Work Experience on a Resume - How to List It Right

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Imagine you’re an HR manager for a second, and someone sends in their resume for you to go over.

What section do your eyes jump to first?

If you guessed work experience , then you’re right.

And if you spot a few relevant keywords in the past job experience section, then you’d continue on their background , contact information , and so on.

When applying for a job, the number one thing most recruiters want to know is if you can really do it right .

And one way to know that for sure is to look at your past work experience.

So, we know two things: most HR managers spend on average 6 seconds to go through a resume. And the work experience is one of the most important sections you can have.

Where does that leave us with?

Basically, if you want to get that call back for the interview, your work experience section really needs to be top-notch. 

Now, when it comes to writing a resume - the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Meaning, other sections need to be up to par as well.

But for now, we’re going to focus on arguably the most important section of any resume - the work experience.

listing work experience on a resume

How to Put Work Experience on a Resume [W/ Template]

How to stand out with your work experience section, 5 real-life work experience examples (for different fields), how to list other resume sections.

But before we dive right in, you’ll need the right tool to build your resume.

Want to save yourself the headache of trying to craft the perfect resume section-by-section from the ground up?

You can get a head start and use our resume builder instead.

work experience on a resume

Our templates were developed with recruiters and employers in mind, so that your resume format is easy to follow and scan. 

The work experience section is where you get to really sell yourself, so you have to make sure you really iron out the details and the formatting makes sense.

This is where you get to show off your best qualities.

Because, if the recruiter is going to pick between 10 different candidates, you know for a fact they’re going to narrow down the list starting with the most relevant experience.

To get your work experience to really shine on your resume, first, we’re going to cover the basic formatting , and then get to the best practices on how to stand out with your work experience section.

What’s that? You don’t have any experience to begin with? No problem!

Check out our no experience resume guide if you’re trying to get your first professional job.

Now, here’s what you need to know about structuring your work experience section.

Basic Formatting

A good resume tells a story of who you are, what your background is, and why you’re the perfect candidate for the job at hand.

Now, that doesn’t mean you should tell your whole life story, because after all, the ideal resume length is still 1 page .

Instead, this is where you sell yourself , brag about your past achievements and responsibilities.

When listing your previous job roles, you should follow a reverse-chronological order (though, also consider other resume formats ).

To make sure your resume is easy to follow, we recommend going with the standard work experience format, which looks a bit like this:

  • Job Title and Position
  • Company Name / Description / Location

Dates Employed

  • Responsibilities and Achievements

Or, here’s how it looks like in practice:

work experience on resume

Now, let’s explain what goes in each part:

Job Title / Position

Your job title goes first . 

When the HR manager scans through your resume, this will most likely be the first section they’ll check. 

Be prepared and make it easy for them to find this.

There is not a lot to say here except that your job title should be accurate to what you did.

To make things simple, you can use the exact name you saw in the original job ad.

  • Digital Marketing Expert
  • Online Marketing Magician

Company Name, Description, and Location 

If the position checks out, they’ll want to know more details. 

If the company isn’t famous, you can also describe in 1-2 sentences. And you should always mention the location of the firm, too.

Try to keep the total section under 3-5 jobs and only remove other job experiences if you’re running out of space and absolutely can’t remove any other part of your resume.

Achievements and Responsibilities

When listing achievements in your resume , you should add any specific change you made happen (we’ll explore how to do this more in-depth below) that the HR manager can apply to their company.

When possible, you should always list accomplishments over responsibilities. 

After all, the HR manager already knows what your responsibilities are - they’ve probably gone through similar resumes over 100 times now with the same bland responsibilities

  • Hit and exceeded monthly sales KPIs for 5 months in a row.
  • Carried out sales operations.

If that’s not possible because of the nature of the job (e.g. cashier , entry-level, etc.), however, you can simply list out your daily responsibilities and tasks.

While describing your job responsibilities, try to limit them within 6 bullet points at most.

Sounds obvious, right? 

Simply list how long you worked at your previous role for. And relax , if you don’t remember the exact day you got hired, you can give an approximate timeframe. 

The standard format for dates employed is mm/yyyy .

Digital Marketing Manager

06/2015 - PRESENT

June 20 of 2015 - PRESENT

If you decide to use the mm/yyyy format, aim for consistency and make sure your other work experience listings look the same way.

career masterclass

Work Experience Q&A

Have some questions on your work experience section?

Maybe you have a giant gap in your work experience, or you’re a recent graduate looking for a job with 0 work experience . 

In this section, we’re going to cover the most common questions about the work experience section...

Do You List an Internship?

Not sure if an internship belongs on your resume?

Well, are you applying for an intermediate or senior role?

If it’s either of the two, then you might want to leave out the internship you did 4-5 years ago.

Meanwhile, are you a recent college grad with not a lot of practical work experience?

If so, an internship is a great way to show some substance and that you’re serious about your career path.

Everyone has to start somewhere, and if you’re struggling to fill up your resume, you should definitely include any internships, even if you weren’t hired full-time afterwards, or the internship was in a completely different field.

What If You Don’t Have a Lot of Experience?

If you’re applying for an entry-level job haven’t worked a day in your life, you can focus on other ways to present yourself.

For example, you can focus more on your soft skills , university achievements , and other personal qualities .

If you’re a recent college grad, the recruiter is most likely not expecting you to have a whole page worth of work experience - so don’t sweat it.

Instead, you might consider including the following contents:

  • Summer Job - Ever worked a summer job? Include it! This can show the recruiter that you have SOME work experience, even if it’s not related to the job you’re applying for.
  • University Projects - Pretty much all team-based project exercises work. Created a mock product for a business class? Add it!
  • Personal Projects - Done anything interesting with your free time? Published videos on Youtube? Coded mini software applications? Add them to your resume!

How Do You List Gaps In Your Resume?

Gaps on a resume can be a red flag - only if you provide no explanation.

If the HR manager sees an empty gap in your work experience section, they’re going to assume the worst case scenario.

So, it’s better to ease their expectations and be honest.

In a line or two, explain what happened and move on, no need to dwell on it.

  • July 2018 - February 2019, due to my medical situation, I had to take time off to fully recover and focus on my health.

The good news is that you don’t have to tell the whole story, especially if it’s personal, but be prepared to briefly go over it if it comes up during the interview.

And now, if you really want to stand out from other candidates with your superior work experience listing, here’s what you can do.

Do you want to hear some good news?

When it comes to listing their work experience, many people simply mention their daily responsibilities and call it a day.

Want your application to stand out from the bunch? Do this:

Write Achievements Instead of Responsibilities

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 it’s anything like the one you’re 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.

They’re 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 (e.g. sever in a restaurant, cashier in a supermarket, etc.), feel free to simply list your responsibilities and tasks .

Tailoring your work experience to a specific job

When reading a resume, the HR manager is looking for information relevant to that specific position, with its own unique requirements.

Because, guess what, if you send the same resume to every job ad you can get your hands on, it’s going to be very obvious that you’re using a generic resume, not optimized for any of them in particular.

