In my first month on Steemit I didnt even know how to resteem, and I did not understand the reputation benefits of doing it either. As my experience has grown with Steemit I have learned that most of my new followers come from resteeming, and commenting on other people's quality content.

The new follower sees what you say here, checks out your post history and if you get exposure you would not have had otherwise.

Definitely recommend any new Steemian spends time each day finding quality content they like, resteem, upvote and comment, and one way I do this is by searching the New Posts, for users I dont already follow, and searching for topics that look interesting and well written. I comment, upvote, resteem and follow. Grow the list you are following so as to grow your exposure to being followed.