Early career
Building a first resume when you don’t have a long work history
Projects, internships, and skills that read clearly to screening tools — without padding every course you’ve ever taken.
Updated 2026-08-10
Early-career applications fail for two opposite reasons: the file is empty of proof, or it’s stuffed with every module from university. You need a clean layout and a few concrete projects or internships that match the posting.
What belongs near the top
- A target-role line (for example: junior analyst · SQL, Excel, Tableau)
- Two or three project or internship bullets with tools and a result
- Skills that appear in the job ad — only ones you’ve actually used
- Education, with coursework only if it earns the space
Naming skills honestly
If the posting says Excel and SQL, don’t bury them under “MS Office.” If you only used a tool in a class project, label it that way. Interviewers will ask.
Try it on your posting
Run a Resume checker on the job you're applying to — fit score, section report, and suggested fixes.
Before you hit submit
Paste the graduate or internship posting next to your PDF and fix the weakest section once. For similar roles, reorder — don’t rebuild the whole document from scratch every night.