To avoid that, show the recruiter that you actually took the time to read the job ad (which you should) , and that your resume is tailored to their requirements.

To do this, actually read the job ad in detail, not just give it a quick glance and call it a day.

For example, take this ad:

job ad example

They’re looking for someone:

  • With 5+ years of experience in creating digital experiences
  • Proficient in standard UX software
  • With specific knowledge of interface patterns for mobile, web, and responsive design (i.e. specific areas)
  • With good understanding of HTML, CSS , JAVA , and more

The point is that they’re looking for specific knowledge within the general position.

So in this case, they want someone with a B.A. degree , 5+ years of experience and with a good understanding of basic front-end development. 

You can mention how you excel at all this within your work experience entries…

  • Developed mobile applications with Java, optimized for both Mobile and Web

Now, with all that knowledge combined, let’s take a look at some exceptional real-life resume examples that work.

Not sure how to list work experience for your field?

Looking for some inspiration?

Here’s a few practical work experience examples:

Marketing Work Experience Example

marketing work experience example

As a marketer, you probably know all about the importance of tailoring your message to your target market.

So, your resume needs to reflect that.

Don’t be afraid of using some marketing-specific language and tools within your resume.

Look at your resume as an ad, with the intention of selling yourself .

The above professional experience section does a number of things really well.

They made sure to:

  • List their achievements in a clear way with a quantifiable number to it
  • Include only the previous positions that are relevant to marketing
  • Follow a clear, easy-to-read structure that the HR interview can skim through.

In terms of design, you might want to choose your approach based on the company. 

If they’re a tech startup that values creativity - you can use a template similar to the above one.

If not - go with a more conservative one.

Teacher Work Experience Example

teacher work experience example

Teacher resumes can be more complicated because of the formality behind it and the necessary certificates required.

Let’s take a look at the above example of a teacher resume applying and see what they did well:

In this example, everything under the teaching work experience is listed as responsibilities - which is fine, in this case .

Because, chances are, you won’t have a lot of achievements as a teacher.

  • Taught SO well that one of my students went on to become the president of the United States

Since the teacher’s only worked 1 job in this case, they also added a volunteering experience to the resume .

This is a great way to boost their chances and back up their qualifications. 

Though volunteering is not the same thing as teaching , it can still help you stand out from the rest of the applicants?

Cashier Work Experience Example

cashier work experience example

There are no essential credentials business owners expect to come up on a cashier’s resume .

Though, basic arithmetic and computer skills always help, so it’s a good idea to mention your educational background.

Customer service is another important area, which you can focus on in your work experience:

And this is one of those times where it’s perfectly acceptable to simply list out your daily responsibilities instead of any noteworthy achievements in your work experience.

The HR manager isn’t expecting a cashier to have changed the way the store works completely, increasing revenue by 20%. Instead, what they want to know is if you can do the tasks as expected.

Be direct and honest with your work experience here to show you’re qualified and you’ll be fine.

Software Developer Work Experience Example

software developer work experience example

Working within IT, there are also a lot of different ways you can list your work experience section - depending on the job, which might have been full-time or freelance work .

As an IT, you will most likely have to include achievements as well as responsibilities .

Though if you’re a developer, you might not be able to show your achievements through your code.

Instead, you can show the impact of your code (or software) through the frame of the bigger picture.

For example, let’s say you worked on an internal software project:

  • Developed a new internal HR approval software and significantly increased the speed for processing applicants in the company

Look into how you assisted the overall project development through your code.

When it comes to most tech jobs, your work experience is the single most important section on your resume.

Make sure you include all the relevant details, and try to keep your list of responsibilities up to six bullet points at most.

Feel free to also include any technical details and examples you can come up with (quantifiable data always helps), as the HR manager will have some knowledge of what you’re talking about.

But on the other hand, don’t fill up your work experience with jargon and buzzwords either.

For more examples, check out our guide to a software engineer resume .

Student Work Experience Example

student work experience example

Finally, what if you’re a student with not a lot of experience under your belt?

Then your work experience section might look a bit different, something like the above example. 

Yes, that’s only one listing under the work experience. And yes, that’s fine.

Why’s that?

Because no one’s expecting you to actually have 5+ years worth of experience as a recent graduate.

Your lack of work experience shouldn’t hold you back. Simply list any experience you do have , and move on.

Though, this is where your other type of experience can help.

Consider your volunteer experience or an internship you’ve gone through.

The HR managers typically are looking for people who are devoted and ambitious in student and graduate resumes .

So, don’t get too hung up on your actual work experience .

Your resume has other sections as well.

Here’s what you need to know about that:

While your work experience might be the single most important section of your resume, at the end of the day, it works in sync with all the other resume sections .

Even if they might not be relevant at first glance, your soft skills , personal qualities , and hobbies and interests can be the deciding factor between you getting the job or not.

There are going to be cases when the recruiter has to make a decision with candidates with near-identical work experience.

Here’s where the other resume sections come into play and how you can boost your chances of getting picked:

Conferences, Courses and Certificates

This can either go in your education section or in a category of its own, depending on the context.

Generally, your approach here should vary depending on the relevance and the importance of your certification or course.

For example, if you’re applying for a job in education , your certificates are probably going to be more important. Especially if you know you’re going to be working closely within those fields in your applied job.

certificates on resume

For example, if you’re going to be teaching social studies to high-school students, you might want to include your relevant certificates within the field.

Of course, any other general education certificated can also help.

The language section is particularly interesting, because while it might not provide any specific examples of how you do your job better, it’s still a good thing to have.

Simply because most companies are international nowadays, with clients all over the world. Being bilingual is a great way to stand out and offer a competitive advantage.

languages on resume

When listing your languages, consider how you can rate yourself. You can say that you are:

  • Intermediate

They’re not going to take up a lot of space in your resume, so you might want to include this section if you’re confident about your language skills.

Personal Projects

Everyone loves a side-gig.

It’s one of the best ways you can show your passion and dedication.

Any personal passion project you’ve been working on that is relevant to your current job position can help you stand out and show that you’re not making stuff up.

If you’re a student with not a lot of work experience, for example, you can use your personal projects section to back up your soft skills and your dedication.

personal projects on resume

How you spend your free time says a lot about you.

And if it’s spent focusing on what you’re truly passionate about, then the HR manager should know about it immediately.

Anything that’s not as relevant, however, like your 3rd grade lemonade stop project , should probably be left off to make space.

Key takeaways

To recap, your work experience section of the resume is arguably one of the most important parts of your resume.

So, you need to make sure you’re formatting it right and it’s easy for the HR manager to skim through it.

Here’s how you can do that:

  • First, stick to the following work experience order: job title, position, company name, description, location, achievements, responsibilities, dates employed
  • This ensures maximum readability and makes it easy for the HR manager to jump to the relevant keywords they’re looking for.
  • When listing your work experience though, make sure you’re custom tailoring it to the job ad and listing any noteworthy achievements whenever possible to stand out.
  • Within your job experience section, also consider if you’re going to include your internship , and how your other sections can help your overall resume format.
  • The whole is greater than the sum of its parts when it comes to your resume. Meaning, you can’t rely on your work experience along to get you the job and your overall resume needs to be in sync as well.

