CV without experience: how do you write a CV when you have no experience?
An excellent tool to help you get a job interview, the creation of a CV is the first step of any job search. Nevertheless, before you can have a well-completed CV, you need to have been employed at least one time.
In this case, the question we all have to ask ourselves at the beginning of our professional career is the following:
- How do you write a CV when you have no experience? What should be included in the CV?
- How to make your profile stand out when you don't have any professional experience yet ?
A CV with no experience: which topics to include in your CV ?
Since you must absolutely respect the editorial line of a professional CV, you will have to include the same sections as a classic CV:
- The 'Objective' section: it consists of a few lines to present yourself and an explanation that displays your grasp on all the position's challenges. Your objective must be very specific in order to show that even if you do not have experience, you know that you are able to apply for this job offer. Do not hesitate to consult our page dedicated to this section « Objective ».
- The 'Education & Training' section: This section presents your educational background. You must mention the various degrees obtained, and any preparations for examinations or competitions you have participated in, specifying the dates, institutions, and results. You will have to focus strongly on this part and detail the skills and results acquired during your education and training. This is the added value that you offer when you are creating a professional CV without experience. Do not hesitate to consult our page dedicated to this section « Education and Training ».
- The 'Experience' section: You do not have experience, of course. But only in the context of paid work. You still absolutely have experience in one or more specific areas, and you need to have something useful included in your CV to show the recruiter that you have the capabilities required for the job. Involvement in an association, in a sports team, or personal project: highlight everything that differentiates you and everything that proves that you have the right to claim the position. Do not hesitate to consult our page dedicated to this section « Professional experience ».
- The 'Skills' section: extremely important in your case, the 'Skills' section lists different keywords that reflect your professional and personal skills, that is to say your 'hard' skills (differential calculations, mastery of the Adobe suite, « Skills ».
Also, it is necessary to make this feeling clear on your CV in order to make a good impression, and that is why it is important to write a Professional CV. You should, of course, use other devices that we will describe below, but keep in mind that you shouldn't create a fanciful or unscrupulous CV because you have no experience.
Your CV should therefore, on the one hand, respect the outline of a professional CV in good standing, and on the other hand, demonstrate your added value both in form and substance.
Specifically, it will be your task to highlight your specific skills within your CV. If for example, you have graphic design skills, then create a graphically designed CV, with high - level aesthetics to demonstrate your capabilities.
If you are a sports professional, do not hesitate to add some discreet details that show that you are involved and passionate in what you do, so you can replace the classic bullet points with small patterns reminiscent of the sporting environment, while remaining elegant(small two - tone balls, a discreet kimono to reflect your 3rd DAN in judo, etc...).
Similarly if you practice in the field of accounting or publishing for example.
Since you have no work experience, choose a CV template that does not devote much of the space available to experience, as that would visually devalue your offer. Emphasise the size of the 'Objective', 'Skills' and 'Education & Training' parts, which serve your personal project the most.
Marc, recruiter.