How To Write A Killer CV When You Have No Experience

We’ve got top tips to help you nail your CV even without any experience. 

If you’re heading out into the world of work after you graduate, you might find writing a CV a little daunting. A recent Student Beans survey showed that 30% of you don’t feel confident applying for jobs. So it’s understandable. Especially when writing your first CV means you probably don’t have much work experience to include. But don’t stress. The point of a CV is to show your potential employer how much you can add to the company. While experience can help, it’s not always a deal breaker. 

From showcasing your achievements, discussing your hobbies and making sure your personal statement is a shining beacon of your brilliance, we’ve got all the tips to help you make sure your CV is fantastic, plus advice from Student Beans’ Head of Talent for boosting your CV. With, or without experience. 

In this article:

• What do I need to include on my CV?
• What about a skills-based CV?
• What to write on a personal profile
• Top tips on writing a CV with no experience

What do I need to include on my CV?

There’s a few elements that make up a CV structure that you should include, including: 

• Contact details
• Personal profile
• Education
• Key skills
• Experience*

*We know, we know, you don’t HAVE the experience. But bear with us. 

What contact details should I put on my CV?

Your contact details should be the first thing a recruiter or employer sees when they pick up your CV. So keep them brief and at the very top of your CV. Make sure you include:

• Name
• Phone number
• Email address

You don’t need to complicate it with any other information, and more commonly, employers would rather have as little information about you personally as possible, so they can remain unbiased. 

As long as you have a current email address and your phone number, then any potential employer can contact you about an interview. 

Personal profile

Your personal profile is exactly what it sounds like; it’s a snapshot of who you are, why you’re applying for this position and what makes you a good candidate for the role. They can be a little tricky to write so we’ve got you covered with tips later on in this article. 

Making your personal profile stand-out is really key, especially if you don’t have as much experience, as it’s the only part of your CV that you can really highlight how well you’d be suited to the role. 

Education

If you haven’t got any experience, then making education a key area of your CV is a great way to stand out. 

You can use this space to highlight the best parts of your degree, including any relevant or high scoring assignments or exams. Pulling out transferable skills can be a breeze when it comes to education. Applying for an analyst job with an English degree? Think about all the times you had to analyse 19th century texts to understand the deeper meaning. It’s all relevant. 

Key skills

Wizard with Excel? Presentation pro? Think about the areas you already have skills in, and make a point of showcasing these. Potential employers will love to see that you’re proactive in advancing your skills and can start to use them from the off-set in a role. 

Top tip: look at the job description and responsibilities you’re applying for. Does it pinpoint any skills you might need to do the job well? 

Experience

So we know that you’re here because you might not have experience and need help with your CV. But experience doesn’t just equal employment. Experience can include:

• Part-time work
• Volunteering
• Work experience
• Clubs/hobbies/interests

You want to be able to show how any life experience can be used for those valuable transferable skills. Highlighting key responsibilities and any achievements will show how these could apply to employment.

What about a skills-based CV?

Another option to explore if you don’t have a lot of experience, is to structure your CV a little differently, and make skills the priority. After your education section, you list your skills and why they’re suitable for the role you’re applying for. 

This could look like:

Skills:

Effective communicator

• Learned how to speak to a range of different customers in my part-time job
• Gained confidence public speaking during my rugby awards ceremony
• Worked in groups for university assignments, often taking a lead role in presenting

What to write on a personal profile on a CV?

Personal profiles are something of an artform. They are there to sum you up as a person and why you, as a person, are so well suited to the job role with the skills you have. All in a paragraph or two. So no pressure, right? 

Nailing your personal profile is a great way to capture the attention of any potential employers or recruiters, as it’s one of the first things they’ll read on your CV anyway. So take your time to make it the best it can be. You should:

• Include industry or job-specific words to describe yourself. If the role requires a lot of public speaking, describing yourself as confident and articulate is a good way to show how you could do the role effectively. We’re here to help if you’re not sure what you’re going to do with your degree.
• Avoid cliche or jargon – it’s easy to call yourself hardworking, but if you don’t show HOW you’re hardworking then it’s meaningless, and employers will see right through it
• Keep it short and sweet. You’ll go into detail further on in your CV so don’t write an essay for your personal profile. 

Top tips on writing a CV with no experience

Now you’ve got an idea of what to include on your CV, it’s time to get writing. But we’ve got some top tips for writing your CV if you have limited experience, so no need to panic. Get ready to get employed. 

Highlight your transferable skills with hobbies and interests

You’d be so surprised how many skills you develop through organised clubs or even your interests. These are called your transferable skills, and they’re crucial to having a fantastic CV. Student Beans’ Head of Talent, Shannon O’Dowd says, “look at the job description to see where you have transferable skills that can match up to the role. This includes shouting about your proudest achievements too”. If you’re the captain of a sports team, you’ve already got leadership skills down. Love to vlog your life in your spare time? Think of all the social media knowledge you have already! If you travelled during your gap year, you’ve already shown that you love to learn new things and have an open mind. 

Reorganise your CV

You don’t need to follow a standard structure of how you think a CV should look, especially if you’re lacking in the experience department. Shannon says, “adding flair to your CV can really help it stand out, especially in creative roles, so let your personality shine through your application”.

Make your CV work for you and highlight the areas that you’re proud of. So this could mean adding your hobbies to the top of your CV, really working on your personal profile and shouting about your fantastic education achievements. 

Make sure your personal statement shines

If you don’t have much experience to show on your CV, attaching a personal statement means you can show off all of your achievements in a way that reflects you in the best possible light. Shannon says “bring your personality to your personal statement, employers read hundreds of these so your tone and style can have a big impact on whether your statement makes a lasting impression”.

Aim for no more than one page, as you want the potential employer to stay engaged with your words. Use your personal statement to elaborate on your CV especially with how your education, hobbies and skills help make you a great candidate for the role you’re applying for. Shannon adds, “and don’t forget to check your spelling and grammar! It seems simple and obvious but it’s so often overlooked!”

Think about trying to gain more experience

If you’re finding it really hard to pull out any kind of experience you can use, then why not try and build on your experience before applying for jobs? 

Volunteer work is a great way to build on your experience and shows willingness to step out of your comfort zone too. Charity jobs, animal shelters, food banks all rely on volunteers to help them out. Even music festivals can be a great way to get some experience if you apply to be a steward, although these can be competitive! 

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