CV for a 16-year-old: a complete UK example

At 16 your CV has one page and three parts that matter: your school and predicted GCSE grades, anything you have done that shows you are reliable and good with people, and when you can work. School jobs, volunteering, clubs and work experience week all count. This example is for a Year 11 pupil after a Saturday job in a shop.

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CV for a 16-year-old: a complete UK example: fictional example, page 1. Full text is available below.

Read the example as text

Amelia Hughes

Year 11 student looking for a Saturday job

Stockport · 07700 900141 · amelia.hughes@example.com

Profile

Year 11 student at Hollins Vale School, predicted grades 5 to 7 in nine GCSEs including English and maths. Friendly and reliable: helps run the school tuck shop twice a week and volunteers on Saturday mornings at a charity shop, serving customers at the till. Looking for a Saturday or after-school sales assistant job, with more hours in the school holidays.

Education

GCSEs, exams in May and June 2027, Hollins Vale School, Stockport 2022–present

Predicted grades: English Language 6, Mathematics 6, Combined Science 6-6, Business 7, Geography 6, Spanish 5, Art 6, English Literature 5

Experience

Volunteer, Shop Floor, Cedar Hospice Charity Shop, Stockport March 2026–present

Sort and price donated clothes and books on Saturday mornings, three hours a week.

Serve customers at the till with a volunteer supervisor, including card payments and Gift Aid forms.

Steam and hang clothes and change the window display each month.

Tuck Shop Helper, Hollins Vale School September 2025–present

Take orders and cash at break twice a week with two other students, and count the float at the end.

Restock the shelves and tell the teacher in charge when items run low.

Work Experience Week, Pennine Garden Centre, Stockport June 2026

Watered and priced plants, faced up shelves and helped customers find products.

Skills

Friendly, clear conversation with customers of all ages

Cash and card payments, counting a float

Turning up on time: no missed charity shop shifts since March

Microsoft Word, Google Docs and simple spreadsheets

Additional information

Captain of the under-16 team at Heaton Moor Netball Club. Available Saturdays and weekdays after 4pm; more hours in school holidays.

Fictional example for a 16-year-old. Every person and employer in it is invented. Replace every detail with your own.

What shops look for, and where this CV shows it

The job asks you to	Where this CV shows it
Answer customer questions about products	Helping charity shop customers and garden centre visitors find what they want
Serve customers at tills and handle returned goods and refunds	Till shifts with a supervisor at the charity shop, and cash at the tuck shop
Unpack deliveries, stock shelves and arrange displays	Pricing donations, the monthly window display and restocking the tuck shop
Be thorough and pay attention to detail	Counting the tuck shop float after every break
Work well with others	Running the tuck shop with two other students, and captaining a netball team
Maths knowledge	Predicted grade 6 in GCSE maths, and handling cash

The left column follows the National Careers Service job profile for a sales assistant, the job most 16-year-olds apply for first. For a café, kitchen or babysitting job, swap in the tasks from that job's advert.

Inside this example

Profile: 61 words here
Education: 36 words here
Experience: 125 words here
Skills: 37 words here
Additional information: 21 words here

How to write yours

Put school first

At 16 your education is your main qualification. Name your school, the year your exams are, and your predicted grades, labelled as predicted. Put English and maths first.

School jobs and volunteering are experience

A tuck shop rota, a charity shop shift, helping at a club or a week of work experience each get an entry like a job: where, when and two or three things you did.

Say when you can work

Saturday and after-school jobs are filled around rotas. One line saying which days and hours you can do answers the first question a manager has.

Show you turn up

Reliability is what employers of 16-year-olds worry about most. A line such as “no missed shifts since March” or a weekly club you have kept up says it better than “hard-working”.

Rules and checks for a first job at 16

Predicted grades. Write “predicted” beside each grade until results day in August, then update the CV with your real results.
Education or training until 18. In England you must stay in at least part-time education or training until you are 18 (GOV.UK, checked 9 October 2026), so at 16 you are usually after a part-time, weekend or holiday job. If you know what you are doing next September, say so in your profile.
Age-restricted goods. The National Careers Service says sales assistants need to be over 18 to sell alcohol and other restricted goods, so a shop may give you other tasks when those come through the till.
National Insurance number. You usually get a letter with it shortly before your 16th birthday (GOV.UK, checked 9 October 2026). The employer asks for it when you start; it does not go on your CV.
References. With no employer yet, a teacher, tutor, coach or volunteer supervisor can be your referee. Ask them first. You do not need their details on the CV.

Keep it to one page, and leave out your date of birth and photo: “Year 11 student” tells an employer your stage without the personal details UK CVs leave out.

Help with your next edit

CV with No Experience: UK Structure and Examples Education on a CV: UK Qualifications and Examples CV Personal Statement Examples: 15 UK Examples to Adapt Personal Details on a UK CV: Photo and References