Writing a CV when you have no work experience
Use projects, coursework, societies and volunteering to show employers what you can do, even before your first job.
Start with what you have
Most students and fresh graduates have more to show than they think. A final-year project, a society role, a summer of tutoring or a family business you helped in all show skills employers want: getting things done, working with people and learning quickly.
The trick is to describe them the way you would describe a job: what you were responsible for, what you did, and what happened as a result.
Put education first
Without a work history, your degree is your strongest section, so place it straight after your profile.
- Degree, institution and years, for example BS Computer Science, 2021 to 2025.
- Your CGPA if it is 3.0 or above, or your percentage if it is strong.
- Your final-year project, with one line about what it did.
- Two or three courses that relate to the job.
- Scholarships, merit positions or dean's list mentions.
Turn projects into evidence
Projects are the closest thing to work experience you have. For each one:
- Name the problem you worked on.
- Say what you built, wrote, analysed or organised.
- Name the tools: Excel, Python, AutoCAD, Canva, SPSS, whatever you used.
- Add one number if you can: users, records, marks, hours saved, people reached.
For example: "Built a stock-tracking sheet in Excel for a family shop, cutting the weekly stock count from three hours to one."
Count everything that is real
These all belong on a first CV:
- Internships, even short or unpaid ones.
- Tutoring, teaching assistant and lab assistant roles.
- Freelance work, or design and writing work done for others.
- Society and event roles: treasurer, organiser, team lead.
- Volunteering with NGOs, blood drives or community events.
- Online courses and certificates that relate to the role.
Put paid or job-like work under Experience, and the rest under Activities or Volunteering.
Write a profile that points forward
Your profile is two to four sentences: what you studied, what you are good at, and the role you want. For example: "Business graduate with internship experience in sales support. Comfortable with Excel and customer calls, and keen to start in a graduate trainee role in banking."
Keep it to one page
Recruiters skim. Put your strongest material first and cut anything that repeats. One full, focused page beats two thin ones. The Clarity and Vector templates are designed for exactly this kind of CV, with education and projects up front.