How to write a CV with no experience

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.

• 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.

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.

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.

Build useful evidence

If the CV still lacks an essential requirement, take a small practical step rather than adding vague claims. Ask about a short placement, volunteer regularly, complete a relevant project or help a community group with a defined task. Choose activity that lets you produce an output or receive 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. The National Careers Service notes that skills can be developed through courses, apprenticeships and learning on the job.

• Get permission before naming a referee or sharing their details.
• Check whether the vacancy uses an application form instead of a CV.
• Tailor the profile and evidence order for each role.
• Proofread grades, dates, names and contact details before sending.