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Work Experience For Resume

Why It’s Important To Describe Your Work Experience On A Resume

How To Write A Resume With Little or No Work Experience – Resume Template

Using the right language to describe your most relevant work experience can make you stand out from other candidates for the roles you apply to. The way you display your experience on your resume can put you on the shortlist of desired candidates from the outset. Employers also want to ensure that you can articulate your work history, explain why it makes you the right fit for the job and show how you can meet their expectations if they hire you.

To upload the template into Google Docs, go to File > Open > and select the correct downloaded file.

Pay Attention To Technical Details

When editing your resume, make sure there are no punctuation, grammatical, spelling, or other errors that will make your resume look unprofessional. Then, have a friend or family member read it again to catch any mistakes you might have missed you can’t afford a typo or missing word as a candidate with no prior work experience. Also, be sure to vary your language and utilize action verbs throughout your resume to keep your reader engaged.

Related: How to Make Your Resume Stand Out With Action Verbs

What Should You Include In Your Resume Work Experience Section

Your experience on a resume should include employer names, location, dates of employment, job title held, and the professional experience you gained in the role.

You should provide detailed experience on a resume in terms of not only duties assigned and skills used, but also what you achieved and accomplished in this job.

You can do this by beginning sentences and bullet points under your work experience with verbs and power words like Led,Increased, etc.

Along with company names, locations, job titles, dates, and accomplishments, also consider including any promotions and awards you received at any previous company.

Awards and accolades are important achievements that show youve performed well in your career and handled the responsibilities given to you, which will excite employers.

Write your work experience in reverse chronological order, meaning that your most recent companies and job titles appear at the top and then you work downward, ending on the first role you ever held.

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Beautiful Resume Templates To Land Your Dream Job

Here’s how that looks, you can also see an example of the Yoga Instructor resume here.

Yoga Instructor, January 2018 â PresentMellow Mushroom ⢠Nashville, TN⢠Taught 40+ elderly clients basic yoga moves each day⢠Held 4 classes a day that differ in intensity, including beginner and intermediate⢠Advised modifications for yoga poses to ensure proper form, to meet clients’ athletic abilities⢠Instructed clients on breathing techniques, such as Basic Breath Awareness and Retention⢠Developed body-mind-spirit awareness, mental clarity and physical flexibility and strength

However, when deciding which information to include within your work experience section, there are four main principles to keep in mind:

Here is a quick breakdown of each of these crucial factors:

1) Relevancy

When writing out your work experiences, it is important to consider how relevant your previous experience is to the job you are currently applying for

Your most relevant experience should always be the most emphasized and focused on, as it will be where you showcase the skills and achievements that qualify you for the position.

For instance, letâs say you are applying for an entry-level copywriting position and you have two major examples of work experience you would like to include.

These examples are:

  • Managed the front of house of a restaurant for four years.
  • Worked as a journalist at a local newspaper for one year.

2) Timeliness

3) Longevity

4) Position

Write Achievements Instead Of Responsibilities

Cv Format Job Experience

One of the best ways you can summarize your job experience is by showing your achievements.

In most cases, the HR manager can already guess what your responsibilities were. Especially if its anything like the one youre applying for – they probably know the position inside out.

Instead, to stand out, what you can do is show your impact, in that role.

  • Increased landing page CTR by 4% in the first month through A/B testing and changing the copy.
  • Worked with email marketing and launched social media campaigns.

If you increased the overall revenue growth from 5% to 15%, and implemented a new marketing plan for the year, this is something recruiter will want to know.

Theyre looking for information and any kind of quantifiable change that you can also apply to their company.

However, if you were in a position where you could not leave behind any notable achievements , feel free to simply list your responsibilities and tasks.

Read Also: How To Write A Personal Mission Statement For A Resume

Connect Your Experiences To The Company

Make connections about how your previous experiences and the knowledge you obtained can help you complete tasks solicited by your prospective employer. Be sure to list your knowledge of processes performed at each position as well as the skills you fine-tuned from completing those processes. For example, you learned workflow processes from overseeing a project management system, or you know the inner workings of a sales cycle after working with a particular lead generation software.

Examples Of Job Descriptions For Common Jobs

Job Description of a History Professor

  • Delivered lectures to undergraduate and graduate students on topics such as ancient history, postwar civilizations, and the history of third-world countries.
  • Assessed individual strengths, weaknesses and opportunities of each student, addressing issues as needed.
  • Maintained working knowledge of state-set standardized tests and prepared students to take and pass each, instilling confidence in their capability to demonstrate knowledge gained during the school year.
  • Facilitated classroom discussions and encouraged the participation of all students, incorporating relevant reading and current events

Click here for the full resume of History Professor in text format

Job Description of a Radiologist

  • Ensure operation of radiology equipment by completing preventive maintenance requirements, troubleshooting malfunctions, calling for repairs and evaluating new equipment and techniques.
  • Identify patient service requirements by establishing personal rapport with potential and actual customers to understand service requirements.
  • Perform routine and specialised x-ray exams including: fluoroscopy, upper and lower GI.
  • Obtain specific insurance and patient demographic information including ICD-9 codes.
  • Manage 12 to 15 procedures per shift, while maintaining high quality of care.