Now, if you’re looking for inspiration on how to craft a beautiful resume, for your specific dream job, be sure to check out our creative resume templates .

And if there’s anything else you want to learn about the job hunt process, you can always check out our career blog for the latest news.

Suggested reading:

  • How to Write a Resume & Land That Job [99+ Real-Life Examples]
  • How to Pick the Best Resume Format in 2024 [+Examples]
  • What to Put On a Resume (To Get The Job You’ll Love)

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  • CV and Cover Letter
  • Work Experience for a Resume:...

Work Experience for a Resume: How to Add it to Get Hired

14 min read · Updated on March 27, 2024

Jen David

Present your work experience well and you'll blow other applicants out of the water!

For most professionals, the Work Experience section of their resme will be the most important part of their most important career document. This is the part that proves to a hiring manager that you have the knowledge, background, and experience to excel. But, given that it carries so much weight, how can you write and format it for maximum impact?

In this article, we'll examine how to lay out your resume work experience section, what to include, and how to word it. There are plenty of examples too, so that you can visualize how your resume could look. In short, we'll give you the crib sheet that teaches you how to produce a stellar resume that gets noticed for all the right reasons.

Where should I position my resume work experience?

While your work experience is likely to make up the bulk of your resume, that doesn't mean you should put it right at the top. Start with your contact details and headline , followed by a profile summary and your key skills .

Then, you have a decision to make. If you're a recent graduate , or you're aiming for your first job, your qualifications are probably more impressive than any work experience you have. Therefore, put your qualifications section directly under the key skills and position any work experience you have underneath that.

If you're established in your career, however, it's your professional experience that should take center stage. Relegate your qualifications to the bottom of the resume and promote your work experience to start just below your skills.

Pro tip: When you're writing a resume, put yourself in the mind of your reader. Make sure it's easy for them to find the most impressive and relevant information!

How to lay out your resume work experience

First things first – you need to create a basic layout for your resume work experience that you can then replicate for every role. You'll need the following elements:

Section heading

To ensure your resume is easy to navigate, begin with the section heading. You can choose from any of the following:

Work experience

Professional experience

Career history

Career summary

The heading should be in a larger font than the body of the text, so that a reader can immediately identify and jump to the section they're interested in.

Next up, you'll need a subheading for every role you've held over the last 10-15 years. Within that subheading, include:

Your job title. Ideally use your official job title, but if you're going for a similar role with a slightly different title, it's fine to tweak it, or to put the target job title in brackets. The key point is that the job title should accurately reflect what the job actually entails.

The name of your employer. Use their formal name, e.g. “Ford Motor Company” rather than just “Ford.”

The start and end dates of your employment. Just month and year will do – or even just year if you've held each role for a long time. Keep the format consistent, whether you chose “12/2023” or  “Dec 2023” or “December 2023.”

The location. Add the state or country you worked in, unless you've always worked, and will continue to work, locally - in which case location is less important.

When you've laid out this sub-heading, duplicate it for every role so that you have a uniform presentation that looks professional.

Role and responsibilities

Below the sub-heading for every role, you'll need to briefly explain your overall role and responsibilities. You don't need to go into much detail on this – 3 to 4 lines or bullet points should be plenty. The key here is to ensure that someone from outside the company, or someone unfamiliar with the role, can immediately understand what you were employed to do. Quantify whatever information you can, so that the reader can understand the scope of your duties, too.

Achievements

Now we come to the star attraction of your resume work experience section – your achievements! Aim to list a minimum of 3 achievements for every role you've held over the last 10-15 years. Remember, an achievement in this context doesn't mean something personal to you, such as learning to use new computer software. It means a benefit you've delivered to the company.

Start every achievement with a dynamic verb , such as reduced, exceeded, improved, increased, won… the options are endless. Again, quantify everything you can so that the hiring manager can appreciate the impact you've had on the business.

Which work experience is listed first on a resume?

Always write your resume work experience in reverse chronological order – that means your current (or latest) job first, working backwards in time as you go down the page. By doing that, your most recent, high-level, and impressive experience will be the first thing the reader sees.

Resume work experience example

Let's put all that together to see how it works:

Professional Experience

Head of IT                                                                                                                       May 2015 – date

Big Business Inc.

Led a team of 25 Software Engineers and controlled a $30million annual budget to provide IT services to 5,000 users across 15 locations. Directed transformation projects and contributed as a key member of the senior leadership team.

Key achievements

Enabled $5million of savings by overseeing a project to implement a time management system for 2,500 staff

Reduced average support resolution times by 20% by upskilling and expanding the team

Reduced printing costs by $30,000 per year by renegotiating contracts with suppliers

Senior Systems Engineer                                                                                      Jan 2013 – May 2015

Small Business Inc.

Held full accountability for all IT requirements in 3 UK offices, supported 50 users and managed a portfolio of IT projects.

Improved data retention and retrieval by 4 hours per request by transitioning from tape to cloud back-up

Won Manager of the Year for 2 consecutive years

As you can see, the focus of the resume work experience section here is on the value added to the business. By quantifying the scope of the role and the achievements, it's easy for the reader to understand this person's previous experience and how they can make a positive impact in the role.

How much work experience do I put on my resume?

As you'll have seen above, we recommend using this resume work experience format for all the roles you've held in the last 10-15 years. That doesn't mean any earlier work experience is useless and should be discarded! No, it just means that this level of detail isn't required.

Recruiters are usually most interested in your most recent experience. Earlier roles can simply be summarized in an Early Career section, giving just job title, employer name, and years of employment (you can omit the years, or even your earliest jobs, if you're concerned about age discrimination).

Similarly, if you've held many roles in the last 10-15 years, you may want to change the cut-off point to 8-10 years. A resume is flexible! Its job is to show your suitability for the role, so if you're repeating yourself or adding less relevant information, you can start summarizing sooner – it will benefit both you and your reader. As a general rule of thumb, 4-5 roles in detail is usually plenty.

How to write a resume with no work experience

Everyone has to start somewhere! If you haven't started your first job yet, that doesn't mean you can't write an impressive resume . Consider these options:

Include volunteering. If you've worked in a voluntary position , that's ideal – your resume work experience can relate to both paid and unpaid work. Present your volunteering experience the same way you'd present paid experience, as we outlined above.

Create a skills-based resume. If you have no work experience to add, you can create a skills-based resume. Add sub-headings for your relevant skills, with bullets underneath giving examples of when you've used each skill (preferably outcome-oriented).

Leverage school and college experience. Were you the Captain of a sports team? Secretary of a society? Mentor for other students? Pet-sitter? If you lack professional experience, you can draw from every other area of your life to demonstrate to a hiring manager that you have the experience and attitude to succeed in their vacant position.

If you're worried that the work experience section on your resume is a bit light at the moment, now's the perfect time to get out there and beef it up. Ask neighbors if they need a babysitter, volunteer to tutor younger students, help out the elderly lady across the street – get creative in finding ways to build up this part of your resume!

