Resume for Beginners

When you lack work experience, your resume should look slightly different from a resume written by an experienced job seeker. Download our free resume for beginners and read our writing tips before you begin making your resume.

November 11, 2024

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A resume for beginners on a template with a green header written by an applicant for an entry-level graphic design role.

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Table of Contents

Beginners Resume Template

Make sure that you’re using a resume format that effectively highlights your skills and achievements.

[Your Name]

[Your Address], [City, State]

[Your Email Address] | [Your Phone Number]

[LinkedIn Profile] (optional)

Professional Summary

Recent Visual Communication Design graduate with over 1 year of internship and volunteer experience in graphic design. Proficient in using Adobe Creative Suite to create captivating visual content. Eager to leverage my creative abilities and hands-on experience to contribute innovative design solutions as a graphic designer at Socialfly.

Skills

Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe InDesign
Typography
Color theory
Digital & print production
Design principles
Collaboration
Time management

Professional Experience

Cat Depot

Graphic Design Volunteer | Sarasota, FL | May 20XX – Present

Used Adobe Creative Suite, including Photoshop and Illustrator, to enhance the shelter’s branding materials, resulting in a consistent visual identity
Developed visually compelling designs for social media campaigns and promotional materials, increasing adoption inquiries by 20% and donations by 15% over a period of 6 months
Created visuals for the organization’s monthly newsletter reaching 5,000+ subscribers, receiving consistently positive feedback for its engaging content and layout
Collaborated with the events team to create eye-catching posters and banners for fundraising events, contributing to a record-breaking event attendance and a total of $30,000+ raised

Seam

Graphic Design Intern | Sarasota, FL | August 20XX – April 20XX

Collaborated with the marketing team to create a series of social media animations, resulting in a 12% increase in video shares
Contributed to the development of a successful product packaging design that increased sales by 17% within the first quarter of its launch
Implemented A/B testing for email campaigns, optimizing design elements and achieving an 8% increase in CTR
Coordinated with vendors to oversee the production of marketing materials, ensuring timely delivery

Education

Resume Genius University | Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communication Design

Graduation Date: May 20XX

How to write a resume for beginners

Writing a resume for the first time isn’t easy. To help you put together a compelling application for your first job, we provide three helpful tips on how to write a resume for beginners.

1. Write an eye-catching resume objective

A well-written resume introduction will help you grab the attention of hiring managers. As someone writing a resume for the first time, the best resume introduction for you is a resume objective.

A resume objective focuses on your skills, education, and goals rather than your professional accomplishments.

Here’s an example of a resume objective on a resume for a beginner:

An objective on a resume for beginners written by a candidate with internship experience.

This resume objective communicates the candidate’s passion for the job while showcasing their relevant skills.

2. Highlight relevant volunteer or internship experience

When you’re a beginner in the job market, you’ll have to take a different approach to resume writing than your more experienced counterparts. While experienced job seekers should focus on career highlights, you can replace the “work experience” section with a “relevant experience” section.

Making this section allows you to emphasize your best selling points — non-work related experience that’s taught you skills you’ll need to succeed in your chosen field. Usually, this experience will be internships or volunteer positions, but it can also be leadership roles in school clubs or student government.

Even when writing a resume as a beginner, it’s best to use a chronological resume format that places your experience section at the top of your resume where it’s most visible.

3. Emphasize your transferable skills

Transferable skills are abilities you’ve developed in school or elsewhere that’ll help you perform the duties of the role you’re applying for. They’re skills that aren’t specific to a particular position, but rather general skills that make you qualified for the job.

Here’s a list of transferable skills you’ve probably picked up in your academic career that many employers look for:

Communication skills
Problem solving
Computer skills
Research skills
Time management
Teamwork
Analytical skills
Writing
Multitasking
Public speaking
Data analysis
Attention to detail

Look through the job ad and check if any of these skills appear in the job description. If they do, add them to your beginner resume to show hiring managers that although you lack work experience, you’re a good fit for the role.

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