Click here for the full resume of Radiologist in text format

Job Description of a Human Rights Lawyer

Click here for the full resume of Human Rights Lawyer in text format

Read Also: How To Make A Resume And Cover Letter

Previous Work Experience Examples

Now that you know the basics of how to write the work history section of your resume, lets look at some good employment history samples from real resumes.

I invited a couple of experts to share their resume work history examples for this section.

Ill share two resume work experience examples from them, and then Ill include a very simple/plain example that Ive used in the past with a lot of success.

Choose A Suitable Format

How to Make a Resume with No Work Experience in Microsoft Word (2020)

Choose the format that suits you from the following resume formats:

  • Chronological format: This format involves listing jobs chronologically beginning with your current job, and its suitable for experienced candidates.
  • Functional format: In this format, you emphasize your skills and achievements instead of your job history. If youre a graduate or returning to work after a long gap, consider this format.
  • Combination format: Work experience is used to showcase skills in this format. You might want to use this format for applications for senior-level management positions if you have substantial experience, skills, and achievements in the industry.

Once you choose your format, apply it consistently throughout the experience section.

Also Check: How To Make A Resume For A High School Graduate

School Counselor Resume Summary

Your resume summary is like an elevator pitch. Its your chance to sell yourself to employers within a short space of time.

Achieve this by summarizing your skills and expertise, whilst highlighting your abilities that closely match the jobs you are aiming for.

Top tips for creating an effective resume summary:

  • Keep it brief: Your summary is intended to be a high-level introduction to hook readers attention, so keep it brief save the details for later in your resume.
  • Tailor it: Tailor your resume to your target jobs by studying the job description and adding as many matching skills as you can.
  • Avoid cliches: Recruiters always see cringey cliches like hardworking guru who works well in a team or individually they dont mean much to anyone, so focus your summary on tangible skills and experience.

Example Resume Summary For School Counselor

Licensed School Counselor with significant experience guiding students through academic curriculum needs, social behavior, mental and emotional challenges, and career development. Actively engaged with students in at-risk populations, including coordinating individualized and small group counseling sessions and conflict resolution. Adept at delivering school counseling programs that support student achievement, attendance, and discipline, with a proven history of nurturing and guiding students on their paths to success.

Also Check: How To Fill In Skills On Resume

Use The Proper Template And Format For The Resume Work History

This study by The Ladders found that recruiters spend, on average, just 7 seconds on each resume they get.

Heres the twist: it applies mostly to resumes that have poor formatting and are difficult to follow.

Legible formatting of your resume work history is key to earning more eye-time.

Heres what you need to do to present the work experience on a resume the way recruiters expect:

More Resume Work Experience Examples To Learn From

27+ Basic Work Resume Templates

Well now look at 5 proven resume work experience samples and how candidates demonstrated their expertise.

Remember, dont just say youre results-driven or a hard-worker. Show it.

And, thats what were going to look at in this section. Youll also be surprised by how simple some of them are. So, make sure youre paying attention!

Read Also: How To List Contract Work On Resume

Cut Out Long And Empty Phrases

Every word in a resume counts.

So, it’s vital to fill your resume with strong and action-oriented words.

Omit phrases such as ‘I am responsible for’ or ‘in charge of’.

Instead, start every statement with an action verb that summarizes your activities, such as ‘led’, ‘improved’, and ‘created’.

  • WRONG: in charge of financial risk assessments

  • RIGHT: assessed financial risks for a Global 500 company

Go Into Detail About Your Duty And Responsibilities

First, you need to list out your job position, company name, and the date youve been employed.

After listing those essential pieces of information, you need to describe the details of your employment. Its important you go in-depth to show the employers what youre really about.

This is where you write a brief, concise description of your work experience.

What you describe must trace back to the companys job description and needs. Dont just talk about your day to day routine, you need to answer the following:

  • What major success of the company did you play a part in?
  • How were you responsible for that impact, what did you do?
  • What skills did you have or develop in the process that played a key part?

Remember, show not tell.

Show the hiring managers how you achieved those positive results for your previous company. Make it indirectly clear youre the perfect candidate for the job by having the skills and achievements that are similar to what your new company is looking for.

Without seeing a correlation or any compelling points, you wont satisfy the hiring manager or leave a lasting impression.

