How to Write a Resume as a New Graduate (and when you don’t have any work experience!)

1. Start With a Strong Summary or Objective

A short resume summary or career objective at the top of your resume can immediately show employers what you’re about. Focus on your strengths, interests, and goals.

Example Objective:

I am a motivated and detail-oriented conveyancing graduate seeking an entry-level position where I can apply strong communication and organisational skills to support team goals.

2. Highlight Education First

If you’re lacking in job experience, lead with your education. Include relevant coursework, academic honors/results, and extracurriculars that show initiative.

Include:

· School name, degree, graduation date

· Relevant courses

· Projects or thesis work

· Clubs or leadership roles

3. Showcase Transferable Skills

You may not have formal job experience, but you likely have skills from volunteer work, internships, group projects, or part-time jobs. Include examples where possible and focus on transferable skills such as:

· Communication

· Attention to detail

· Time management

· Customer service

· Teamwork

· Problem-solving

Example:

Front of House – McDonald's

Worked as a crew manager in customer service at McDonald’s, regularly exceeding targets and winning monthly leadership awards (June, September, December 2024, January, March 2025) and customer service awards as voted by in-store customers (December 2024, January and March 2025)

4. Include Volunteer Work, Internships, and Freelance Projects

Employers value any experience that demonstrates responsibility and initiative. Even unpaid work counts. Hint – give a factual example of what you did to improve the business!

Example:

Event Volunteer – Local Animal Shelter

Organised supplies, greeted guests, and managed check-ins at community fundraising events. Management of social media accounts – increased engagement by 40% over 6 months.

5. Add a Skills Section

List software, tools, and other technical or interpersonal skills. This is especially helpful if the job requires specific abilities. Be specific and include your level of skill, where possible.

Examples:

· Microsoft Office (expert level in Excel spreadsheets, incl. formulas, graphs and v-lookups.)

· Canva or Adobe Photoshop (intermediate)

· Google Workspace (intermediate)

· Bilingual (Conversational Spanish & Fluent English - speaking and writing)

· Public Speaking (Confident)

6. Keep It Clean and Concise

Stick to a simple layout—no fancy fonts or design. Use bullet points, consistent formatting, and keep the resume to one page if possible.

7. Tailor your resume to each job

Read the job ad carefully and then read the website of the company as well as their socials. You can learn a lot about an organisation by what they’re posting and the language they’re using. Reflect this back to them in your resume and cover letter. This shows you’re detail oriented, interested and have done your research!

8. Use Action Verbs

Use strong, active language to describe what you did. Instead of “responsible for filing,” say “organised and maintained accurate records.”

9. Don’t Forget a Cover Letter

Your cover letter gives you a chance to explain your passion, interest in the role, and why you’re a great fit—even without lots of experience. (Note – some employers may not look at a resume that has no cover letter attached!)

10. Ask AI

There are many AI resume writing assistants, these are best used as a guide to review your resume to ensure it sounds professional and reads well.