How to write your first resume

You finally graduated from college. You're ready to start your career. But unless you have a parent, relative or family friend ready to hire you, now you have to go job hunting. And that means writing a resume.

There are a lot of websites that show you how to format a resume and have advice on standard components like contact information, education, skill sets, etc. That's the easy stuff. When you're young and just out of school, the real challenge is selling your work experience when you don't have any work experience.

Don't panic. First, everyone starts out exactly where you are today. No one begins with experience. Second, you probably will be applying for entry-level jobs, meaning the people doing the hiring aren't looking for Donald Trump. In fact, if you had a super resume, you'd likely be considered over-qualified (and too expensive) for the job being filled. Finally, if you've made it through high school and a college career-training program, you probably have more marketable experience than you might think. The key is to identify your marketable assets and present them in a way that makes you look like a great candidate.

Here are some "experience" items to consider for a first resume:
* Paid work experience. This is the easy one. If you ever held a paid part-time summer, evening or weekend job, you definitely want to include it. Be sure to describe your duties, your responsibilities (e.g., "Handled more than $5,000 in cash daily") and any special challenges you overcame or problems you solved.

* Volunteer work. Many schools today not only encourage students to do volunteer work, but they require it. Such work not only helps build character and improves the community; it also looks great on a resume. Again, be specific about your duties, responsibilities and accomplishments.

* Student activities and organizations. You may wish to include memberships in student clubs and organizations, especially if you held any kind of leadership position (e.g., president, secretary, treasurer, etc.) and particularly if that office required you to organize, manage, execute and/or handle money. Having a high position in student government - especially a position that involved managing a budget - is again worthy of inclusion.

* Personal enterprises. Many activities that young people do as hobbies or part-time income producers can be framed as resume-worthy enterprises. For example, baby-sitting can become "evening child care." Creating a website for yourself (or a friend) can be listed as "website development." In fact, many of the computer-related skills today's kids learn by the time they're 10 can be valuable assets to potential employers. Don't be shy about advertising your tech skills.

Many of these references are likely to fall off your resume as your career advances and you achieve more specialty or industry career certifications. What you did as a teenager becomes less and less relevant as you acquire more high-profile professional accomplishments. But when you're just starting out, having part-time work experience, being a student leader and having demonstrated a sense of enterprise and responsibility are just the kinds of attributes many employers are seeking. Present them in a compelling fashion and you may have a resume that can land you that first, all-important, post-college job.