5 Resume Writing Tips for Inexperienced Workers

Push the things you are good at in your resume, so when employers are reading it they will immediately know your strengths. If you are a good athlete and did well in sports in high school, mention this and go into a small amount of detail (one line at most) about how involved you were, showing you can work well with a team. If you won chess tournaments as a kid or were awarded for winning a writing contest, mention these things in your resume as well, showing you have talents in certain areas. All of these accolades, no matter how small, can be impressive to employers.

Remove Irrelevant Information

If you worked a job in the past that doesn't apply to the jobs you are currently applying for or are jobs you worked for a very short time (like if you quit or were fired), you should leave this information off your resume. This is not what an employer wants to see and may actually make them question who you are as a worker, rather than help bolster your past work experience. Only mention jobs you worked for at least three months at or had a good experience at.

Have Good, Non-Family References

References aren't required on many inexperienced worker resumes, but if you can have a respected teacher or coach or past boss on your resume with their contact information for employers to call, this will be helpful. It will show people that employers you have worked for in the past are willing to vouch for you. Including quotes from them or copies of letters they write for you attached to your resume may also be helpful, though it may be too much information for some employers.

Proofread your Resume Twice

Make sure your resume doesn't have any misspelled words or serious grammatical errors, as this says a lot to a prospective employer about your work ethic and command of language. Their thinking will be: if you can't even take the time to get your own resume right, then how will you work for them on a regular basis?

Maintain a Clear Focus

Have your resume show off who you are as a person, as your life and limited work experience should be focused in one area, giving an employer a good idea of what type of worker they will be hiring. If you are good working behind a computer, then your interests and past work experience should reflect this on your resume; if you have worked with people a lot then this should be a theme throughout. Make sure the resume reads like a one-page summation of who you are.