How To Write An Entry-Level Resume (With Examples)

Crafting a successful resume when you have little to no work experience may seem complicated, but that doesn’t change how vital a quality resume is. In many ways, your resume is like your first interview, as it will provide a crucial introduction and first impression to a hiring manager.

With that in mind, it’s easy to see why nailing your entry-level resume is your first and potentially last opportunity to outline what makes you an ideal candidate.

So how do you make an entry-level resume impressive and successful?

In general, you’ll want to showcase your accomplishments, skills, and qualifications without sacrificing readability. Unlike other resumes, what you outline in an entry-level resume may be less specialized, but it’s still essential that you include whatever you feel makes you a more attractive candidate.

Fortunately, this article will discuss what makes a successful entry-level resume and provide examples and other valuable tips.

The Basics: What You Should Include in an Entry-Level Resume

When you first get started, you’ll probably feel worried that you simply don’t have enough content to pad your resume with. Fortunately, you might have more helpful experience than you think.

Here are some crucial elements to include in your resume:

• Contact information. What good is any job application if the employer doesn’t know how to reply to you?

  When writing your resume, always be sure to include your full legal name, email, phone number, and other relevant contact information at the top of the page. This will ensure that the employer has several methods of contacting you.

• Highest level of education. Often, one of your best ways of landing a job you don’t have experience in is through your education.

  Regardless of whether you only graduated high school or have a Bachelor’s Degree, you should include any relevant classes you’ve taken, your major, your GPA (if 3.5+), and any other educational achievements you can think of.

• Relevant work experience. Even if you’ve never had a full-time job, you likely have some kind of work experience.

  For example, if you’ve ever babysat or watched someone’s dogs, worked on a farm, had a summer job, or done any other kind of part-time work, you can include those experiences in your resume. Relevant or not, any experience is better than none!

• Volunteer work and other activities. Similar to work experience, it can be valuable to include any volunteer work you’ve done. For instance, if you’ve volunteered at an animal shelter, school, homeless shelter, or food bank, employers will be interested in your ability to serve your community.

• Personal projects. If you’ve ever had your own small business or made something relevant for the job you’re applying to, you can include that in your resume.

  For example, if you spent your teenage years creating simple woodwork projects and selling them online, that experience could be helpful for a variety of retail, art, or construction jobs.

• Relevant skills and qualifications. Overall, the more relevant skills and qualifications you can include in your resume, the better. From personality traits to languages and computer programs to medical certifications. Think of anything helpful you can add.

• Keywords. Hiring managers typically don’t have a lot of time to review your resume, so including keywords can be an easy way to catch their eye. When you read a job description, be sure to analyze the position requirements so you can use similar language in your resume.

  For example, if there’s a position that requires you to have experience using Microsoft Word, you should mention that you have experience using Microsoft Word in your resume.

What Hiring Managers Are Looking for in an Entry-Level Resume

Now that you know what to include in your resume, it’s also important to cater to your key achievements and experiences to fit what potential employers will be looking for.

In general, basing the information in your resume around what a hiring manager wants to hear will bring you one step closer to landing the position. Just think of it as looking at things from their perspective!

With that in mind, here are some of the essential things that will catch a hiring manager’s eye:

• Readability. Hiring managers are busy people, and therefore, they don’t have endless time to review your resume. Typically, the average employer only spends less than 10 seconds reviewing your resume, so making all of your key points easy to read can be a crucial part of making anything stick.

  When in doubt, use keywords, stick to streamlined formatting, and keep your word count low.

• Positivity. While there are several personality traits employers look out for, positivity is one of the most important ones. Your ability to make light of any situation, stay motivated, and bring good vibes to the workplace cannot be understated.

  Try to radiate positivity when you craft your sentences, so the employer will sense that you’d have that same energy in the workplace.

• Leadership and teamwork. While leadership and teamwork may seem like opposing forces, having both is a crucial part of any workplace. When possible, use examples to outline why you’re an effective leader and a thoughtful team player.

  Generally speaking, these two skills come down to confidence and adept communication.

• Relevancy. If you’re applying at entry-level, employers want to know why exactly you applied in the first place. Show why you’re interested in the position and include as many relevant skills, experiences, and qualifications as possible.

How to Structure an Entry-Level Resume

When you begin writing your resume, the first thing you should think about is your formatting. As mentioned previously, be sure to list your contact information at the top of the page and then summarize yourself.

Typically, resumes are split up into sections to make them more digestible. Common sections include:

• Resume Summary/Objective

• Relevant Experience

• Education

• Skills

• Accomplishments

• Certifications or Projects

While you can add more sections if you choose, you should be mindful of your resume’s length and readability.

Another effective way to maintain readability is to organize the information in your sections as bullet notes, so any employer can simply take a glance and receive all the information they need. Any section written in sentences should be no more than a short paragraph.

As with any professional document, your resume should also pull from a group of acceptable font types, which are sized and spaced appropriately.

If you’re not sure what font types are acceptable, here is a list of ten potential fonts you can use:

• Arial

• Calibri

• Corbel

• Garamond

• Georgia

• Gill Sans

• Helvetica

• Open Sans

• Roboto

• Times New Roman

Remember to pay attention to the simplicity of the style. If a font seems simple and easy to read, it is probably acceptable. Simple fonts are preferred in part because heavily stylized fonts might be difficult for someone to read. Ideally, the reader should be able to skim the most important information from your resume quickly and efficiently.

After selecting a font, you should choose your font size based on the same logic as the font type. Therefore, select the smallest size that is still easily readable—typically between 10 and 12. The font type you chose may alter the size slightly, but be sure to avoid oversizing your font, as your resume may appear unprofessional.

When in doubt, don’t go overboard. Keep everything simple, and to the point, so you can retain the employer’s attention.

Entry-Level Resume Examples

Put together, all of these tips culminate to create easy-to-read, relevant, and practical resumes. Here are a few examples:

Entry-Level Resume Tips

Now that you know how to write an effective entry-level resume, here are some additional tips to keep in mind when you draft your first copy:

• Keep it short and to the point. Hiring managers have lives too, so it’s essential that you limit the length of your resume and only include the essential information. Ideally, your resume should only be around a page long. Doing this will help maximize readability and retain the potential employer’s interest.

• Thoroughly proofread. It’s critical that the spelling and grammar of your resume are on point. Given that, you should spend a considerable amount of time proofreading, so you have a better chance of catching these errors.

• Avoid first-person pronouns. First-person pronouns have a way of killing professionalism. In general, avoiding them will improve the quality of your resume. For example, instead of saying, “I increased sales by 22%”, simply write: “Increased sales by 22%”.

• Professionally label the resume file. If you’re sending your resume to a potential employer via email, you must label the document appropriately. One of the best ways to label your resume is by titling the document with your first and last name, followed by the word “resume.”

• Quantify when possible. The more specific you can make your achievements on your resume, the better. Instead of writing that you “have a lot of experience,” it’s better to say that you “have five years of experience.” Accurate numbers, dates, and percentages will improve the quality of your resume.

Author

Jack Flynn

Jack Flynn is a writer for Zippia. In his professional career he’s written over 100 research papers, articles and blog posts. Some of his most popular published works include his writing about economic terms and research into job classifications. Jack received his BS from Hampshire College.