How to write a new grad resume with no experience

By the Rezumed team · Updated October 30, 2026

Lead with your education and projects, then list part-time jobs, club roles, volunteering and research. Write each one like a job: what you did and what came out of it, and only what's true.

Recruiters hiring new grads know you just graduated

They aren't looking for years of work. They're looking for proof you can do real things. UC San Diego says course projects are "often students' most relevant experience", and Cal State East Bay's career center calls academic projects "excellent additions to a resume" for new graduates.

The section order

1. Name and contact: email, phone, city and a profile link, in the body of the page.
2. Education: degree, school and graduation date. Add your GPA if it helps you, and relevant coursework if it matches the job.
3. Projects: 2 or 3, each with what you built and what it did.
4. Experience: internships and part-time jobs.
5. Leadership and activities: clubs, teams, volunteering.
6. Skills: plain text that matches the job post.

If you already have relevant work experience, move Experience above Education. Cal State East Bay suggests the same: projects go near the top when you have no work history, and lower once you do.

What counts as experience

• Class projects, including a capstone or senior thesis.
• Part-time jobs: barista, cashier, tutor. They show you're reliable and good with people.
• Club roles with real responsibility: treasurer, event lead, social media.
• Volunteering, written with the same rules as a job.
• Research or teaching assistant work.
• Personal projects: an app, a blog, a portfolio. Link it.

How to write each bullet

Start with a verb, say what you did, then the result. No number? Use the real outcome in words. Never invent a number.

A sample, top to bottom

This sample is fictional. Use the structure, not the details.

How long should it be?

As long as your real content. For most new grads that's one full page. A short, true resume beats a padded one. Check yours with the free resume check, which scores keywords, format, achievements, job titles and readability.

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Related guides

• ATS-friendly resume format: 6 rules that keep your skills readableThe six format rules, with sources, and what to leave out.
• Are two-column resumes ATS-friendly?Not reliably: some systems read across the page. Why it happens and how to switch.
• Resume objective or summary? What new grads should useWhy a short summary usually beats an objective, with three examples.

Sources

• UC San Diego: Resume guidance for students
• Cal State East Bay Career Center: Using academic projects to land an interview