6 min read
How to write a CV with no experience
What to put when you haven't worked yet: education, internships, projects and everything that proves you can get things done.
The shift: from jobs to proof
A recruiter reading a CV from someone without experience doesn't expect a career history. They look for signals: that you learn fast, that you're reliable and that you have a useful foundation for the job. Your CV has to gather proof of those three things.
That proof lives in places you might not call “experience”: internships, class projects, volunteering, summer jobs, club roles, competitive sports or personal projects.
Recommended structure
Contact and headline, summary, education, experience and skills form the recommended structure.
- 1Contact and headline: “Business Administration Graduate” or “Culinary Arts Graduate” works better than “Student”.
- 2Summary: 2–3 lines on what you offer and what you're looking for.
- 3Education: at the top, with the best of it (dissertation, degree classification, modules related to the job).
- 4Experience, internships and projects: anything where you had real responsibilities.
- 5Skills and languages: concrete tools and official certificates.
What to include instead of work experience
Describe it just like a job: what you did and what you achieved.
Weak
Volunteer at the student association.
Strong
Organised, with 4 others, a career fair with 15 companies and 300+ attendees; managed the budget and sponsors.
Weak
Senior thesis on marketing.
Strong
Senior thesis: digital marketing plan for a local winery, with competitor analysis and a social campaign proposal (grade: A).
- Internships, paid or academic.
- Class projects with an outcome (a website, a study, an event).
- Seasonal jobs: summer work, holiday retail, camp counselor.
- Volunteering and roles in clubs or associations.
- Personal projects: a blog, an app, a channel, a small online shop.
The summary: your best ally
Without a track record, the summary is where you connect your education to the job. Be specific and avoid empty phrases.
Weak
Motivated young person eager to work and learn.
Strong
Accounting graduate with an internship in bookkeeping and advanced Excel. Looking for my first role in a finance team where I can keep learning.
Common mistakes
Padding with short courses, leaving the experience section empty, forgetting languages and multi-page CVs cause issues.
- Padding with short courses unrelated to the job.
- Leaving the experience section empty or writing “No experience”.
- Forgetting languages or not giving your real level.
- A two-page CV: one well-used page is enough.
Put this guide into practice
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