How to Write a CV With No Work Experience

Writing a CV with no work experience feels impossible until you realise that employers hiring students, school leavers and graduates are not looking for a career history. They want evidence that you are reliable, can learn quickly and get on with people. You already have that evidence; it just comes from school, university, volunteering, hobbies and everyday responsibilities rather than from a job title. This guide shows you how to find it and present it.

What employers look for in a first CV

When someone recruits for an entry-level role, an apprenticeship, an internship or a graduate scheme, they usually want to know:

• Can you turn up on time and follow through? Reliability, attendance, finishing what you start.
• Can you work with others? Team projects, sports, clubs, helping customers or family.
• Can you communicate? Presentations, writing, dealing with the public.
• Are you motivated for this kind of work? Relevant subjects, interests, projects or courses.
• Do you have the basics? Qualifications, digital skills, languages, a driving licence if needed.

Every section of your CV should help answer one of these questions.

The best structure for a CV with no experience

Use a one-page, reverse-chronological layout, but put your strongest material first. For most career starters that means education.

1. Name and contact details: phone, email, town, LinkedIn if you have one
2. Personal statement: three or four lines about who you are and what you want
3. Education: your qualifications, with relevant modules, projects and grades
4. Experience: part-time work, volunteering, placements, work experience, responsibilities
5. Skills: practical and digital skills, languages
6. Achievements and interests: awards, sports, societies, hobbies that show something

For more on layouts and length, see CV format and layout. To see a finished example, look at our student CV example.

Write a personal statement that looks forward

With no job history to summarise, your personal statement should focus on what you are studying or have just finished, what you are good at, and what you want next.

School leaver example:

Reliable and organised school leaver with A levels in Business, English and Psychology, predicted BBC. Experienced in serving customers through a Saturday job at a local bakery and in organising the school's charity bake sale, which raised £650. Looking for a business administration apprenticeship starting in September.

Graduate example:

Recent BSc Psychology graduate (2:1, University College Dublin) with strong research and data skills from a dissertation using SPSS to analyse survey data from 200 participants. Two years' part-time retail experience alongside study. Seeking a graduate role in HR or people analytics.

Our guide to the CV personal statement has more formulas and examples.

Make your education section work harder

When education is your main asset, give it detail. Instead of a single line, add the elements that show skills relevant to the job.

Before:

BA History, University of Leeds, 2023 to 2026

After:

BA (Hons) History, University of Leeds, 2023 to 2026. Expected grade: 2:1.

Dissertation: the impact of the 1930s housing reforms on Leeds slums, using archive sources and census data.

Relevant modules: Research Methods, Digital History, Public History.

Presented findings to a group of 40 at the department's undergraduate conference.

What to include, depending on your level:

• University: degree, institution, dates, expected or final grade, dissertation title, relevant modules, notable projects.
• Sixth form or college: A levels, BTECs or T levels with grades or predicted grades.
• Ireland: Leaving Certificate subjects and points, or your expected points; PLC courses.
• GCSEs or Junior Cycle: a summary line is enough, for example "9 GCSEs grades 9 to 5, including English and Maths".

Experience you already have (but may not count)

"Experience" on a CV does not have to mean a paid, full-time job. Any of the following count, provided you describe what you did and what you achieved.

Describe it like a job

Give each item a title, organisation and dates, then two or three bullet points with action verbs.

Before:

Volunteered at a charity shop.

After:

Volunteer Shop Assistant, British Heart Foundation, Cardiff, June 2025 to present

Serve customers and handle cash and card payments on Saturday shifts.

Sort and price around 100 donated items each week.

Redesigned the window display, which the manager kept as the seasonal template.

Heading this section "Experience" rather than "Work experience" lets you include unpaid roles alongside paid ones without having to explain the difference.

Skills: be specific and honest

Career starters often list vague qualities like "hard-working" or "good communicator". Recruiters read these on almost every CV. Choose concrete skills instead, and back up soft skills with examples elsewhere on the page.

• Digital: Microsoft Excel (formulas, charts), Google Workspace, Canva, basic HTML, social media scheduling tools.
• Practical: till operation, food hygiene Level 2, first aid certificate, full UK or Irish driving licence.
• Languages: give a level, for example "Spanish: B1" or "Polish: native".

Our guide to skills for a CV explains hard and soft skills and the CEFR language levels.

Interests that say something

An interests section is optional, but on a first CV it can add personality and evidence. Keep it to one or two lines and make each item specific.

• Weak: "Football, music, going out with friends."
• Better: "Play in a Sunday league football team and help organise fixtures. Teach myself guitar and play at local open-mic nights."

What about references?

You do not need to list referees on your CV or write "References available on request". When an employer wants references, they will ask. For a first job, a teacher, tutor, lecturer, volunteer coordinator or part-time manager can act as a referee. Ask them first, tell them which roles you are applying for and keep their contact details ready so you can reply quickly when the time comes.

Adapting your CV to the type of opportunity

Entry-level opportunities differ, and recruiters for each look for slightly different things. Adjust the emphasis of your CV accordingly.

Apprenticeships

Employers want to see a genuine interest in the trade or profession and the basics in place. Highlight your English and Maths results, any practical subjects or projects, hands-on hobbies (fixing bikes, building computers, cooking), and reliability shown through part-time work or school attendance.

Internships and placements

Show the relevant parts of your course: modules, projects, software you have used and any society or volunteering role connected to the field. A short projects section can be especially useful for technical, scientific and creative internships.

Graduate schemes

Large graduate recruiters often use online application forms and screening tests, but they still ask for a CV. They look for your degree and expected grade, evidence of the competencies they list (such as teamwork, leadership, analysis), and work experience of any kind. Use their competency words in your bullet points.

Part-time and seasonal jobs

For retail, hospitality and warehouse roles, availability and reliability matter most. Say clearly when you can work, for example "Available evenings and weekends during term, full-time in summer", and mention any customer-facing experience.

Mistakes to avoid on a first CV

• Making it longer than one page. One well-filled page is better than two thin ones.
• Using an unprofessional email address. Create a simple firstname.lastname address.
• Adding a photo, date of birth or full address. None of these are needed in the UK or Ireland.
• Exaggerating. Interviewers will ask about everything on your CV, and they are used to probing first CVs.
• Sending the same CV everywhere. Adapt your personal statement and the order of your experience for each application.
• Skipping the cover letter. With little experience, a short, motivated cover letter can make the difference. See our guide on how to write a cover letter.

Next steps

Pick a clean, simple layout from our CV templates and fill it in using the structure above. Then look at examples for the kind of job you are targeting: entry-level roles such as sales assistant, waiter, cashier or warehouse worker often welcome first-time applicants and show what recruiters in those fields look for.

Before you apply online, check that your CV can be read by recruitment software with our free ATS CV checker. And for the full process of writing each section, read our step-by-step guide on how to write a CV.