Resume example for students with no work experience

The work experience section of a resume for students with no work experience could look like this:

Work Experience

College  Ambassador at XYZ College (ad hoc)                                                    2022 - 2023

Represented the Computer Science course as a subject ambassador, speaking with prospective students and parents about the course and the college. Answered questions politely and shared relevant information, with the course being over-subscribed following every open evening.

Assistant Golf Coach at ABC Golf Club (part time)                                           2022 - 2023

Assisted with coaching junior players aged from 9-15. Drove golf carts safely and with consideration for other players. Enabled players to progress, improve their skills and enjoy a new sport, resulting in additional memberships at the club.

How to tailor your resume work experience

Now that you've written your resume work experience section, you're ready to start job-hunting. But wait! Don't just fire off your master resume to every vacant job! You may have spent time perfecting the layout and the wording, but there's one final step before you hit send.

With the job posting in front of you, you'll need to tailor your resume work experience to your target role. What does that mean? Well, go through the advert and highlight the key requirements for the role, then make sure they're reflected back, very clearly, within your resume. Aim to use the exact words you've highlighted, so that your resume pops up when recruiters carry out a keyword search.

For example, you may notice that the role requires someone who can code in C#, but your resume currently states “programming.” Changing that one word to “coding in C#” aligns your resume better with the role requirements. Do this with every point you've highlighted and watch your resume fly to the top of the pile!

Resume work experience FAQs

Pulling together your resume work experience can be tricky, so we've pulled the most common questions together to make it easier for you.

Do employment gaps on a resume matter?

Employment gaps are a perfectly normal part of life, so embrace the gap! If you've had a break longer than a few months, though, it may help to positively (but briefly) address the gap on your resume. Here are some suggestions on how you could do that:

2020 – 2023 – Planned career break to raise a family

2018 – 2019 – Career break due to redundancy: time spent pursuing an online course and completing home renovations

2023 – 2024 – Career break due to illness: now fully recovered and fit to return to full-time work 

Should I include work experience that's not relevant to my target job?

Sometimes, life can blow you in unexpected directions. If you've had a role that doesn't align with your current career aspirations, it need not be a problem. Consider these suggestions:

Eliminate the role. If taking the role off the resume won't leave a gaping and unexplained hole, you can simply remove it, no questions asked.

Minimize the role. If removing the role would raise unnecessary questions, include it – briefly. Keep the same sub-headings as usual, but don't dedicate more than a line or two to your responsibilities and achievements, just mention the job and move on.

Reframe the role. Rather than focusing on the irrelevant aspects of the role, just write about the transferable parts.

Can you include volunteer experience?

Absolutely! Volunteering is generally very positively viewed. We described above how a student with no work experience can include volunteering on their resume, but what if you have a solid career already? You have four options here:

Use it to cover a gap. Volunteering can be used to cover a gap in your resume if you include it as part of your work experience section. Treat it as you would a paid role.

Create a volunteering section. If your voluntary work uses relevant skills that aren't coming through elsewhere on your resume, create a separate volunteering section, laid out in the same way as the work experience section. While you won't want to go into such great detail, it gives you the opportunity to highlight information that would otherwise go unmentioned.

Add a brief one-liner. If your volunteering doesn't add any relevant skills or experience, but you still want to mention it, you can add a brief line in your Further Details section – that's where you can include any information to support your candidacy that doesn't fit neatly anywhere else – for example, foreign language proficiency.

Ignore it. There's no obligation to include volunteering on your resume, so if you don't think it adds any value, just leave it off!

Can I leave jobs off my resume?

There are certain situations where it's acceptable to leave jobs off your resume. We mentioned irrelevant jobs above, but you may want to leave them off for other reasons. If you held a job back in the eighties, for example, it probably has very little relevance to your career today. A resume is a sales brochure, not a life story, so there's no harm leaving off outdated experience.

What if you were fired, or left on bad terms? Well, ideally a resume wouldn't have an unexplained gap on it, so you can either include it and hope they aren't asked to provide a reference, or you can take it off and find another brief way to explain the gap. The shorter the time in the role, the easier this will be!

Should I put a short-term job on my resume?

It's not unusual to take a stop-gap job to retain an income between permanent roles. Whether you choose to include it on your resume depends on how relevant it is to your current career aspirations. If it's relevant, there's no harm in including it. You could emphasize that it was a “short term contract” or “maternity cover” to pre-empt questions. If it's not relevant, however, you can pick the most suitable option above where we discuss irrelevant work experience.

How can I show a promotion on a resume?

Congratulations on your promotion, it's definitely resume-worthy! A promotion shows that you've performed well and received recognition from your superiors, and that's definitely something a hiring manager will want to know. Make sure that you include the company name within the sub-heading of every role, as that way any reader will be able to trace your progress within the business. 

You may also want to add a line into your achievements section, if there was a particular reason for your promotion – for example, “Achieved selection into a more senior role having reduced customer complaints by 50% in just 6 months.”

How do I list an internship?

An internship can be included just like any other paid, permanent role. Include the same details and focus on the experience you gained and any value you added to the business.

A little effort now can get you far

The work experience part of your resume is arguably the hardest part to write, but it can have a great impact if it's done well. By following our guidelines on including resume work experience, you'll soon have a resume to be proud of that opens doors for you.

Want to check you're hitting the right notes? Why not submit your resume for a free resume review by our experts? They'll make sure you're hitting all the right notes before you apply for your dream job.

Recommended reading:

9 Soft Skills Employers Want

How to List Education on Your Resume (with Examples)

How to Write a Targeted Resume That Lands You an Interview

Related Articles:

Guide to the Best Margin Size to Use on Your Resume

What to Say When Emailing a Resume (with Examples)

Whether or Not to Use a Two-page Resume

See how your resume stacks up.

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How to Make a Powerful Resume Work Experience (Including Examples)

Anyone can write about their work experience. But what does it take to make it better?

how to write a resume job experience

The resume work experience section covers your employment history.

One of the things your recruiters will be looking for in this part of your resume is the impact you’ve made in your previous job position.

It’s not enough to just list out your day to day routine...

Your hiring managers will want to see what you’ve been responsible for. What difference did you make that shows you’re the ideal qualified and experienced candidate to hire?

We’ll go through everything you need to know in this article on how to create a powerful work experience section. Later on, we’ll also be breaking down mediocre examples and comparing them against good examples, and then against even better examples. 

How Do I Describe My Work Experience on a Resume?

There are 7 key elements on how to write your job experience on a resume for the best impression and to show your expertise. Shortly after, we’ll answer the common question about what to do if you have no experience. 

1. Include Your Job Position, Company and Date of Employment

Your previous job position, company name, and the date of employment are one of the main pieces of information that need to be mentioned in this section. This should be highlighted clearly for each of your previous jobs. 

Here’s an accountant resume work experience example from Rezi:

Include Your Job Position, Company and Duration of Employment

2. Describe What You Did In Your Previous Job Positions

This includes:

  • Job responsibilities
  • Tasks and duties
  • The impact you’ve had

Employers will want to know what you’ve done in your previous job position to get insight into your skills and expertise. Knowing what you’re familiar with will help them make a decision and to see if you’re more of a good fit compared to the other applicants.

