It’s the most famous catch-22 of all time – to get a job, you need experience, but how do you get experience without a job?

Writing your first resume sounds like the same but worse – how do I summarise my work experience… when I don’t have any?

Here are four very simple ideas that solve this.

1. No joke – the contact details section of a resume is surprisingly important.

Here’s a scenario: You walk through your local Westfield shopping centre handing out your resume to shop managers.

“Hi my name is XXX and I’m looking for some retail job. I’m free every Thursday and on weekends. I don’t have a lot of experience, but I am keen to learn. My friends say I am responsible. I love shopping here, so you are my dream retail job. Do you have any vacancies?”

That sounded short and to the point. You smiled. You listened to the reply. You then asked the name of the manager you are talking to. You thanked them for your time. You smiled again. You hand over your resume.

A week later they have a vacancy. The manager remembers your short conversation. You sounded keen and confident and dressed neatly. So they go rummaging through their desk looking for your resume.

“Hi XXX – are you still looking for retail work? Can you come in for an interview?”

Boom! Your resume has done its job.

All they needed from your resume was your name and phone number or email.

That’s it.

In this situation, that’s the whole purpose of your resume.

The action point for this is: Don’t freak out about your first resume too much.

It might just need to act like a giant A4 business card and that’s it. Just push on and get your first resume done. How much effort you put into getting it out there might be much more important.

2. A resume isn’t a list of jobs, your resume is really about skills.

And skills don’t have to come from paid jobs. What skills would you want if you managed a business and were hiring new junior staff?

Luckily for you, for most junior jobs, the skills required are very broad. If you were a manager, you probably want junior staff that are;

“keen to learn”,

“responsible”,

“good with customers”,

“good at working in a team”

“reliable”

“neatly dressed”

Normally a resume lists jobs that show you have these skills. But these skills are very broad and you can show you have them from other experiences.

Sport is a GREAT example. Especially team sports:

If you show up for practice twice a week on time – you are probably reliable.

If you enjoy playing in a team sport – you are probably good at teamwork.

If you are the captain or referee, you are probably responsible.

The action item here: Your first resume should show experiences that demonstrate skills. And these experiences can come from anywhere – school, home, sport, interests, volunteering.

Which gets us to a related and very important idea…

3. What you write on your resume is not what the employer reads

The employer reads your resume like it’s a code that has to be solved. They read each line and think “What does that mean in a job situation?”, then they translate that into something else relevant to the job.

These translations may be wrong and even unfair. But you need to know that’s how resumes are read.

Here are some examples;

You write: “Vice Captain Under 16 Soccer”.

But an employer reads “Hmmm… must be responsible and good at working in teams”

You write: “Enjoy chess, reading books and entering maths competitions”

But an employer reads “Hmmm… must be really smart, but may not work with others well”

Two action items come from this:

A. Think about what a resume looks like to the reader. What will they think each line means to them?

B. Consider breaking the code for the employer overtly. When you write an experience, you could follow this with what skills you learnt. It makes sure they make the correct translation of your resume code.

For example;

“Vice Captain Under 16 Soccer”.

Skills learnt: team work, reliability, responsibility, organisational

“Volunteer at Golden Gates Aged Care”

Skills learnt: working with people, quick learner, reliability

“Babysitting duties with local families”

Skills learnt: punctuality, responsibility, reliability

This is a great idea for a first resume. It shows that you understand the whole job-getting process. You are showing that you understand the employer wants skills and you have thought about what they might be, and which ones you have. That in itself shows a level of maturity.

4. Many employers don’t expect lots of work experience

It’s reassuring to remember this.

OK, some do want solid work experience. If you turn up at the Prada shop, or Gucci store looking for retail work… they won’t hire you. Those employers want experience. Just look at their existing staff. They are likely to have worked in retail before, but likely started from non luxury brands to build up work experience.

But some employers are set up to hire people with little experience. How do you find them? Easy – look at their existing staff. If they look like you… they might be a great place to find your first paid job.

In Australia, the best example is McDonald’s. They have built a whole system for hiring and training people with little experience. It’s run very professionally. Other employers know this too. In fact, down the track, employers are impressed when they see you have done 12 months or more at McDonalds. This can help you get even better jobs – even grad jobs after uni. BTW – putting 6 weeks at McDonald’s shows that you didn’t make it – so leave that off if it didn’t work out.

The action item from this: To find employers who are hiring people with little work experience – just check out who they are hiring as their existing staff.

Why do companies hire young inexperienced people?

Because young people are cheaper to hire than older people. A 16 year old gets paid less than a 20 year old. So the employer saves money. How did you think that burger could be made so cheaply? Before you get too annoyed at these “cheap employers”. Remember they also believe there are enough energetic young people out there to give them their first shot at a job. They also put in serious resources into training.

This leads to another important point – don’t wait too long to get your first paid job!

It can be easier to get your first job at 16 than 21. So start asap (even if you are 21).

Summary

Writing your first resume with no work experience is something young people all around Australia freak out about. They shouldn’t.

1. No joke – the contact details section of a resume is surprisingly important. Action item: Don’t freak out about your first resume too much. It might just need to act like a giant A4 business card.

2. A resume isn’t a list of jobs, your resume is really about skills. Action item: Your first resume should show experiences that demonstrate skills. And these experiences can come from anywhere – school, home, sport, hobbies, volunteering.

3. What you write on your resume is not what the employer reads; Think about what a resume looks like to the reader. What will they think each line means to them? Consider breaking the code for the employer overtly. When you write an experience, you could follow this with what skills you learnt.

4. Many employers don’t expect lots of work experience. To find employers who are hiring people with little work experience – just check out who they are hiring as their existing staff.

It can be easier to get your first job at 16 than 21. So start asap (even if you are 21).

Finally, check out How to Resume. It has a special module built for young Australians without much work experience. It’s also 100% free. It makes building your first resume easy.