What to Put on Your CV When You Have No Work Experience

Are you a recent graduate wondering how you will land a job without relevant work experience?

You have just seen a job that you really want to apply for but are at a loss since you don’t think you have the required experience to be shortlisted for an interview.

All you have are a few internships here and there. Where do you begin? Utilizing your Curriculum Vitae  to showcase your abilities, achievements, and potential.

But what do you include and what do you leave out to ensure that you stand out among thousands of other applicants?

Here are proven ways to write a great CV if you have no relevant work experience.

1. Start with a killer Career Profile

What do employers see first when they open your application?Probably your career profile and therefore it needs to grab their attention.

One of the mistakes most job seekers make is losing the readers from the start

If you don’t have relevant work experience, the career profile section provides a summary of who you are as a professional, your skills, and your value proposition. This section explains to employers why you’re the right candidate for the job and how your skills can benefit their company. The truth is, you only have a couple of seconds to wow your employer.

So, ensure that in two or three sentences the employer can deduce why you are interested in the job and what makes you the perfect fit.

2. Sell Your Skills

If you don’t have a lot of experience, you’ll need to highlight your professional skills and qualifications.

Go through the job description first as most employers include specific skills they are looking for in the job applicants.

Once you understand what the employer is looking for, tailor your CV by including these skills and giving examples of how you have demonstrated them in the past.

For example, if you’re applying for a content writer position, you’ll need to mention the skills employers look for in a writer.

These might include good organizational skills, excellent time management skills, ability to meet tight deadlines, excellent verbal and written communication skills, copywriting and proofreading skills.

3. Your academic qualifications

Your CV should include all education qualifications that make you qualified for the position. This includes professional certification, relevant degrees, training, seminars or workshops you’ve attended.

If you’re a recent graduate, include your institution, the yearand any honours or awards received.

You can include the names or titles of courses you took, training and seminars you have attended.

4. Include extra-curricular activities

If you have no work experience, extra-curricular activities are a good way to back up all those skills you stated.  Remember that during the hiring process, an interesting activity may make it easier for you to stand out to an employer.

When creating the list of extracurricular activities on your CV, you should pay attention to the job description. Look for keywords that will help determine which aspects of your extracurricular activities are related to the job.

For example, if you were involved in student leadership affairs, voluntary work, sporting or event organizing you might stand out as a great leader.  These activities show transferable skills that organizations are interested in in candidates.

In conclusion, it’s possible to get a job with no relevant work experience, you only need to sell your skills and make sure your education shows you’re qualified, competent and able to get the job done. Many people have been in the same situation and landed their dream jobs. Follow these tips, and get yours soon. If you are having trouble drafting an entry-level job-winning CV, seek our CV Writing Services today for an optimized CV.