Also Check: Subject Line For Resume Email

Mention Your Job Location

You also should include the location of your previous company. You do not have to provide the full address. Just mentioning the city and the state is sufficient. If any of your past work experience was work from home, you can either mention your current location or simply write remote work in the job location part.

Addressing Career Gaps In Your Work Experience

How to Write Your Resume With Little or No Work Experience 2020

In some cases, a job applicant may not have very much relevant work experience or they may have large career gaps.

If this is the case for you, it can be useful to consider utilizing different resume formats to help fill in those gaps.

The worst thing you can do is try to hide these career gaps from hiring managers.

These are the types of details they will be looking out for, and signs of deception are likely to get your resume thrown out immediately.

Instead, you should consider the different resume formats that may be better suited to showcasing your skills rather than your experience.

Here are the three main types of resume formats and how we’d rate them from best to worst for addressing career gaps:

Read Also: Which Software To Use For Resume

What Is Work Experience On A Resume

Put simply, the term work experience, work history or job experience describes past jobs and what you did in them. From entry-level jobs to CEO positions, from full-time jobs to part-time volunteer work, your resume work experience section showcases your top responsibilities and accomplishments. A great resume needs to have this work experience section because it shows recruiters that you have the professional experience necessary to work well in the job youre applying for.

If youre fresh out of high school or a recent graduate from college and are looking for your first professional job, your work history will typically revolve around volunteer work, extracurricular work, internships and academic-related projects. In this case, youll probably be looking for a job that doesnt require a lot of work history, and youll lean heavily on your skills and education sections to fill in potential employers about what you can do for them.

Q: Does my resume need to include all of my work experience?

If you have a lot of previous work experience, you dont need to list every single job youve ever had. A great resume writer will typically list up to four jobs and up to 10 years of work history. Narrow down your jobs to only the most relevant options if you have more than that. Most of the time, the best resume for a job application will only be a single page long, so start with trying to keep your work history on a single page, then edit as needed.

List Out The Relevant Job Titles

Do you know what work experience you have that is most relevant to the job position youre applying for?

If you dont, you need to do the background research.

Its important to meet the expectations of not only the employers but the applicant tracking system. Without including the relevant experience resume scanners are watching out for, you wont stand a chance.

For those of you without much work experience trying to make the most out of what youve got, its a different story.

This brings up two very common questions:

  • Should I include irrelevant work experience on my resume?
  • Should I put seminars or training on my resume?

Lets answer this in more detail.

Should I Include Irrelevant Work Experience On a Resume?

Generally, you should avoid including experiences that are irrelevant. However, if you dont have anything else to put in, then its better to include them than nothing.

Since some of you may have no work experience, you should use whatever you can to your advantage. The hiring managers are less likely to notice the gaps if you do this properly.

As long as you make it seem valuable by showing youre familiar with the work environment and responsibilities, thats what matters.

Alternatively, you should try to talk about how you developed skills such as:

Should I Put Seminars On My Resume?

However, there are ways to go about including your seminars or training.

For example, lets take a look at an engineer in training:

  • Training/courses

Read Also: When Does This Is Us Resume

Where To Put Your Work History Section On Your Resume

Short answer: If you have any work experience at all, this section is the #1 most important thing on your resume and the first place hiring managers and recruiters look. It should be on the top half of the first page.

Dont put your Skills section before it. No hiring manager or recruiter wants to see a general list of your skills before they see your work experience. You can read more about how to write your resume Skills section and where to list it here.

Dont put your Education section before it, either, unless you are a Doctor or have a Ph.D. and are in a profession where this educational background is a hard requirement to obtaining any job in the field.

For everyone else, which is 95%+ of people, just put your name and contact details centered at the top of your resume, then put a one-paragraph career summary, and then go right into your work experience.

You can label the section whatever you want: Work History, Employment History, or Work Experience, etc.

But the point is your work history should be extremely easy to find, without the hiring manager having to search or scroll down.

Engineering Work Experience Example 3

How To Write Work Experience In Resume Examples

Water Treatment Engineer

Sunny Town Water and Power Facility, Des Moines, IA

In this role, I am responsible for designing plans to improve the water quality in my county. This entails testing current water levels, reviewing historical records and developing a new treatment plan to meet current needs. I collaborate with local leadership, government agencies and private contractors to make sure my plans are implemented carefully and accurately. I also track our budget to make sure we’re adequately using funds. Due to our collective efforts, the water quality in our community currently has the cleanest test results we’ve ever held.

Production engineer

In this role, I inspected water treatment equipment for possible issues and areas for improvement. This involved performing tests, recording data and maintaining the equipment. I also communicated with vendors to order parts. In my second year in this position, I worked on a collaborative project to implement community feedback into our water treatment practices. Because of my performance on this project, I was able to earn a promotion to my current role as a water treatment engineer.

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