How to write a student resume with no experience
A first resume is not empty — it is full of coursework, projects, and roles you have not learned to frame yet.
With little formal experience, education leads and projects do the heavy lifting. Put real, specific work on the page — a capstone, a club you grew, an internship — and keep it to one page.
What recruiters look for
Skills worth highlighting
Hard skills
Soft skills
ATS keywords for a student & new grad resume
Applicant tracking systems match your resume against the job posting. Weave these terms in where they are genuinely true — never pad with skills you don't have.
Bullet points, before and after
The pattern is the same every time: start with an action, add the detail, land on a result. Here it is on real student & new grad lines.
Before
Did a group project for class.
After
Led a 4-person capstone building a React inventory app now used by a local nonprofit.
Before
Was a member of a club.
After
Grew the coding club from 15 to 60 members as VP by launching a weekly workshop series.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Keeping high-school details once you are in college
- An empty-looking experience section when projects could fill it
- Listing every activity instead of the few that show skill
- Showing a GPA that is not doing you any favors
How to structure it
Header, then education first with relevant coursework and GPA (if strong). A Projects section next — this is where you win — followed by any experience, including part-time and volunteer work, then skills and leadership. One page.
Frequently asked questions
Should I include my GPA?
Include it if it is roughly 3.5 or higher, or if the employer asks. Below that, use the space for projects and experience instead.
I have no work experience. What goes in the experience section?
Projects, internships, part-time jobs, volunteering, and leadership roles all count. Describe them with the same action-plus-result formula you would use for a full-time job.
More resume guides
Build your student & new grad resume in HubKit
Start from a clean, ATS-safe template and fill in the sections as you read. The preview matches your PDF export exactly, and it's free to start.