe would make you the ideal candidate. 

You can draw on skills from:

  • Previous jobs you’ve had
  • Areas you’ve studied
  • Internships
  • Volunteer or community involvement

4. Fourth, include computer and software skills in your resume

Every position will require some level of technological, computer or software-related skills. In this section, you will need to list all programs and technologies you have experience and demonstrated use of, starting with the skills required for the job position. 

Some areas to include are:

  • Spreadsheet and word processing software
  • Accounting programs
  • Programming languages
  • Specialized equipment
  • Web and graphic design software
  • Technological tools

5. Fifth, include your educational history in your resume

When listing your educational history, you will only need to include your highest level of education and any advanced degrees you hold. If your highest level of education was a bachelor’s degree, there is no need to list your high school education. If you hold a master’s degree or doctorate, you should list them as well. If you have specific academic achievements, list them in bullet points below the earned degree.

6. Sixth, include your employment history in your resume

When completing the employment history section, you will start with your current or most recent employment and work backward. 

Each job listing should include:

  • The company’s name
  • Your position title 
  • The employment dates
  • The performed duties

With your first resume, you may have little or no employment history. 

If this is the case you can include:

  • Work experience that occurred during your education
  • Internships
  • Volunteer work and community service

With each job listing, you should list any achievements that you had while at the job. Focus on the key skills the new job requires when determining which achievements to highlight.

When listing your accomplishments and achievements, make sure they are quantified with facts and figures whenever possible. For example, instead of saying you increased social media interaction during your employment, say you increased viewership on social media channels by 30% over six months through your initiatives. If part of your experience is through volunteer work, you may discuss how your organization raised and contributed $50,000 to a charity’s fundraiser.

7. Seventh, include your certifications and licenses in your resume

If you had any additional training that resulted in professional licenses or certifications, or if the job requirements include certification, list all of your relevant licenses and certificates. In this section, list the certification and the date it was obtained.

8. Eighth, include your references in your resume

Your resume should always include at least two people who can provide you with a positive recommendation that would show why you would be a good employee. The best references are typically those who you have worked for, but if this is for your first job, educators or other volunteers who have worked with you can make strong references as well. Include their name, their position title and their best contact information.

9. Last, edit your resume thoroughly

The final step in your resume writing process is to review and proofread it with a discerning eye. Check for grammar and spelling mistakes, as well as structural issues that can make it difficult to read. Read each section aloud, and remove anything that is distracting or interrupts the flow of the information.

Tips for writing your resume

There are a few things that can help you get noticed in a positive way by a hiring manager and allow your resume to stand out. 

Here are a few tips for writing your resume:

Remove anything that is not relevant from your resume

It can be easy to get caught up in accomplishments when you are trying to make your resume stand out, but if any of the information is irrelevant to the job posting, remove it. For example, if you are applying for a job in the IT field, an award for football is hardly relevant and may seem distracting.

Keep your resume short and concise

Your resume is your introduction to the hiring manager and will hopefully pique their interest enough for them to call you in for an interview. Keep your resume to a short summary that fits on one page. If you want to delve deeper into your experience or specific skills, that is what you will bring to the interview.

Use action and power words in your resume whenever possible

A hiring manager will be more interested in resumes that focus on action, and using these words may help compel the manager to call you in for the interview process. Action and power words are direct, clear and concise. 

Some examples to include in your resume are:

  • Achieved
  • Resolved
  • Managed
  • Improved
  • Created
  • Implemented
  • Streamlined
  • Increased

Create a professional design for your resume

Depending on how many people are applying for your specific position, you are likely to have 20 to 30 seconds for a hiring manager to see your resume. This means making your resume eye-catching and easy to read is crucial. Choose a design that is simple, elegant and professional, making sure to avoid any patterns that are too busy. 

Other ways to make your resume more visually appealing are: 

  • Use common, easy-to-read font styles such as Cambria, Calibri or Helvetica
  • Keep your font size at 12 or 14 point
  • Maintain appropriate spacing
  • Use bullet points when appropriate
  • Keep the margins at 1 inch all around

Add keywords to your resume

Keywords can be pretty significant when a company is using recruiting software to scan their applicants. Start by creating a list of keywords and skills that come up when searching for the type of job you are applying for. Try to use these keywords in various sections of your resume, making sure they sound natural. This can even be beneficial when resume software is not used as resumes are first typically scanned for certain skills and words by the hiring manager. Adding the right keywords can help you get to the next level in the hiring process.

Writing your resume for your first real job can be a simple process when you follow the steps and tips listed above. By doing your company research, aligning requirements with your skills and structuring your resume in an easy-to-read format, you are more likely to get noticed by a hiring manager and get to the interview process.