However, you should also be including any positive results you’ve accomplished.

3. Describe a Result You’ve Been Responsible For

What role or contribution did you make towards the company you worked for?

Describe how you accomplished something from your previous corporate role. Showcasing the achievements that took place as a result of your contribution will keep the reader engaged. It’s also effective in creating a strong impression and demonstrating your level of ability by highlighting the impact you’ve made.

4. Focus On The Skills You Developed 

What skills have you developed in the process from your previous job and work environment?

Check that it’s relevant to the context and that it makes sense. If you developed any new skills along the way because of a particular event in your previous job (e.g. a training session), it’s a good idea to include it on your resume. The more relevant skills you have, the more it adds to your professional background. 

At the same time, don’t force yourself to add fluff that doesn’t mean or show much. It’s a common common mistakes on resumes .

5. Use Numbers, Figures, and Statistics

Without any evidence, it’s hard to trust everything that someone might say. Be factual and take an objective approach. Numbers, figures, and statistics are your best friend. These will make your statements and points a lot more credible. 

6. Use Examples to Reinforce Your Points

If you can’t include a statistic or figure to reinforce your point, at least use an example.

As said in the previous point, you want to take an objective approach. Including examples will reinforce your statements so recruiters know you’re not being subjective. It will also help you stand out from the crowd when you’re using a personal, unique example.

7. Include Power Words and Action Verbs 

These can make your resume more impactful and engaging. 

You just need to be careful not to resume buzzwords to avoid and to make sure they’re used in the right context. 

Although your resume is like a report, you’ll want to keep the reader locked in by catching their interest. When recruiters skim through your application in the first few seconds and they notice some of these action verbs and power words, it can emphasise your significance in what you are trying to describe.

What If You Have No Resume Work Experience? 

Are you a student or recent graduate, someone new to the workforce with no work experience? There are alternative solutions you can do instead. We’ve listed five things that you might want to consider.

To make up for your lack of experience, we recommend building a personalized cover letter!

Describe Your Corporate Education 

It works to go into detail on each of the years from your years in professional education. Take a look at the corporate rotational graduate resume example below:

If you have low amount of experience make student resume with low level experience, concentrating on recent education, internships, and other extra curricular experiences.

This candidate still managed to secure their spot with Sony using this resume template from Rezi. If you have no work experience in the real working environment, you can use this section for your corporate educational background instead!

Volunteering

Volunteering is still a valuable thing to talk about on your resume. It’s still work experience that’s helped you become somewhat familiar with what the real working environment would be like even though it’s not the exact same setting.

Internships

If you’ve been a part of any internship programs, this is worth including and you can go in-depth about the skills you’ve developed, as well as what you’ve been responsible for. Experience is experience, so you want to include everything you’ve got and make it relevant to the job posting.

Extracurricular Activities

This can also count as work experience and add towards your preparation for the real working environment. 

Consider The Functional Resume Format

If you have literally got no work experience at all, there’s one more option left...

And that is to use the functional (skills-based) ats resume format .

Rather than highlighting your work experience, your skills will be the main highlight instead. To make up for this gap though, we recommend you to write a personalized and tailored cover letter to complement your resume. Even though you might be lacking the desired work experience, you can still show that you’re more qualified and a better cultural fit.

Resume Work Experience Examples 

At Rezi , we believe that each bullet should be able to stand on its own. 

Ambiguity in bullet points could lead to situations where achievements are left out, skills are not recognized, and so on. Overall, writing resume content is actually pretty simple. Just tell them what you did (include figures), why you did it, and how you did it (include technical details).  

As they say, “the devil is in the detail” yet details give an awesome empirical frame to accomplishments… so include them!

Marketing Manager

• Responsible for buying ads to increase marketing channel traffic and revenue.
• Negotiated a $4MM display ad buy with a leading portal at a guaranteed cost-per-acquisition rate that was used to measure the impact of online display ads on paid search as well as other channels.
• Lead team of six in the negotiation of a $4MM display ad buy at a cost-per-acquisition rate which was used to measure the impact of online display ads on paid search and other channels. Deals increased display ad revenue by 25% in the first quarter.

Email Marketing Specialist

• Sent all marketing emails and tracked results in dashboard.
• Tracked KPIs and metrics gathered from segmentation strategies, A/B tests of subject lines, content, images and offers which drove higher open and click-through rates.
• Created highly-optimized campaigns with A/B testing elements which included subject lines, content, images, and offers resulting in a 15% increase in open rates and 3% in click-through rates. Mastered SalesForce emailing software to automate drip campaigns and gathered user metrics. Used Tableau to create bespoke email KPI dashboards to distribute metrics.

Digital Marketing Specialist 

• Worked on increasing revenue generated from PPC and search traffic marketing campaigns.
• Developed a new paid search strategy and directed execution of PPC campaigns that resulted in 109% improvement in paid search traffic and 151% improvement in conversation rate year over year.
• Used Google Adwords Keyword Planner and Adwords Editor to lead the development of new paid search strategies and directed execution of PPC campaigns that resulted in 109% improvement in paid search traffic and 151% improvement in conversation rate year over year.

Social Media Specialist

• Managed all social media profiles for led generation and referrals.
• Developed social media profiles across Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Foursquare, and Instagram to build an email list from 1,200 to 3,500, increased conversions 150%, CTR 49%, and social web referrals 41% in the first six months.
• Transformed a non-existent social media profile into thought-leader presence across Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Foursquare, and Instagram to increase led generation building email lists from 1,200 to 3,500. Automated MailChimp campaigns which increased customer LTV, conversions 150%, CTR 49%, and social web referrals 41% in the first six months.

Marketing Analyst

• Tracked user behavior to increase lead generation on online forms.
• Conducted A/B, multivariate tests & studied user behavior using mouse tracking & funnels to increase conversions on lead gen forms on 5 web properties.
• Integrated Optimizely API to allow the analytics team to measure results of A/B testing and optimization in Google Analytics. Analyzed CrazyEgg heat maps to develop front-end optimizations which increased conversions of 5 web properties.

How Rezi Can Help

Rezi has helped over 120,000+ job seekers secure a job. Some of those users were also hired at the most competitive companies including Facebook, Spotify, and Amazon.

When you create a resume with Rezi, you have a 62.18% chance of landing an interview.

We equip you with all the tools needed so you can get past the first stage of the selection process, land an interview, and get hired for the job!

Here’s how you can easily increase your chances:

1. Use Rezi’s Resume Templates

You’re bound to find your job position as we have 182 ready-to-use free ATS resume templates . 

Browse through it and pick the one that matches what you need. Take inspiration from what’s already written and use that as a head start. 

It’s more effective starting this way and will save you more time!

2. Use Rezi’s AI Writer and Keyword Targeting Tool

The Rezi AI resume writer feature can generate a full tailored resume for you that will beat the ATS. All the main requirements will be included since you’ll be provided with feedback on what the job description is looking for, as well as a list of skills and keywords that you need to include. 

Watch how easy it works in the clip below!

