Dear Mrs Henry,

I am pursuing a degree programme at a tertiary level institution and will be graduating at the end of this academic year. My concern is that I do not have much work experience. How best can I construct an impressive résumé for my job search?

CONSTRUCTING an impressive résumé is the desire of all job seekers. This very important job-seeking tool serves to represent the job hunter to the prospective employer and is the first point of contact with said employer.

It will therefore determine whether you are selected for an interview. It goes without saying, that, if you are not called for the interview, then all chances of being selected are lost.

A résumé, generally speaking, should be concise, well formatted and free of grammatical error. Although it focuses on various areas – qualifications, work experience, co-curricular and community involvement, awards and references – it is the work experience component with which you are most concerned.

Your concern, reader, is genuine and is shared by many – especially those going into the job market for the first time. This is so because many of the job vacancies advertised require years of experience. I must hasten to say, however, that there are many entry-level positions which do not focus on years of experience in the selection process.

Enhancing your résumé in the absence of work experience requires that you:

. Do an assessment of your skills and competencies. There are general and specific skills. Focus on both of these. Your general skills, such as communication and computer literacy, will relate to any job situation. Your specific skills are those related to the position for which you are applying, such as data analysis, using a specific statistical package and report writing. Show that you are able to use these if required.

. Focus on your co-curricular, community or professional association involvement. Many of these skills and competencies required for the world of work are learnt and developed through involvement in these activities. These include leadership, time management and team work. The prospective employer will be pleased when your involvement and achievement are realised.

. Remember to include voluntary work or work done in a family business. Although you might not have been paid, you acquired work experience, which may have included interacting with customers, doing specific tasks, and meeting deadlines. You would have developed positive work attitudes, such as punctuality, dedication and commitment.

. Temporary jobs and summer employment are also important for mentioning on your résumé. They may have been done over short periods (example three months) but they all add up. State the organisation and the job title. If you were not assigned a job title, give a brief description of the duties you performed or accomplishments.

. Include any work study internship or job experience programme in which you were involved during your course of studies. State the organisation to which you were assigned, duration of the programme and what your work involved. If you worked on a specific project, name it and the outcome of your work.

. If you received awards or scholarships for outstanding performance in academic, co-curricular, professional or community activities, you should state these under the section marked “Special Awards”. This helps to show how competent you are and that you are recognised by your peers and your institution, that you truly are ranked highly when compared with others in the various categories of your involvement.

In order to include all of these in your résumé, you should do accurate record keeping. Building a career portfolio is a good way to do so.

If you have acquired most of these skills and competencies and the above listed suggestions are used when developing your résumé, then the effect of your lack of work experience should be significantly reduced.

Remember, however, that contrary to the general belief, there are many entry-level positions which require persons who are willing and able to learn quickly and take on the challenges of the 21st Century workplace. They may not necessarily focus on years of experience.

Merrit Henry is career counsellor and students services manager at the Placement and Career Services Unit of UWI, Mona. She may be contacted at

merrit.henry@uwimona.edu.jm