STUDENT CAREER GUIDES
How to write a student CV with no work experience
Build your first student CV using university projects, volunteering and transferable skills, with practical examples and a simple structure.
You do not need to invent a job history to write a useful CV. You need to show what you can already do, where you have done it and how that relates to the role you want. A course project, society responsibility or regular commitment can give you something specific to discuss.
Start with the job, not a blank template
Choose one real advert. Note the tasks, essential requirements and working hours. For a shop assistant role, you might need to explain how you help people, organise tasks and work reliably with others. For a junior technical role, your strongest evidence might be a project and the tools you used.
Make a short evidence list before writing. Put the employer’s requirement on one side and a real example from your life on the other. If you cannot support a claim, leave it out or describe it as something you are learning.
A simple structure for your first CV
- Contact details: your name and reliable contact information. Follow any anonymised-application instructions instead if the employer provides them.
- Short introduction: what you study, the role you are seeking and two relevant strengths you can demonstrate.
- Education: your course, institution and dates, with selected relevant modules or projects.
- Projects and experience: placements, volunteering, societies or other responsibilities. Label them accurately.
- Relevant skills: tools, languages or practical abilities, supported by examples.
Turn a project into evidence
Vague: “Good teamwork and communication skills.”
More useful: “Worked with three classmates on a course presentation, coordinated our rehearsal and explained the research findings to the class.”
This is an illustrative example, not wording to copy as your own experience. Replace it with your actual contribution. Add an outcome if you know it; do not invent grades, percentages or impressive-sounding results.
What if you have no volunteering or society experience?
Begin with coursework and independent learning. Explain a problem you tackled, the steps you took and what you produced. You can also use relevant personal projects, but avoid sharing private information about other people. A smaller genuine example is better than a responsibility you never held.
Check before sending
- Does the opening explain why you fit this particular role?
- Can you discuss every skill and example in an interview?
- Are dates, spelling and contact details correct?
- Have you followed the employer’s file-format and application instructions?
A clear first CV gives an employer evidence to assess. It cannot guarantee an interview, but it should make your relevant experience easier to find.