Explore Rezi 🔥 Comes with 5,000 AI Credits, and is free forever, no credit card required.

Rezi is an ai resume builder to help you to create a resume that os sure to check the boxes when it comes to applicant tracking systems : Rezi Review by Ashley

Astley Cervania

Astley Cervania is a career writer and editor who has helped hundreds of thousands of job seekers build resumes and cover letters that land interviews. He is a Rezi-acknowledged expert in the field of career advice and has been delivering job success insights for 4+ years, helping readers translate their work background into a compelling job application.

How to Describe Your Resume Work Experience (Even If You Have None)

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How do I add experience to my resume?

How many years of work experience should be on a resume, how to describe work experience on a resume, what should i put on my resume for little work experience, high school resume template, 5 more resume work experience examples to learn from, how long should a resume be for a job, how to list work experience on resume with enhancv, takeaways: work experience on resume.

Resume image 1

Of all the sections on a resume, your work experience is one of the most critical and most important.

Your resume work experience says a lot about you. If the hiring manager sees your potential and what you’re capable of based on the results you’re responsible for in your previous company, that itself can determine the hiring decision.

However, it doesn’t just mean you’re a qualified candidate…

It’s a form of proof that shows your skills and expertise are credible.

That insight into your previous job roles and responsibilities will speak for itself. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “actions speak louder than words”.

Highlighting what your achievements or years of experience will leave an impact on your employer. This section alone can be the deciding factor for recruiters to think whether you’re worth hiring or not.

By the time you’re done reading this guide, you’ll know exactly how to describe work experience on a resume.

Now, you might have less than 1 year of work experience or none at all.

Don’t worry, because you’re not the only one. That’s why we’ve also included work experience resume examples for those of you with little to no employment history.

So, be sure you stay until the end!

OR, you can skip this entire guide by using Enhancv’s proven resume templates for your job position. You won’t have to worry about writer’s block because you can take inspiration from what’s already included and rephrase them however you want!

BROWSE RESUME EXAMPLES

It’s easy and only takes a few minutes!

“Enhancv has made modern professional resume writing a breeze! Beautiful templates, that has helped visualize years of work experience into a single page.” – Victoria O’Donnell

Your resume work experience section refers to your professional background in employment.

For all professional experience sections, you need to include your previous:

  • Role and responsibilities
  • Skills and accomplishments
  • Company names
  • Dates you’ve worked

Depending on where you’re at in your career, most professionals will list between 3-5 previous job positions on their resume. For other job seekers who have less than 3 years of experience should be mentioning this in reverse-chronological order.

What employers want to see is if you’re familiar with the working environment that you’ll be operating in.

  • What results have you managed to achieve that you were responsible for?
  • What impact did your skills have on those companies you’ve worked for?
  • Do you also have the skills that it takes?

The best way to prove your expertise is by showing the results you’ve been a core part of. Show how your duties and responsibilities played a significant part in your previous company’s success.

Your resume work experience can go back as far as 10 years. It’s more than enough to show you’ve been in the workforce for a long time or as a senior.

If you have more years of experience, you can push back even further to 15 years.

However, we don’t advise it because the workflow of 15 years ago is completely different to today. It’s more important to show your capability of delivering the results employers are looking for.

Just because you’ve been in the workforce longer, it doesn’t always mean you’re the best or most skilled person for the job.

Identify which resume format you're going to use

You need to pick one of the following resume formats :

  • Chronological resume format
  • Reverse chronological resume format
  • Combination/hybrid resume
  • Functional skills-based resume

Are you unsure of what might be best for you?

For most candidates, the reverse chronological resume format is most ideal because it lists your most recent work experience or job titles first. From there, you work your way backward.

Each format has a different approach. So, it’s important you know which is most ideal for you to use.

If you have less than 5 years of work experience, stick to the reverse-chronological format.

However, for seniors and for those whose work history goes a long time, the chronological resume format will work better. It’s easier for the hiring manager to notice you have years of experience under your belt when the order starts years ago.

They’ll see you’re a veteran who’s highly experienced in your field of profession.

You’ll also be respected by the fact you’ve been in the workforce more than the average candidate.

List out the relevant job titles

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

If you don’t, you need to do the background research.

It’s 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 won’t stand a chance.

For those of you without much work experience trying to make the most out of what you’ve got, it’s 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?

Let’s 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 don’t have anything else to put in, then it’s 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 you’re familiar with the work environment and responsibilities, that’s what matters.

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

  • Hard skills
  • Soft skills
  • Transferable skills
  • Communication skills
  • Computer skills
  • Language skills

Should I put seminars on my resume?

It works to put seminars, training, or conferences on your resume. You can use this to show the hiring manager you’re a qualified candidate who’s developed skills that are going to help you do your job better.

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

With Enhancv , we encourage you to use a custom resume section to make this stand out. Although many job seekers might find training or seminars too tacky to include, it can vary depending on how you approach it.

For example, let’s take a look at an engineer in training :

Enhancv How to Describe Your Resume Work Experience (Even If You Have None)

Notice how Mark used the two key resume sections:

  • Association
  • Training/courses

Thanks to Enhancv’s creative resume designs , he uses resume icons and color to highlight his extra qualifications. While they may not seem like a big deal, it still certainly leaves an impression on the hiring manager.

Go into detail about your duty and responsibilities

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

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

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

What you describe must trace back to the company’s job description and needs. Don’t 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 you’re 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 won’t satisfy the hiring manager or leave a lasting impression.

Use resume keywords and buzzwords

Your resume keywords are extremely important.

Throughout the description of your work experience section, you can’t forget to include these.

While keywords are one essential thing to capture the interest of recruiters, buzzwords are another powerful tool. Using these words will amplify the meaning of your resume and make it twice more impressive.

These factors really add up when it comes to making the hiring decision.

Not only does it show you’ve taken the time to craft a strong resume work experience section. But, it makes your achievements look more impressive than it already is.

Edit and proofread

Ask yourself three things:

  • Can the formatting be improved?
  • Could you rephrase or use different words that are less common and more impactful?
  • Have you highlighted the main points employers need to see?

If this is eating up too much of your time and you’re struggling with this process, chances are you need to improve your editing and proofreading process .

Don’t give your employers a hard time.

Instead, put the pieces together for them. Everything the recruiter is looking for, they should be able to find it within the first few seconds of scanning your resume.

On top of that, the contents of your work experience description need to be parallel with the job responsibilities.

And, the way you present that will influence the hiring decision. Remember that minimal and simple is better than being complicated, so don’t try to be too fancy with the visual aspects.

Besides that, a simple typography error is all it takes for the hiring manager to send your resume to the rejection pile.

So, don’t forget to double-check your resume before sending it off!

You know how to describe your work experience. At this point, you might be thinking, “what if I have little work experience or no experience at all?”

First and foremost, you’re going to have to make the most of what you’ve got.

Before deciding what to include in your work experience, ask yourself if you’re using the right resume format.

For candidates with little work experience, you should be sticking to the functional resume . Rather than making the gaps behind your work experience revealing, you need to shift the hiring manager’s focus on your skills instead.

