What To Put On A Resume When You is a key focus of this guide. Everyone starts somewhere. If you are building your first resume, the goal is not to fake experience you do not have. It is to present the experience you do have in the strongest possible light and to show that you have the foundation a hiring manager is looking for. Here is what to include.
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Internships and part-time work
Any paid work counts, even if it seems unrelated. Part-time work shows reliability. Service industry jobs show customer communication and composure under pressure. Retail shows inventory management, conflict resolution, and sales. Frame what you did in terms of the skills those jobs required, not just the duties.
Class projects and academic work
Significant coursework, capstone projects, research papers, and case studies are legitimate resume material for recent graduates. Name the project, describe what you did and what skills you used, and include any outcomes or grades if they are impressive. For more on this, see our guide on write a resume with no experience.
Volunteer work and extracurriculars
Leadership in clubs, organizations, or volunteer work is valuable on an entry-level resume. If you organized events, managed a budget, recruited members, or led a project, put it on your resume and treat it like any other job experience.
The honest skills section for new graduates
Include tools you genuinely know: specific software, languages, platforms, or technical skills from coursework or self-directed learning. Be honest about your level. A skills section that reflects real ability is always stronger than one that exaggerates.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a recruiter spend looking at a resume?
Recruiters typically spend 6-10 seconds on an initial scan. They look for job title relevance, company names, and whether the most recent role is at the right level for the position.
What do recruiters look for first on a resume?
Most recruiters look first at your most recent job title and company, then check dates for gaps or progression, then assess whether the experience level matches what they need.
Should I include a summary at the top of my resume?
Yes, for experienced candidates. A 2-3 sentence summary that speaks directly to your target role helps recruiters understand your value instantly.
How many bullet points should each job have?
3-5 bullets for recent roles, 1-2 for older ones. Each bullet should describe an accomplishment or outcome, not just a task or responsibility.
Recruiters spend an average of six to ten seconds on their first pass through a resume. That initial scan focuses almost entirely on job titles, company names, and bullet points. If those three things do not immediately connect your experience to the role, your resume may not make it to a second read. Understanding this reality changes how you approach every element of your document, from the font size to the order of your sections. For more on this, see our guide on write a resume when you have been out of the workforce.
In my experience reviewing thousands of resumes, the candidates who get callbacks consistently share one trait: they write about impact rather than activity. Instead of listing what they were responsible for, they describe what changed because of their work. A simple shift from “managed social media” to “grew Instagram engagement by 47% in six months by shifting to video-first content” tells a recruiter exactly what you bring to a new role.
Formatting also plays a larger role than most candidates realize. Applicant tracking systems parse resumes before a human ever sees them. Tables, text boxes, headers, and footers often fail to parse correctly, which means critical information disappears from your digital file. Keeping your format simple, with standard sections and clean column layouts, ensures that your content survives the screening process intact.
The length question comes up constantly. For most professionals with under ten years of experience, one page is the right target. For senior leaders and executives, two pages is acceptable when every line adds genuine value. The test is not word count. It is density. If a recruiter could cut any section without losing information that differentiates you, that section should go. For more on this, see our guide on resume keywords.
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