As an undergraduate student you are now preparing to apply for internships. Reagrdless of which year of study you are in you need to start somewhere. That means, trying to put experience in your internship resume when you don’t have any. If you are wondering how to write a resume for the first time you have come to the right place. Let me show what you put on your resume with no work experience as a college student.
One of the many things I always tell anyone who asks me for guidance is that many things you might have not though of, can be considered as experience even when you don’t have any work experience.
Let us understand what experience means in terms of applying for internships and putting in your resume as a student. It can be defined as a practical application of any item you have learned in your classes. That can be in terms of prior projects, assignments and any relevant application. It has to do with showcasing your skills in practice.
That’s how I got my first research internship in my first year of undergrad as an aerospace engineering student. In this article, I am going to show you a few ways in which you can brainstorm ideas to put in your first job resume as a college student with no experience.
Before that, if you have no idea how to apply for an internship or why you need one check out my video or article on applying for internships with no experience.
Be sure to subscribe to my email list to get a sample of a cover letter template and internship resume template for FREE to get started 🙂
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1. Use relevant projects in your resume with no experience
Yes, you read that right. When writing your resume for the first time as a student no experience you can use any projects that you may have done or been a part of. If it is relevant to the internship you are applying for it can be used as an experience. So what do I mean by projects?
Relevant projects to put in your resume may be:
- Assignments you have done in class
- For instance, if you are applying for an analyst position you can talk about how you used a method to find answers in assignments. Mind you, this likely has to be a ‘bigger’ assignment.
- Projects you have done as a member of technical societies or clubs
- For example, during my first year I designed an RC aircraft as a part of an aerospace technical society in my university and used that as relevant experience.
- Projects done in class
- This can include the major projects that you have done in class or as a part of a team. It could show your leadership skills, or even team spirit.
- Any individual projects you have done
- The projects don’t need to be a part of school work. It can also be any individual project that you may have undertaken.
2. Approach your professors to be your guide
A great approach to getting new experiences and applying the subjects you study in school is to connect to your professors. If you are writing a resume with no work experience as a student you need to seek out professors whose subjects you enjoy and ask them if they know or have opportunities that you can be a part of.
This could be working as a teaching assistant (TA) or even assisting on a research project they are working on. This can help you gain new skills while understanding if you actually enjoy the application of the subject you have been studying.
When applying for positions, it need not be old experiences but can also be current projects you are involved in. So approaching your professors or other professors in your university can be a great source of acquiring new experiences.
3. Assist a grad student in their projects
The same goes to grad students. Many times, professors are busy in managing a lab or a research group and acquiring funding for projects. Another great approach is to connect to grad students or post-doctoral fellows in the university and ask them if you could be a part of their projects.
You can assist them either in part for their project or for conducting an initial literature review. These look great on an entry-level resume for internships. This shows your rigour and enthusiasm for the subject as well.
Many times, grad students can also help you approach professors and can also provide perfect guidance in helping you set your career path. It can be of greater help if you are planning on going towards an academic route. Remember, they have gone through the same things that you are going through right now.
While doing my masters, I on occasion guided undergraduate students in their projects as well as in performing simulations or coding exercises. This not only gave the students a correct direction but also helped speed up some of their work processes.
I have also created a separate section for research projects in the college graduate resume template that I have provided when you subscribe to my email list.
4. Add relevant classes to the no work experience resume
You should also put in relevant classes in your resume for internships as a college student. The keyword being relevant. You should not be putting in all classes which are not related to the field of application of the internship.
Putting in relevant classes and what you have learned in a ‘no experience resume for students’ can definitely showcase your knowledge in the relevant field.
If the internship you are applying for has a posting, try to identify the skills they need. Use the classes which may help you portray that you possess those skills and knowledge.
If it is a research internship where you have cold emailed the professor as per my internship application without experience guide post (or video) you should put in relevant subjects with respect to the profile of the professor you are sending the email to.
Remember, the resume is a channel to get to the interview phase or to the positive response phase. You will have a chance to explain in more detail once you get a response. Your resume with no work experience (and even with) needs to be honest. Don’t exaggerate your experiences as it can be harmful in the long run.
5. Put in volunteer work as experience
You can also use any volunteer work you have done as work experience when you make a resume with no experience as a student. The trick is to connect the skills needed for the internship you are applying for to your volunteer experience.
Most times you would also have a separate section for volunteer activities or extra relevant work. But as a first-time applier or someone with no formal experience, you can also combine the sections.
6. Any achievements and success
You can and should also list down any achievements that you have had. That can be any academic awards, awards in school for extra-curriculars, scholarships and any other achievemnts worth mentioning.
If you are a member of a student club, society etc (as mentioned earlier) put that under experiences when writing a no work experience resume. Especially if you have held a leadership role you should write in points about what the club was about, any competitions you are a part of or are participating in. You should also talk about any team work activities you have done.
You should also talk about any achievements you have had in extra-curricular activities. These can also include being selected into a team if the selection process was competitive. Talk about your communication skills, team-building activities, organization skills and any other items that may be relevant.
Using these tips you can make a resume for a first job or internship when you have no experience as a student. Remember, it is not about what you don’t know. It is about what you do know and how you can improve.
The idea is to have a positive mindset and go into crafting your resume for an internship with no experience with rigour and enthusiasm. And you will be able to craft a perfect resume for yourself. These tips also apply if you are writing a resume as a high school student seeking a job.
Always remember, to make sure that along with your experiences, your formatting and grammar is correct as well. For that, the perfect tool I use every day is Grammarly. And best of all, for the basic parts like checking grammar and punctuation, it is free. So sign up today if you haven’t already!
Also, do not forget to check out my FREE tutorial on applying for a research internship with no experience. My FREE bundle also includes steps to writing your cover letter and resume with no experience. Once you subscribe, you get the college resume template all for free delivered to your email box 🙂