The key element to succeed here is playing to your strengths.

When looking at how to write a resume with no work experience, you have to be making the most out of everything you’ve got. Even if you don’t have the ideal work experience they’re expecting, you can still show you’re capable of getting the job done.

Here are a few ideas of what you could include:

  • Internships
  • Volunteering experiences
  • Extracurricular activities

Then, follow our steps earlier by describing your work experience to make the most out of them.

Up to this point and you still have nothing to include?

If we’re dealing with a resume with literally no work experience , you need to change your approach.

Focus on emphasizing the following instead:

  • Your education section
  • Your skills section
  • Achievements & certifications
  • Qualifications

Are you a graduate with an impressive GPA and have got relevant coursework?

Do you have any volunteer work or additional experience to show for?

Do you have any types of skills you can highlight that sets you apart from the rest?

When you don’t have much work experience, you need to highlight your other strengths. Whether that’s your qualifications or skills, you need to overshadow your weaknesses by focusing on your qualifications or the other things you’re good at.

Consider what resume sections are going to be best for you to do that.

If you’re building a resume with no work experience, you better make sure everything else on your resume is spot on. I’m talking about the different sections on a resume such as:

  • Resume summary
  • Resume objectives ,
  • Skills section
  • Hobbies & interests

When the recruiter can see you’re a motivated individual with the potential to grow, they’ll still consider you for the job posting.

Since personality and a cultural match are becoming more important in an interpersonal work environment like today, you need to show you’re a good fit for the specific company you’re applying for.

A resume without work experience will put you at a disadvantage. But if everything else is perfect, it won’t matter even if there are others who have a better professional background than you.

So, make sure your resume is tailored for that one company.

Show you’re a self-motivated and valuable candidate with room to grow for the future. If recruiters can see you’re a good match for the company with potential, they’ll take you onboard.

To get a better idea, let’s have a look at a high school resume template. We’ll break down how and why it works!

Enhancv How to Describe Your Resume Work Experience (Even If You Have None)

Notice how this student has made the most of their resume by using white space strategically.

The general expectancy of resume length is two pages.

But, not enough professionals talk about the power of a one-page resume too.

If you look at the first part of his resume work experience, you’ll see how simple his description is. He simply lists out his duties and responsibilities, nothing more.

Sometimes, you end up overthinking things and try to force the slightest description. However, it’s not always necessary. As long as the employer can see you’re familiar with the working environment, that’s most important.

Any positive results you can describe that you’re responsible for is a bonus.

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

Remember, don’t just say you’re results-driven or a hard-worker. Show it.

And, that’s what we’re going to look at in this section. You’ll also be surprised by how simple some of them are. So, make sure you’re paying attention!

IT Project Manager Resume

Enhancv How to Describe Your Resume Work Experience (Even If You Have None)

In this IT project manager resume, the reason it works so well is that it focuses on both the experiences gained and the outcome that benefited the company.

As a project manager, it’s important to show you have the right skills and experience for the management role.

However, notice how the applicant has used action verbs to show he’s actively contributed to the company’s success. The candidate has also shown their skills and expertise through their responsibilities.

Ultimately, words don’t speak for themselves the same way your results do. It’s far more powerful if you’re able to show exactly what you’ve achieved and how.

Manufacturing Engineer Resume

Enhancv How to Describe Your Resume Work Experience (Even If You Have None)

Notice how simple this description is. While they’ve worked as a manufacturing engineer for 3 years, the candidate only uses one sentence.

Sometimes, you don’t need to overthink things.

If one sentence is all you need, then that’s more than enough. As long as you’ve shown your duties and responsibilities, you don’t need to force anything irrelevant to fill up the space.

Digital Marketing Resume

Enhancv How to Describe Your Resume Work Experience (Even If You Have None)

This is a great example of showing you’re a results-driven professional.

We’ve said it loads of times already. Don’t just talk about your previous job titles and responsibilities, but describe the results you helped to deliver.

You need to be specific so the hiring manager can see how skilled you are at what you do. If you just make a shopping list for the job recruiter, it doesn’t exactly show much value or meaning.

Medical Assistant Resume

Enhancv How to Describe Your Resume Work Experience (Even If You Have None)

For resumes in the healthcare field, if you’re not using a resume summary or objectives section then the work experience part should come first.

Like this candidate, your work experience should be going into detail about your duties and responsibilities. This lets the hiring manager see that you’re familiar with your role, which is what your work experience should be showing.

Property manager resume

Enhancv How to Describe Your Resume Work Experience (Even If You Have None)

Do you have any evidence to back up your skills to show you’re a qualified candidate?

What employers are more focused on in the real estate industry are your results.

And, this property manager work experience section is a perfect example. The applicant mentions: “Sales flow that lead to a 100% increase in sales activity” and “achieved €600 revenues”.

If you can include numbers, percentages, or data, it positions you as an expert. On top of that, employers will quickly have the impression you’re skilled at what you do.

If your field of profession wasn’t here, you can find it by clicking on the button below. Our resume builder gives you access to successful resumes candidates have used to get hired at big companies such as Tesla and Spotify!

One-page resumes work the best.

In a modern work environment, the best thing you can do is show all your value in one page. When you condense your application like this and can show your value in a single page, it leaves an impression on your hiring manager.

Whether you’re an entry-level applicant or an executive, it works better than a two-page resume when it comes to leaving an impact.

For seniors, however, with more than 10 years of work experience, it’s worth considering a two-page resume.

More importantly, tailor your resume for the company and align it with the job description. If you can do all of that on a one-page resume, then two pages won’t be necessary.

By now, you should have a good grasp of how to include your resume work experience.

If you’re someone with not a lot of work experience and haven’t taken action, we’ll help you get started. Just follow these steps!

First, let’s use this resume template for our own resume:

Enhancv How to Describe Your Resume Work Experience (Even If You Have None)

If you’re unsure about what you should and shouldn’t do, this page also contains a guide for that. So, scroll down and give it a read!

For now, I want you to click on the “use this example” button:

Enhancv How to Describe Your Resume Work Experience (Even If You Have None)

You’ll then be taken into the Enhancv editor which looks like this:

Enhancv How to Describe Your Resume Work Experience (Even If You Have None)

From here, you can replace the existing content with your own work experience and resume sections. Our editor makes it an easy and simple process for you to edit the resume as much as you want!

All you have to do is include your own work experience and take inspiration from what’s already there.

It’s much easier to create a resume this way than if you were to start from scratch.

If you haven’t used the resume templates mentioned earlier or you haven’t been following the steps, you can get started now for free by clicking below!

BUILD A GREAT RESUME

Our resumes get people hired at top companies!

The work experience section refers back to your employment history in the past. It also needs to show your duties and responsibilities in those previous companies you’ve worked for.

When you have little to nothing to include for your professional experience section, you have to make the most of what you’ve got.

And, that could be going in-depth into your volunteer experience or resume objective.

Or perhaps, highlighting and making a certain section of a resume stand out.

Did you find this guide useful? If so, please give it a share to help out our fellow job seekers. If you have any questions, let me hear from you in the comments below!

