Whenever I teach the resume workshop portion of my business communication course, I experience the same phenomenon: the hesitant approach of a student with a sheepish expression and a half-page resume, summarizing the anticipated attainment of a college degree and little else. "It's so short," they tell me. "How can I make it more impressive?"
Fortunately, there are a number of ways to bolster a resume that has little or nothing in the way of paid job experience. But before we get to that, it's important that you understand what hiring companies are looking for. In general, companies want to see two things in an entry-level applicant: 1) that you have already done most of the tasks they are hiring for, preferably in a professional environment; and 2) that you have demonstrated basic job skills, like showing up on time and working well with others. How can you meet these requirements if you've never held a job? Well, there are a number of steps you can take.
REDEFINE YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF "WORK EXPERIENCE"
At least half of the students who tell me they've never held a job actually have some employment experience they can use to bolster a resume. So, as a first step toward developing your resume, see if any of the following apply to you.
1. You've held an internship. Internships can be presented on your resume just like jobs. You simply list your job title as "Intern." Companies often regard internships as highly as paying jobs, sometimes even more so because an internship is more likely to be in your field of interest than a part-time, pay-the-bills job.
2. You worked in your family's business. If you worked regular hours in a family-owned store, restaurant or other business, performing tasks that a paid employee might perform (like waiter/waitress, cashier, receptionist, bookkeeper, etc.), you can reasonably list this as work experience, even if you didn't draw a salary for your labor.
3. You worked in another country. International students often mistakenly believe that they can't list jobs they held outside the U.S. You certainly can. Translate the job title and duties as closely as possible, and be sure to note the country where the work was performed.
4. Your jobs aren't related to the position you are seeking. No one expects you to graduate from college with years of previous experience in your field. Even bartending and grocery clerk jobs demonstrate that you have basic general employment skills.
MINE YOUR UNPAID EXPERIENCE
Once you've identified any actual jobs you've held, it's time to move on to unpaid experiences you may have had that mirror the work environment.
1. Volunteerism. If you've planted trees, worked with underprivileged kids, or even stuffed envelopes for a local community outreach campaign, you can use this experience to fill out your resume. Don't confine yourself to volunteer experiences held in your field of interest. Even time spent manning the drinks booth at a charity walkathon demonstrates your ability to work with others, take direction and manage your time. Even better, a history of volunteering shows that you are motivated by more than a paycheck.
2. Club leadership positions. If you have held a position of responsibility, such as treasurer of your school soccer club, you can use this to plump up your resume. Leadership roles in collegiate and community organizations demonstrate a willingness to be involved in the organizational process, as well as the development of interpersonal and project management skills.
3. School projects. I won't lie to you. Skills demonstrated solely in the classroom are the least valuable of all the experiences identified in this article. They are virtually impossible to verify, and they tend to suggest that you may not understand how to work outside the heavily supervised class environment. But if you have nothing else, you can examine any college projects you completed that might highlight relevant skills.
Okay, now that you've identified your revelant experience, it's time to build your actual resume.
THE FUNCTIONAL RESUME
A traditional resume is intended to highlight work experience. Jobs are presented at the top of the page, just below the heading, in reverse chronological order (with the most recent job first). This is because hiring agencies are most interested in knowing about your work background. However, if your employment history is skimpy (less than two jobs or two years of work experience), a standard chronological resume is simply going to highlight what you DON'T have. By contrast, a functional resume puts the spotlight on your skills, deemphasizing your abbreviated or missing list of jobs. Functional resumes are structured in the following way.
1. HEADING: As in a chronological resume, you will place your name prominently at the top of the page, followed by a contact telephone number and email address. A mailing address is optional but generally unnecessary unless you expect the company to mail you application materials.
2. SKILLS AND CAPABILITIES: In this section, present a list of 7-10 relevant skills, capabilities and accomplishments. Some examples of appropriate skills might include typing or 10-key speed, languages spoken, and computer software proficiencies. Use terms like "competent," "proficient," "fluent" and "conversant" in order to quantify these skills. Avoid including overly general listings, like "strong written communication skills." This doesn't tell a hiring manager much, since you haven't presented any work context for this assertion. A better example would be "Drafted correspondence with potential donors for "Save the Trees" campaign." This demonstrates that you have been entrusted with written communication tasks in some sort of professional environment. In general, you want an even mix of skills and specific accomplishments.
3. JOB HISTORY: If you have any internships, paid work experience or family business jobs, you should list them briefly following your skills and capabilities section. List the job title, the company, and the years of employment. Do not include a list of duties. You want to focus attention on your skills, not your abbreviated job history.
4. EDUCATION: Your education section belongs AFTER your skills and capabilities section. A particular degree will generally be a minimum requirement for the jobs you are applying for, and hiring companies will only be interested in whether you have the needed degree if you've first impressed them as having the necessary skills. List the degree you hold, including your major or concentration; the school that awarded the degree; and the year of graduation. If you attended several colleges, it is only necessary to list the college that granted your degree. If you are applying for jobs during your final semester of school, you can list your anticipated degree, along with something like: "anticipated graduation: May 2008." If you are more than a year away from graduation, you should list the years you attended school.
5. OPTIONAL SECTIONS: Once you have presented your skills and capabilities, job history, and education, you should include additional sections as necessary to list any volunteerism, club offices held, and other career-relevant activities. If you have three or more examples of a particular kind of experience, you can give that its own separate heading. Otherwise, you can lump everything together in an "Additional Experience" section.
WHAT TO LEAVE OUT
Do not include any irrelevant hobbies or activities, such as shopping, surfing or guitar playing. A resume is not a speed dating application. You need to present yourself as professionally as possible.
FORMATTING YOUR RESUME
If you have little or no employment history, your resume should be one page in length. Use one-inch page margins and a traditional, scannable font, like Times New Roman or Arial. Fonts should be large enough to be legible: generally 10-12 pt for Times New Roman and 8-11 pt for Arial. Do not increase your margins, insert extra spacing, or use large fonts to stretch out your resume. This looks amateurish.
REFERENCES
Do not include your references on your resume unless it is specifically required in the job advertisement. Companies will generally call to request your references only when you are in serious contention for a job. Once this happens, your first step should be to contact all your references and warn them to expect a call shortly. This way, they will be prepared to sing your praises. You'll need the names and telephone numbers of three references who can speak to your behavior in a professional environment. Some good candidates for references include internship supervisors and volunteer coordinators. University professors are generally poor choices for references.
Finally, you may need to tinker with your resume a bit before you get it just right. As a rule of thumb, you should expect to get at least one interview invitation for any 10 jobs that you apply for. If you aren't meeting this target, you should restructure the document before sending out the next batch of applications.
Good luck with your new career!