CV with no experience: UK structure and examples

Complete first CVs to copy the shape of

Each of these is a whole CV built without a paid job in the field, with the reasons each line is there: the CV for a 16-year-old uses school jobs, volunteering and work experience week; the student CV uses holiday jobs and university activities; the care assistant CV with no experience uses caring for a relative; and the teaching assistant CV with no experience uses volunteering with children.

Open the one closest to you in the editor, replace the details with your own, and keep only the lines your own experience can support. Each also has a matching cover letter written by the same applicant: the first job letter, the part-time job letter, and the care and teaching assistant letters with no experience.

Make small examples specific

Specific does not have to mean dramatic. Explain who or what you supported, the task you completed and how you knew it was successful. Details such as five team members, a weekly session or an accurate stock count make the activity easier to understand.

Avoid inflating responsibility. If you observed transactions during work experience, say so; if you completed supervised sales, state that distinction. Credible modest evidence is stronger than a claim you cannot defend.

Find evidence outside a job title

Read the vacancy and list the behaviours it needs: perhaps punctuality, customer care, accurate records, teamwork or digital confidence. For each one, ask when you have done something similar. Organising travel for a club, explaining a task to a classmate or tracking stock at a school stall can be evidence when the description stays proportionate.

Use a simple evidence table while drafting: requirement, situation, your action, result. Choose the clearest two or three examples rather than filling the CV with every hobby. The school-leaver template demonstrates how education and short experience can work together.

Adverts use “experience” loosely, so read what each line actually asks for. In the NHS apprenticeship adverts we studied, some experience lines were skills, such as keyboard work or managing your time, and one advert accepted volunteering instead of a job.

• Coursework, dissertations and group projects.
• Volunteering, fundraising and community events.
• Clubs, sport, awards and positions of responsibility.
• Caring, household organisation and informal work where appropriate.
• Self-directed technical, creative or practical projects.

Put the strongest section first

After contact details and a short targeted profile, place education near the top if it is your strongest evidence. Include qualifications, institution and dates. Add relevant modules, assignments or achievements, but avoid long subject lists that do not help the application. The school-leaver template shows one complete order: profile, education, experience, skills, then interests and achievements.

You can use a skills section with evidence beneath each heading, followed by a compact experience timeline. Alternatively, use project and volunteering sections. Clear labels let the reader understand the source of the evidence; do not present a course exercise as client work.

• Use achieved grades; label predicted grades clearly.
• Name the project output and your individual contribution.
• Include dates so the timeline makes sense.
• Keep contact information current and professional.

Before you send it

A first CV is ready to send once these four checks are done; nothing in the next section needs to happen first.

• Check whether the vacancy uses an application form instead of a CV.
• Put the examples that fit this job first in your profile and each section.
• Proofread grades, dates, names and contact details.
• If the employer asks for referees, ask your teacher, supervisor or club leader first, then give their details.

Later: add evidence for your next application

Send your CV now with what you have. If it still lacks something the job needs, take a small practical step for the next application rather than adding vague claims: ask about a short placement, volunteer regularly, finish a relevant project or help a community group with a defined task. Pick something that ends with a thing you can point to, such as a finished project or an event you helped run, or with someone who can give you a reference.

Keep records as you go: dates, tasks, numbers, feedback and links to public work. Update the CV after each experience while the details are fresh.