What goes on a CV for a first job?

Education first with the final project spelled out, then placements, summer jobs, volunteering, coursework projects and freelance work — written with the same achievement-and-numbers formula as paid roles.

Does volunteering count as experience?

Yes, and it belongs inside the experience block with dates, organisation and result. Recruiters assess whether you've held real responsibility, not whether you were paid for it.

Is one short page better than two?

Yes. A well-used single page with detailed education, evidenced skills and a concrete statement of intent convinces more than two pages padded with afternoon courses and generic hobbies.

CV with no experience: what to include

The essentials in 30 seconds

01Education first, with the final project spelled out.
02Volunteering and personal projects count as experience.
03One concrete proof for every skill you claim.

Change the order

Move education to the top and detail your final project, relevant modules and your grade if it's strong. Experience comes after, even if it's only a placement.

Everything counts as experience

Placements, summer jobs, volunteering, coursework projects, societies and freelance work. Describe them with the same achievement-and-numbers formula as a job.

Skills you can prove

No generic lists: give each skill a proof point. “Advanced Excel: automated inventory tracking for a 200-member society using pivot tables.”

A summary about intent

Three lines: what you studied, what you can do and what you're looking for. This is where concrete motivation makes up for a short track record.

Don't invent anything

A made-up role collapses at the first technical interview or reference check. A short, honest, well-written CV beats it every time.

What replaces experience when there isn't any

A first CV doesn't compete on track record: it competes on evidence. The question it answers isn't “where have you worked?” but “what have you already done that resembles what I need?”. By that standard, placements, summer jobs, volunteering, your final project, a university society and freelance work all count as experience — and they're written like a job: dates, organisation, responsibility, result.

The structure changes order, not parts. Education moves to the top with the final project spelled out, the modules that connect to the role, and your grade only if it's strong; then experience, even if it's two placements; and finally evidenced skills and languages.

Course placements and internships, with tasks and outcome.
Summer and weekend jobs, even outside the sector.
Volunteering with dates, organisation and a concrete responsibility.
Coursework or personal projects: what you built and for whom.
Positions in societies, clubs or sports teams.

Skills with proof, not lists of adjectives

A skills list with no proof adds nothing, because every candidate writes the same one. The rule is one proof per skill, on the same line: what you can do and where you showed it. “Advanced Excel: automated membership-fee tracking for a 200-member society using pivot tables” is verifiable; “Advanced Excel” isn't.

Soft skills work the same way. Instead of “teamwork”, write “coordinated six volunteers at a 300-attendee event”. A fact always beats an adjective.

The statement of intent and the letter beside it

On a CV with no experience the statement does a different job: it says what you studied, what you can do with it and which role you want — three lines, no promises about your character. It's the one place where concrete, credible intent compensates for a short history.

For this profile the cover letter genuinely pays off, because it's where you justify interest in that particular employer and explain why your recent training fits what they've just posted. Two well-aimed paragraphs beat candidates who only attach the file.

What never to do

Inventing a role or stretching a placement collapses at the first technical interview or reference check, and what you lose there isn't one offer: it's your credibility. Padding the page with afternoon courses, generic hobbies or “references available on request” doesn't work either — it takes the space your real evidence needs.

Check this before you send it

Education comes first, with the final project described in two lines.
Everything you've done (placements, volunteering, projects) is dated.
Every skill carries its proof on the same line.
The statement says what you want, not what you're like.
Nothing is invented and no date is stretched.
One page, well used, with no padding.

Mistakes that cost you the interview

Leaving the page half empty

A CV that's short through lack of content reads as indifference: volunteering, projects and courses with hours fill the page with honest material.

Lists of adjectives

“Reliable, proactive, keen to learn” appears on half of all CVs and levels you with every other candidate.

Hiding the jobs that “don't count”

A summer in a customer-facing role proves punctuality, manner and stamina — exactly what a first employer is looking for.

Stretching dates or inventing roles

Any check exposes it and turns a no-experience CV, which is normal, into a trust problem.

Frequently asked

Questions we get asked most

What goes on a CV for a first job?: Education first with the final project spelled out, then placements, summer jobs, volunteering, coursework projects and freelance work — written with the same achievement-and-numbers formula as paid roles.
Does volunteering count as experience?: Yes, and it belongs inside the experience block with dates, organisation and result. Recruiters assess whether you've held real responsibility, not whether you were paid for it.
Is one short page better than two?: Yes. A well-used single page with detailed education, evidenced skills and a concrete statement of intent convinces more than two pages padded with afternoon courses and generic hobbies.