How to Write a Resume If I Haven't Worked
If you are applying for your very first job, you are at a bit of a disadvantage with some of your competition, particularly if you want something beyond entry-level work. However, whether you are a high-school student or a homemaker entering the job force for the first time, you have accrued abilities and experience that can make you a valuable part of a company or organization.
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Instructions
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High-School Student
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Write a clear professional objective. It's unlikely that the job you are applying for will end up being your career choice, so tailor it to the job you seek today. While many entry-level jobs only require an application, if you want to be an office assistant in your neighbor's dental practice, you will need a resume. Your objective should start with "To..." and a verb, and then continue with a short explanation of what you want to do, and how you will help that company. One example might be, "To utilize proven success in organization and logistics and enhance efficiency as an office assistant." If you have to get your three siblings ready for school, and you're running the school yearbook, you know all about organization and logistics.
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Indicate your education. If you haven't graduated yet, indicate your current GPA (if it's 3.0 or above). Make a bulleted list of your extracurricular activities, highlighting any leadership responsibilities, as well as any awards you have won.
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Make a list of any volunteer work you have done during middle school and high school, particularly if that work relates to the position you are applying for. Only put down work that you have devoted significant amounts of time to. Mission trips or projects and long-term volunteering work best in this type of section.
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List three references at the bottom of the page, with their contact information (phone number and email address. Make sure that your contact information is visible at the top of the page.
Entering the Workforce Later in Life
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Start with a professional objective as well. Many employers only spend a few seconds screening your resume, particularly if it is a resume with no employment history. You have to sell yourself as a communicator in this phrase, so be clear and focused.
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Make a bulleted list of qualifications to follow your objective. If you are applying to be a sales assistant, or even a sales professional, for a home builder, then you need to be able to build relationships quickly with people you have just met, convince them to trust you -- and to give you a great deal of their money. If you have organized charity galas for a local nonprofit, then you already have many of the required skills. Concepts like interpersonal relationships, motivating others and "selling" businesses on sponsoring your gala will easily carry over into home sales.
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List your major volunteer projects or other forms of experience as though they were jobs. Below each project, make a bulleted list of your quantifiable achievements associated with it. If you planned and put together a fundraiser for your son's Boy Scout troop for six years in a row, raising more than $70,000 during that time, that will impress potential employers in a number of professions.
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Indicate your level of education near the bottom of the page. GPA is worth including if it is 3.0 or higher. Many positions require a bachelor's degree, so if you have one, you want to include it, even if you never pursued employment in your degree field.
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