15 Things to Consider for a Resume If You Have Never Worked Before

A first resume does not need fifteen sections. This checklist offers fifteen kinds of information to consider, so you can choose what is accurate and relevant. Keep the essentials and leave out optional items that add little.

For deciding whether an activity qualifies as experience and how to label it, use what counts as work experience. For writing the document, follow the step-by-step resume guide.

Essential information

1. Name and contact details. Use your actual name, reachable phone number, professional email and location appropriate to the application. Follow specific instructions for other details.

2. Education. State the institution, qualification and completion or expected completion date accurately. Do not copy a fictional school or degree from an example.

3. Relevant skills. Select tools and tasks you can demonstrate. Describe the level, such as spreadsheet sorting and basic formulas, rather than an unsupported “advanced” label. Use skills evidence examples.

Evidence you may already have

4. School projects. Identify the assignment, your individual contribution and the methods used. A group result is not automatically your individual accomplishment. See school project resume entries.

5. Volunteer work. State the organization, role, dates and real responsibilities. Keep it identified as volunteering. Use volunteer experience examples.

6. School activities. Describe a task you handled in an event, team or other activity. Participation alone does not establish leadership. The school activity guide helps find specific evidence.

7. School clubs. Include membership only when it adds relevant context; an actual responsibility is more useful than a club-name list. See club entries.

8. Informal paid work. Babysitting or a small service can show genuine responsibility. Use an accurate title and avoid publishing a family’s private details. The babysitting guide explains this context.

9. Family business help. Describe the duties you actually performed and the arrangement honestly. Do not invent a managerial title. See family-business resume entries.

10. Personal projects. A finished practice output can demonstrate relevant skills. Label practice data and personal work accurately; do not present it as a client job. Use personal project entries.

Optional supporting details

11. Relevant coursework. Add selected subjects when they connect to the vacancy and you completed or are currently taking them. Avoid listing every class.

12. Completed certificates. Include the correct certificate, provider and date when useful. A short course is not automatically a professional licence. Clearly label training in progress.

13. Awards or achievements. Use accurate names and context. Include them when they support the role, rather than filling space with unrelated honours.

14. Languages. Describe your level accurately and consider the workplace tasks required. Do not claim fluency you cannot demonstrate.

15. Availability. Include actual hours when relevant to shift or part-time work or requested by the employer. Account for study and travel commitments; do not promise unrestricted availability if that is untrue.

What usually does not need a section

A summary is optional. References, personal identifiers, unrelated hobbies and “references available upon request” do not need space merely because a template includes them. Follow the vacancy’s actual instructions.

Delete empty headings and duplicate claims. One clear project entry with useful bullets can be more informative than several sections listing the same traits. The section-order guide helps prioritize your strongest evidence.

Choose the final contents

For each item, ask: Is it true? Does it help assess this vacancy? Can I explain it in an interview? Does it repeat something already included? Keep the information that earns its space.

For a complete illustration, read the annotated student resume. Its details are fictional; use its structure and replace all examples with your own background.