Creating Your First Resume

Creating your first resume is an important first step to starting your journey towards your dream job. It’s essentially the first point of contact you make with your future employers, so you want to make sure yours stands out! Whether you’ve just left school, are studying at university or are still currently in high school, what matters most is showing off your skills and education history to get you in the door. On YouthXP we offer a handy resume builder for all our users, allowing them to easily create resumes that attract potential employers. However it's always good to have a secondary, custom resume ready to go at a moments notice. Here are some of the main ways you can make your first resume shine!

Tips for Creating Your First Resume

Decide on a Format

Reverse chronological order is the most popular, and generally the most effective format to use for your resume. You simply list your education, whether that be formal education or certifications, to demonstrate your progression to becoming a more skilled individual. This also applies for your skills, so don’t stress if you have no experience at all, employers often look for more than just an employment history! Remember volunteer work and any and all side jobs like tutoring are great ways to bulk up your resume and demonstrate that you have a great work ethic.

Write A Summary

Start your resume off with a brief and simple summary of relevant experience and your goals. Mentioning the company name in this is a great way to make your resume feel more personalised to the employer.  One way to do this is by saying “I am passionate about working with [insert company name].” Without any experience or relevant experience for the job, simply highlight the skills you can apply to the position!

List Your Experience

Now that you’ve got the summary out of the way, its time to list your experience. If you are creating your first resume this can be somewhat difficult as you likely do not have any relevant work experience. However experience comes in many forms. Experience includes work, education and sometimes personal experience (particularly important if you have no formal work experience). The best way to list your work experience is in the following order

• Position Title
• Company Name
• Location
• Description
• Achievements and Responsibilities
• Employment Period

The best way to list your Education experience is to start with university degrees and work your way down to your school. If you have finished university, adding your schooling information isn’t as necessary. But if you are creating your first resume, make sure to include experience such as school responsibilities, volunteer roles, outside of school activities and internships!

List Your Skills

Listing your skills when creating your first resume is an important area where potential employers get a more detailed look into your suitability for the role. There are two types of skills to include in a resume. Hard and Soft skills. Hard skills are those that are specific and measurable. For example computer skills, language skills or management skills. Soft skills are seen as self-taught attributes such as social skills, flexibility or positive attitudes. Shaping these skills to be suitable to the job you’re applying for is also a must. Some skills may not be worth mentioning for some job applications, but you may have a specific skill that the employer is looking for, so include it! And remember, don’t lie about your skills, this could get you into some awkward situations!

Awards and Personal Interests

Make sure to include a section with any awards you have won as well as your personal interests. This helps the employer get to know you better, giving you a better chance of getting that first interview!

Contact Information

Obviously, your contact information is key to you getting a call from potential employers. Generally included at the top of your resume, add your full name, email, phone number and your general location.

Overall Look

When creating your first resume it may be tempting to try and make your work stand out with bright colours and fancy fonts. However you want your resume to be easily read, so make sure you’re using a legible font such as Arial or Calibri. Avoid complicating things with too many headings, tables or footer items, you risk the formatting of them being changed when viewed on different devices and software.

Submitting Your Resume

Once you have perfected your resume, it's time to submit it. Always check the employers submission requirements before sending them your resume. This is your first test in following their instructions so you don’t want to get it wrong! Your resume will look much more professional as a pdf rather than a word doc. Seeing .doc at the end of a resume generally doesn’t look great.

Even though you’ve now completed and sent off your resume, be sure to always keep your resume up to date with any new jobs or education experience. A good way to do this is with YouthXP's own Resumé Builder! With tonnes of features to help you find youth employment opportunities YouthXP helps keeps your resume updated and your profile connected to employers.