When you have little work history, a graduate CV has to do something specific: show potential and relevance rather than a long track record. Employers hiring graduates know you are early in your career — they are not expecting fifteen years of experience. What they are looking for is evidence that you can do the job, learn quickly, and bring the right attitude. The good news is that you almost certainly have more to work with than you think; it is usually a presentation problem, not an experience problem.
What graduate employers actually want
For entry-level roles, employers weight potential and transferable evidence heavily: communication, teamwork, problem-solving, reliability, and a genuine interest in the field. They want proof, not adjectives. A CV that says 'hardworking team player' is weaker than one that shows you coordinated a five-person group project to a deadline. Your job is to find the evidence and put it where it will be read.
Lead with a short, targeted summary
Open with two or three lines stating what you are aiming for and the relevant strengths you bring. Tailor it to the role — a summary aimed at a marketing scheme should read differently from one aimed at an analyst role. Avoid generic filler; a specific, confident opening tells the reader you know what you want and why you fit.
Make your education work harder
With limited employment history, education can sit near the top and carry more weight. Do not just list your degree and grade. Pull out the parts that are relevant to the role: modules that match the job, your dissertation or major project, and any results worth highlighting. If you led a group project, ran a lab, or presented findings, that is evidence of exactly the skills employers want.
Use everything you have
Relevant experience does not only mean graduate-scheme jobs. Draw on:
- Part-time and holiday jobs — retail and hospitality prove reliability, customer handling and working under pressure
- Volunteering and societies — especially any role with responsibility, organising or leadership
- University projects, competitions and hackathons
- Placements, internships and work experience, however short
- Self-directed work — a blog, a portfolio, an online course you completed
None of this is padding when framed for relevance. A part-time supermarket job that taught you to stay calm with difficult customers is genuine evidence for any people-facing role.
Turn activities into evidence — outcomes, not duties
The most common graduate-CV mistake is listing what you were supposed to do rather than what you achieved. 'Worked on the committee' says little; 'Organised three events for the 60-member society, growing attendance across the year' shows initiative and results. For every entry, ask: what did I actually do, and what changed because I did it? Even modest outcomes read far stronger than vague duties.
A skills section — used well
A short skills section is useful for a graduate CV, but keep it honest and specific. List genuine competencies relevant to the role — tools, languages, technical skills — rather than a wall of soft-skill clichés. Where you can, evidence the important ones in your experience section rather than just asserting them in a list.
Format and length
One page is usually right for a graduate with little experience; do not stretch to two just to fill space. Keep it clean, single-column and ATS-safe, with standard headings and a legible font. Put your strongest, most relevant material on the first half of the page, where it will actually be read.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Apologising for a lack of experience instead of showing relevant evidence
- Listing duties instead of outcomes
- A generic summary that could belong to anyone
- Padding to two pages with irrelevant detail
- Long lists of soft skills with nothing to back them up
Turn a part-time job into evidence — an example
Take a supermarket checkout role. Weak: 'Worked on tills and served customers.' Stronger: 'Handled high customer volumes during peak trading, resolved complaints calmly, and trained two new starters on the till system.' Same job — but now it evidences reliability, composure under pressure and a flash of leadership, all of which transfer to a graduate role. Do this with every entry: find the moment that shows a skill the employer wants, and make it visible.
Common questions
How do I write a CV with no work experience?
Lead with a targeted summary, let your education carry more weight, and draw evidence from part-time jobs, volunteering, societies and university projects — framing each as an outcome rather than a duty. Focus on relevance to the specific role.
How long should a graduate CV be?
Usually one page. With limited experience, a focused single page reads better than a padded two-pager. Keep the strongest, most relevant material in the top half.
What should a graduate put instead of work experience?
Relevant modules and projects, your dissertation, volunteering, society roles, part-time jobs, placements and self-directed work — anything that evidences the skills the role needs, written as achievements with clear outcomes.