Free Entry-Level Resume Templates: Complete Guide for 2023

1.

Functional resume: This is also known as a skills-based resume. This format features multiple sections dedicated to your general and specialized skills as well as your education, certifications, and job-related interests while reducing the amount of information related to your previous employment. This resume is best used for one-on-one opportunities from in-person job fairs or small businesses. Avoid using this format if you’re applying for online jobs. Each section will follow this page structure:

2.

Combination resume: The combination resume is a marriage between functional and chronological resumes. Although this format only features one skills section, your skills sit above your formal experience section and are some of the first details employers learn about you. This format follows a traditional resume structure and is best for online applications that can scan and eliminate functional resumes. Each section will follow this page structure:

.

Chronological resume: This format is the most used and recognized resume. Although it’s considered a resume standard, you should avoid using this for entry-level jobs. This format works best if you have over 10 years of experience and want to showcase promotions and steady career advancement. Its sections include:

1.

Contact information
Thankfully, your contact information includes the same information regardless of what format or experience level for which you apply. This section will include the following mandatory and optional information:

2.

Objective statement
Although most resume writers recommend that you write a summary statement, where you explain how your former experience aligns with the open job needs and how you plan to utilize that experience and accomplishments to the potential employer’s benefit, an entry-level resume lets you use the traditional objective statement.

An objective statement allows you to inform a potential employer what you hope to gain or accomplish if you are hired. As an entry-level applicant with minimal experience, you’re allowed to take this approach.

For example, if you’re entering a marketing position after a few years of part-time retail experience, you can write:

3.

Experience
Let’s continue with our retail associate looking for an entry-level marketing position. We’ll theorize that they have two years of store experience and three years of volunteer experience. Once you’re ready to write your work history section, you’ll format it in one of two ways, depending on the resume format you choose.

4.

Education
Your education follows the same structure across all three formats. Include your high school graduation information if that’s your highest degree, if you’re in the midst of pursuing an associate or bachelor degree, or if you’re pursuing work immediately after graduation.

5.

Skills
Functional resumes differ from chronological and combination resumes by creating several skills sections based on the professional skills you want to highlight. As an entry-level applicant, you may want dedicated sections for “general skills,” “language skills” “digital skills,” or “social media skills.”

Your skills section should feature about six to eight featured skills. If you add more than eight skills, you risk overcrowding this section and describing your strengths without the context of the work history or summary of qualifications. We researched and compiled a list of the most commonly requested skills in the job market to help you craft this section

6.

Summary of qualifications
This section is only found on functional resumes. A summary of qualifications is like a detailed skills report. You pick two or three skills most relevant to the open entry-level job for which you’re applying and lend credibility to them by listing relevant responsibilities and accomplishments related to those skills. For example: