If you’ve recently graduated, you may not have a lot of work experience. So you may not know what to write. Luckily, you can still write an amazing resume even if you don’t have an extensive work history.

It is always helpful to first look at some job resume examples. There are plenty of examples for new graduates. Looking at examples will help you understand how you should structure the resume and what you should focus on. However, just looking at examples won’t help you create a resume that will benefit you the most. To learn how to do that, let’s take a look at five great tips that will help you write an amazing resume.

Tips for Recent Graduates Writing Resumes

Resume writing is a learned skill. By following these tips your resume will stand out and put you ahead of your fellow applicants.

• Use a functional format.

A functional format resume highlights your skills over your work experience. It's a great format to use for graduates that want to apply for their first job. With the functional format, the resume objective should mention your most impressive skills.

Right underneath the resume objective is the skills section. Not only should you list your skills, but you should also describe how you acquired those skills. Mention quantifiable metrics if you can. For example, if you feel like you have excellent public speaking skills because you were captain of your high school debate team, mention that after listing the skill.

• Don’t write a generic resume.

If you’re applying to multiple jobs, do not write a standard resume to send out to every job posting. Resumes that aren’t personalized come off as inauthentic and forgettable. You’ll want the recruiter to remember you and the best way to do that is by writing a resume that is tailored to the specific job posting.

Read each job description and look at specific keywords that can give you a hint of what the recruiters are looking for. For example, if they mention “hard-working” a few times, emphasize how long your volunteer hours were or how many activities you took on while in college.

• Get help from a resume expert.

A professional resume expert can critique your resume and improve it. They can tell you if the language used feels bland or if you need to focus more on certain elements. Not only can a resume expert polish your resume, but they can also give you advice that you can use for other resumes you’ll write later on.

• Keep it relevant.

Only include information that is relevant to the job posting. A resume should only be a page long. If you have more than a page's worth of information, you need to edit some parts out. Your resume isn't about your entire academic and work history. It’s about why you’re the best candidate for the specific job you’re applying for, so stay on topic.

That said, you don’t want to edit out so much that you leave a lot of blank space on the resume. A lot of blank space on a resume is a bad sign. Some recruiters may even reject your application after glancing at your short resume.

• Focus on your academic background.

If you’re having trouble padding your resume with relevant information, look up resume examples for people who are applying for their first job. Many of them place a lot of focus on academic background.

Talk about any notable academic achievements, certificates or volunteer work. If you were ever placed in charge of something in college, mention that and include how many total hours you spent fulfilling that role.