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IMAGES

  1. 48+ Work experience resume examples That You Can Imitate

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  2. Professional Experience Resume Example

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  3. Resume Format For Experienced Person Free Download

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  4. Work Experience on a Resume: What to include and How

    how to write a resume job experience

  5. Resume Examples for 2023 & Guides for Any Job [80+ Examples]

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  6. 15+ CV Objective Statement Examples & How to Write Yours

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VIDEO

  1. How to write Resume while applying for a job

  2. How to write a Resume for job application in english resume CV curriculum vitae and biodata Nepali

  3. How to Write your resume education section! #workfromhome #wfhlife #wfhjobs #remotework #nowhiring

  4. How to Write the Experience Section In Your Resume #workfromhome #remotework #wfhlife #wfhjobs

  5. How to write an ATS Resume For Experienced People (Step by Step Tutorial)

  6. Master Your Career: How to Write a Resume That Lands Interviews

COMMENTS

  1. How to Add Work Experience to Your Resume (With Examples)

    1. Create a dedicated section for your professional experience. First, choose an appropriate title like "professional experience" or "work experience" for the section of your resume where you'll list your past jobs. For each job, include the following information: Job title. Company name.

  2. How To Highlight Work Experience on Your Resume

    1. Include detailed and relevant information. The work experience section of your resume should contain specific information about your employment history, including: Companies you worked for. Provide the full, official names of the companies for which you've worked starting with your most recent followed by the next most recent, and so on.

  3. Your Resume's Work Experience Section: A Complete Guide

    For most job seekers using a chronological or combination resume format, you should list your past jobs within your experience section (or sections) in reverse chronological order. For each item you list—full-time jobs or other types of experience—include the following: Position details: List your job title, company name, location, and ...

  4. Work Experience on a Resume

    Here's how you can do that: First, stick to the following work experience order: job title, position, company name, description, location, achievements, responsibilities, dates employed. This ensures maximum readability and makes it easy for the HR manager to jump to the relevant keywords they're looking for.

  5. How To List Work Experience On A Resume (20+ Examples)

    1. Put it under a clear, legible heading. Make sure your work experience section is clearly visible and has its own heading. You can name this section "Work Experience", "Experience" or "Employment History". 2. Place it right under the resume summary or objective.

  6. How to Describe Your Work Experience on Your Resume (With Examples

    1. Understand the four elements of the STAR formula. Here is a breakdown of each step of the STAR formula: Situation. This step gives you a canvas to set the story around a challenge you faced. However, you'll need to include other elements of the STAR formula to have a clear and concise overview of your experience.

  7. How to Show Work Experience on a Resume—Full Guide

    So, here's how to list work experience on a resume, step by step: 1. Make the Section Heading Stand Out. Label your resume work experience section with one of the following titles: Work Experience. Experience. Employment History. Work History. Make the section title larger than the rest of your job descriptions.

  8. Writing an Effective Resume Work Experience Section

    Tips on writing your resume work experience. Consider using the following tips for a resume work experience section that works: Structure your resume to avoid gaps. Strong resumes show a consistent flow from one job to the next. Use the standard format that lists the month and year to show the start and end dates of each job, such as May 2015 ...

  9. How to Write your Work Experience on a Resume [+ Examples]

    Writing the work experience section. Writing the resume work experience section is one of the most influential and often trickiest resume sections to get right. Some employers will even cut right past the summary at the top of a resume and scan the employers, job titles and work dates to see if the resume is worth reading in detail. How much ...

  10. Work Experience for a Resume: How to Add it to Get Hired

    Which work experience is listed first on a resume? Always write your resume work experience in reverse chronological order - that means your current (or latest) job first, working backwards in time as you go down the page. By doing that, your most recent, high-level, and impressive experience will be the first thing the reader sees.

  11. How to List Resume Work Experience + 18 Examples

    In conclusion, stick to the job titles the employer gave you. 2 Mention the company name and location. For each job title you list, you must mention the company or employer's name and location (city and state). This information allows recruiters to research your previous roles and verify your data, so be honest.

  12. How to Write Work Experience & History on a Resume

    Step 1: Prepare your information. Preparing your work experience for your resume is just as important as writing it in your job history section. Here's how to prepare your work experience: Make a list of your past employers, job titles and responsibilities. Focus on your last one to 10 years of employment.

  13. How to Add Work Experience to Your Resume in 2024

    Step #1 - Organize your work experience section. Step #2 - Format the job information correctly. Step #3 - Use bullet points. Step #4 - Start each bullet point with an action verb. Step #5 - List accomplishments as well as duties. Step #6 - Use numbers and metrics. Step #7 - Tailor your work experience to the job.

  14. Work Experience on a Resume: Job Description Examples & Tips

    1. Name the section "Work Experience," "Work History," or "Professional Experience.". Write the section heading in bold and make it slightly larger than the rest of the contents. 2. Use reverse-chronological order. Start with your current or most recent job, follow it with the one before it, and so on. 3.

  15. How to Make a Powerful Resume Work Experience (Including Examples)

    1. Include Your Job Position, Company and Date of Employment. Your previous job position, company name, and the date of employment are one of the main pieces of information that need to be mentioned in this section. This should be highlighted clearly for each of your previous jobs. Here's an accountant resume work experience example from Rezi:

  16. How to Describe Work Experience on a Resume

    The work experience section of your resume can include full-time and part-time positions, internships, temporary roles and applicable volunteer work and provide key details about your professional history such as: Previous job titles. Employers. Dates of tenure. Key responsibilities.

  17. How to Make a Resume in 2024: Writing Guide + Examples

    Make it distinctive to highlight your name and contact information. Organize your resume sections in the following order: summary/objective, work experience, education, skills, and extras. Use bullet points for your entries under each section. Find resume icons for each section or skip them altogether. File format.

  18. How To Make a Comprehensive Resume (With Examples)

    A resume summary is a short statement that uses active language to describe your relevant work experience and skills. Read more: How To Write a Resume Summary Plus 5 Strong Examples 4. List your soft and hard skills Take a moment to consider which skills make you a great fit for the job. Review the job description and highlight keywords that ...

  19. How to Describe Your Resume Work Experience (Even If You Have None)

    Skills and accomplishments. Company names. Dates you've worked. Depending on where you're at in your career, most professionals will list between 3-5 previous job positions on their resume. For other job seekers who have less than 3 years of experience should be mentioning this in reverse-chronological order.

  20. How To Write Experience In A Resume (With Examples)

    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. 3. Specify the dates of employment. Next, you should mention the start and end dates of each employment.

  21. Management Resume Examples and Templates for 2024

    Build Your Resume. Resume Builder offers free, HR-approved resume templates to help you create a professional resume in minutes. Start Building. 1. Summarize your management qualifications in a dynamic profile. The profile section is where you can let employers know what kind of manager you are.

  22. How To Write a Great Resume With No Experience

    The goal of a first job resume is to demonstrate your value as an employee and show employers why hiring you would benefit their company: 1. Review the job description. Carefully review the job description and note any specific skills you have or requirements you can fulfill.