How to write a resume with no experience (fresh graduates in Singapore)

If you are graduating or have just graduated, you may feel that a resume with no full-time experience has nothing to say. It does. Employers hiring for entry-level roles know you don't have a long work history. They are looking for signs that you learn quickly, follow through, and work well with others.

What to put on your resume

• Education: your degree or diploma, institution, and graduation date. Add relevant modules, a final-year project, or honours if they help for this role.
• Internships and part-time jobs: include them even if they were short or unrelated. Focus on what you did and what came of it.
• Projects: coursework, personal projects, hackathons, and competitions show real skills. Say what you built or found out.
• Leadership and activities: CCAs, student clubs, and events you organised show responsibility. Include numbers such as team size or attendance if you know them.
• Volunteering: it shows commitment, and often real skills.
• Skills: languages, software, and tools, ideally shown in the projects and roles above.

Turn duties into evidence

Compare "Helped with social media" with "Wrote and scheduled posts for the club's Instagram, growing followers from 200 to 600 in one semester." The second tells the reader what you did and what came of it. Wherever you have real numbers, use them. Where you don't, describe the outcome plainly. Never invent figures.

Keep it short and simple

• One page is normal at this stage.
• Use a clean, single-column layout and a standard font.
• Put the most relevant items first, and cut the rest.
• Proofread. Small mistakes stand out on a short resume.
• Leave off details you don't need to include, such as a photo, unless the employer asks.

Write a short summary, or skip it

A two-line summary can help if it says something specific: the field you want, and one or two strengths with evidence. Avoid vague lines like "hardworking team player". If you can't say something specific, leave it out.

Where to find roles in Singapore

• MyCareersFuture, the government's job portal.
• Your university's career services, career fairs, and alumni network.
• The careers pages of companies you like, including their graduate and internship programmes.
• People. Tell friends, seniors, and former internship supervisors what you're looking for.

Know what you're worth

Before you accept an offer, check what the role pays. Our Singapore salary guide uses Ministry of Manpower survey data. It covers all workers in an occupation rather than only new graduates, so treat the lower end as a rough guide to entry-level pay, and check your university's graduate employment survey for figures aimed at graduates.