How to Write a Resume With No Experience (2025 Career Starter Guide)

So you’re trying to land a job, but your resume feels… empty.

Maybe you just graduated. Maybe you’re switching careers. Or maybe you’ve been working in an informal setting—helping your family’s business, freelancing under the table, or raising kids—and now you’re wondering how to make that count.

Good news: having no formal experience doesn’t mean you can’t have a strong, professional resume.

In fact, in 2025, employers are looking less at where you’ve worked and more at what you can do. The trick is learning how to frame your transferable skills, life experience, and potential in a way that speaks directly to what employers need.

Here’s how to do it.

1. Choose the Right Resume Format

If you have no formal experience, skip the traditional chronological resume. Instead, use a skills-based (functional) format that focuses on your abilities, achievements, and education—not your job history.

This style brings your most relevant strengths to the top, even if they came from volunteering, education, or personal projects.

2. Write a Summary That Highlights Your Potential, Not Your Past

Your summary is your elevator pitch. If you don’t have job experience, focus on:

What you’ve learned
What you're naturally good at
What type of role you’re aiming for
A few soft or transferable skills

Example (New Grad):

Motivated computer science graduate with hands-on experience from academic projects and a keen interest in front-end development. Strong problem-solving skills, a collaborative mindset, and a commitment to building intuitive user experiences.

Example (Career Changer):

Detail-oriented retail manager transitioning into human resources, with 5+ years of experience in training, onboarding, and resolving employee concerns. Completed HR certification in 2024 with a focus on DEI and labour law compliance.

3. Create a 'Skills & Competencies' Section (With Proof)

Don’t just list soft skills—connect them to real tasks or results. Think about times you:

Planned something
Solved a problem
Worked on a team
Used tech
Helped someone
Organized information or events

Instead of this:

✔️ Problem-solving

✔️ Time management

✔️ Teamwork

Write this:

Resolved student scheduling conflicts as peer mentor, improving attendance for three classmates
Coordinated weekly delivery logistics for a family business, managing routes and inventory
Learned new POS system in under two days and trained three new hires on it

These may not be paid jobs—but they prove value.

4. Use a Projects or Achievements Section

If you don’t have job titles, show what you’ve built, fixed, improved, or contributed to.

✅ Academic or capstone projects

✅ Personal coding, art, or design projects

✅ Volunteer or community organizing work

✅ Event planning

✅ Side hustles or freelance gigs (even unpaid)

Examples:

Web Developer Portfolio: Designed and launched 4 responsive websites using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Projects include a real-time weather app and a task management tool.
Community Outreach: Organized a fundraising event for local animal shelter, raising over $1,500 through social media marketing and event coordination.
Freelance Support: Helped a friend’s Etsy store optimize product descriptions and photos, leading to a 20% increase in sales in 3 months.

5. Make Your Education & Training Work Harder

If you’re new to the workforce or industry, your training is your credential.

Include:

Relevant coursework (don’t list everything—just what’s useful)
Projects or labs
Awards or scholarships
Certifications or bootcamps

Example:

SAIT – Welding Technician Certificate Completed: 2024

MIG, TIG, and Stick welding
Blueprints and safety protocols
150+ hours of hands-on training in fabrication shop
Awarded top project for pipe welding precision

LinkedIn Learning – Project Management for Nonprofits Completed: January 2025

Gained knowledge of Agile methods, timelines, budgeting, and stakeholder communication

6. Include Volunteer Experience or Informal Work

Even if it wasn’t paid, it still counts. Highlight anything that shows:

Reliability
Communication
Leadership
Technical ability

Examples:

Volunteer Event Assistant – Habitat for Humanity, Vancouver, BCMarch–May 2024

Helped manage build day setup and volunteer coordination for 3 events
Worked closely with site supervisor to track safety gear inventory

Babysitter / Caregiver – Self-employed2021–2023

Provided childcare for two families; coordinated daily routines, meals, and learning activities
Praised for trustworthiness and adaptability

7. Don’t Use a Generic Objective Statement

“Seeking a challenging role where I can grow…” doesn’t cut it anymore.

Instead, give your resume a headline or summary that speaks to who you are becoming.

Try this instead:

🎯 Aspiring Digital Marketer with Certifications in SEO & Google Ads | Passionate About Data-Driven Storytelling

🎯 Junior Auto Mechanic with 300+ Hours of Shop Training | Red Seal Candidate | Strong Safety Track Record

8. Add a 'Technical Tools' Section (If Relevant)

If you're entering trades, IT, design, or admin work, listing the tools you’re comfortable with can help.

Examples:

Autodesk Fusion 360
Google Workspace
QuickBooks
Canva
WHMIS
Shopify
Salesforce CRM
Welding equipment & safety certifications
POS systems (Square, Lightspeed)

9. Custom-Tailor Your Resume to the Job

This step is crucial. Even with no experience, you can tailor your resume by:

Mirroring keywords from the job posting
Highlighting any related coursework or skills
Using a similar tone and language

10. Use a Clean, Modern Layout

A simple, clean layout makes a huge difference in how seriously you’re taken. Use bold headings, bullet points, and plenty of white space.

Avoid:

✖️ Funky fonts

✖️ Resume templates with graphics or tables

✖️ Huge blocks of text

💡 Pro tip: A great layout can turn even a minimal resume into something that looks polished and professional. If you’re not sure where to start, we offer modern, recruiter-approved designs that pass ATS scans at Stellar Resume Writers.

Conclusion: No Experience ≠ No Value

You don’t need years of experience to write a great resume—you just need to show potential, reliability, and initiative.

In 2025, hiring managers are more open than ever to career starters, changers, and self-taught professionals. The key is crafting a resume that frames your strengths in their language.

👉 Request a free resume review here