Your CV
How to write a CV with no experience: what to put when you’re starting out
A first CV is never empty: it’s just filled with something other than jobs. Education, part-time work, volunteering, projects — chosen and described well, they show an employer exactly what they look for in a beginner.
What employers look for in a beginner
Nobody expects a student, school leaver or new graduate to have years in the job. For a first role, an internship, an apprenticeship or a placement, the employer mainly wonders about three things:
- The basics: the education and skills the role needs from day one.
- Reliability: have you already kept a commitment, a schedule, a responsibility?
- Willingness to learn: what have you done on your own initiative, beyond what was required?
Your CV should answer those three questions with facts. That is also what EURES, the European job mobility portal, advises: list skills, not just job titles, and connect them to what the job asks for.
1. A headline and profile that say what you’re after
With no long work history to lead with, your headline and two or three lines of personal profile do the work: your studies, what you are looking for (internship, apprenticeship, graduate role, summer job) and one or two concrete strengths for this role.
Accounting and Finance student looking for a 12-month placement from September. Six-week work experience at an accountancy practice (data entry, bank reconciliations), treasurer of the student society, confident with spreadsheets.
2. Put your education first
While your experience is short, education goes at the top. Don’t stop at the name of the qualification: add what matters to this employer.
- Modules or subjects related to the role (“corporate accounting”, “networks”, “digital marketing”).
- Projects, a dissertation or a capstone, with the topic and what you produced.
- Grades worth showing: predicted or achieved A-levels, a strong degree classification, or a GPA in the US if it helps you.
- Once at university, school qualifications (GCSEs, high school diploma) shrink to one line.
3. Everything that counts as experience
An “Experience” section isn’t reserved for full-time jobs. Anything you did regularly, with responsibility or a result, belongs there, as long as you label it honestly (“volunteer”, “summer job”, “work experience”).
| Experience | What it can show |
|---|---|
| Internship, placement, work experience week | First contact with the field, real tools and tasks. |
| Saturday job, summer job, part-time retail or hospitality | Reliability, timekeeping, customer service, teamwork. |
| Babysitting, tutoring, coaching younger players | Responsibility, patience, explaining things clearly. |
| Volunteering, charity work, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award | Commitment, organisation, leading a group. |
| School or personal project (website, app, event, video channel) | Technical skills, independence, getting results. |
| Sports team, student council, society committee | Teamwork, persistence, speaking up. |
If you have a lot to say, split it into “Work experience” and “Activities and projects”. If you have little, one “Experience” section is enough. To lay it all out, you can start from our free CV builder.
4. Describe each experience by what you did
A vague line (“summer job in a restaurant”) says nothing. Describe one or two actions, with a verb and, where you can, a sense of scale or a result:
| Instead of | Write |
|---|---|
| Waitress, summer job | Front-of-house in a 60-cover restaurant, two summers running; handled payments and cashing up at closing. |
| Member of a society | Treasurer of the student society: annual budget, reimbursements, accounts presented at the AGM. |
| Group project | Booking website for a sports club, in a team of four: designed the database and the sign-up form. |
The XYZ formula helps you find the wording: what you accomplished, measured by what, by doing what. A number only helps if it is true and you can explain it.
5. Skills and languages: evidence, not adjectives
“Hard-working, motivated, team player” appears on every beginner’s CV and sets nobody apart. Prefer what can be checked:
- Tools and software you have actually used: spreadsheets, accounting software, a programming language, a design tool.
- Languages with a clear level, ideally on the European scale (A1 to C2), and a certificate if you have one.
- Qualities (soft skills) linked to an experience: “attention to detail” is more convincing next to a treasurer role.
- Licences or certificates useful for the role (driving licence, first aid, language certificate).
6. Interests, length and a final check
- Interests: keep the ones that say something (a sport you compete in, an instrument, a personal project); drop “films, travel, reading” with no detail.
- Length: one page (or two sides in the UK at most) is almost always enough when you’re starting out — see how long a CV should be.
- Contact details: a plain email address using your name, not a nickname.
- Proofreading: have someone read your CV. EURES recommends it too: a friend or relative spots typos and sometimes remembers an experience you forgot.
Mistakes to avoid
- Making things up or inflating them: a week of work experience isn’t a “project manager” role. The interviewer will check.
- Leaving gaps unexplained: a gap year, travel or a change of course takes one line.
- Sending the same CV everywhere: even as a beginner, reuse the job ad’s words and lead with what matters to it — see tailoring your CV to a job.
- Padding it out: two well-described experiences beat ten vague lines.
Frequently asked questions
What do I put on a CV if I have no experience?
Your education (modules, projects, dissertation), then anything you did regularly: internships, part-time or summer jobs, babysitting, volunteering, societies, personal projects. For each, say what you did and what it shows.
Should I include part-time or summer jobs?
Yes, especially early on: they show reliability and that you can work in a team or with customers. One line per job, with what you did there, is enough.
Should I put my grades on my CV?
When they help you, yes: A-levels, a strong degree classification, or a GPA in the US. If the employer asks for a minimum, make it easy to find. If they don’t help, you can simply list the qualification.
Should a student CV be one page?
Almost always. One well-filled page tailored to the job reads better than two stretched pages. Our guide on CV length covers the norms in each country.