How to write a graduate CV when you have little work experience

Everyone starts with a short CV. Recruiters hiring graduates know this and look for evidence of ability and effort, wherever it comes from.

The layout

One page, one column, in this order:

1. Name and contact details, with a professional email address.
2. Education.
3. Experience, including part-time work, volunteering and projects.
4. Activities and positions of responsibility.
5. Skills and languages.

Education does more work

• Degree, university, dates and grade or expected grade.
• Relevant modules, especially quantitative or role-related ones.
• Thesis or major project in one line, with the method and finding.
• Scholarships and prizes.

Turn ordinary experience into evidence

Part-time jobs show reliability, customer contact and working under pressure. Describe them with numbers.

• "Served up to 200 customers per shift in a busy café; trained four new staff."
• "Tutored three secondary-school students in maths weekly; all improved by at least one grade."
• "Treasurer of the student investment society; managed a budget of €4,000 and grew membership from 60 to 110."

Projects count

A university or personal project is experience if you describe what you did and what came of it.

• "Built a model in Excel to forecast demand for a local bakery as a course project; reduced forecast error from 18% to 9%."

Skills

List tools you can use (Excel, Python, a design tool), languages with level, and relevant certificates. Leave out soft skills as a list; show them in the bullets.

What to leave out

• A photo (in the UK, Ireland and the US), date of birth and marital status.
• School details beyond final results, once you have a degree.
• "References available on request".

Tailor it

Mirror the wording of the advert for the requirements you meet. See how CV screening works.