How to Write a CV With No Experience

A first CV feels impossible because the job ads all ask for experience and you have none to list. But for entry-level roles, the reader is not expecting a long work history. They are asking a simpler question: can this person show up, learn quickly, and handle the basics? Your CV has to answer that with evidence — and evidence does not only come from paid jobs.

Think about everything you have already been trusted with — coursework, a part-time shift, a volunteer rota, a school team, a family responsibility, a personal project. Each of those is material. Describe it the way employers read it: what you did, where, when, and what came of it.

Start with the reader, not with yourself

Before writing, picture who reads it: a hiring manager with a pile of applications and about twenty seconds per CV. They scan for three things — what role you want, whether you are reachable, and whether anything suggests you can do the work. If your CV makes them hunt for those answers, it goes in the no pile.

That is why the order matters. Name and contact details first, then a short profile, then the strongest evidence you have, whatever that is. Keep the whole thing to one page — a one-page CV from someone starting out looks focused, while a two-page one with stretched spacing looks padded.

Write a profile that names something real

The profile is three or four lines at the top: who you are, what you are aiming at, and one or two strengths backed by something you actually did. The most common mistake is a profile that could belong to anyone. Every applicant writes that. It tells the reader nothing.

Compare it with this: “School leaver interested in customer service work. Spent a year helping at a community food bank on Saturdays — taking deliveries, sorting stock, and talking to visitors. Calm with people, reliable on a rota, and used to early starts.” That version names a real place, real tasks, and real habits. Write yours the same way. If you cannot name anything yet, go and do something small first — a week of volunteering gives you more to write about than a month of rewriting the same empty profile.

Education: list it, then add what you actually did

List your most recent education first — school or college, dates, qualifications, and grades where they are decent. Under each entry, add one or two lines about related work: a group project you organised, a presentation you gave, or a short course such as first aid or food hygiene, with the provider and date.

If your grades are not your strong point, keep this section short and move on — nobody hires on grades alone for a first job. If you are still studying, say so with an expected finish date, for example “Currently studying — expected June 2027”.

Turn everyday life into experience

Most first-time CV writers leave this section empty. You do not need a job title to have experience. You need a heading that fits what you did — “Experience”, “Volunteering and projects”, or “Other experience” — and then short entries written the same way a job would be written.

• Volunteering. “Community food bank, Saturdays, 2024–25. Received deliveries, sorted and shelved stock, and helped visitors find what they needed. Worked a regular rota and covered extra shifts at short notice.”
• School and college. “Organised the end-of-year fair stall for my tutor group: planned the rota, handled the money tin, and raised £180 for the school fund.”
• Family and community. “Look after my younger brother after school three days a week, including homework and meals. It means managing time carefully around my own study.”
• Personal projects. “Built a small website for a local football club with fixtures and results, updated weekly through the season.”

Notice the pattern: what you did, where, when, and what it shows. One strong entry beats five vague ones. If you have nothing to put here, go and get one thing — a month of volunteering gives you a real entry and a referee.

Skills: show them, do not just list them

A long list of single-word skills is the weakest part of most first CVs, because anyone can type those words. Skills land when they are attached to evidence. If you include a skills section, keep it to things you can prove — a language, a software tool, a certificate — and name the level honestly.

A layout you can copy

Here is the structure that works for most first CVs: one page, clear headings, plenty of white space, no photo, no date of birth, no full home address — just your name, a professional email address, a phone number, and your town or city.

1. Contact details. Name, email, phone, town or city.
2. Profile. Three or four lines, naming the role you want and one real thing you have done.
3. Education. Most recent first, with one or two lines of relevant work under each entry.
4. Experience, volunteering, and projects. Short entries, each with what you did, where, when, and what it shows.
5. Skills and certificates. Only things you can prove, with honest levels.
6. Interests (optional, two lines). Only if they add something — coaching a youth team says more than “reading and music”.
7. References available on request. One line. Do not list referees’ contact details on the CV itself.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Padding. Wide margins and huge fonts do not make a CV longer — they make it look empty. One honest page is better.
• Typos and sloppy formatting. Read it aloud, then ask someone else to read it. Check every date.
• Lying about grades, dates, or jobs. Background checks catch this. Be honest about gaps and weak spots.
• One CV for every job. Change the profile and the order of entries for each role.
• Weird email addresses and unprofessional file names. Use a simple email address; save the file as Firstname-Lastname-CV.pdf.

Before you send it: the five-minute check

Print it or view it as a PDF. Does the role you want appear in the first three lines? Can a stranger tell, in twenty seconds, what you can do? Are the dates consistent and the spelling correct? Does it fit on one page? If the answer to all four is yes, send it. A CV is not a life story — it is a short, honest argument that you are worth a conversation.

Questions people ask

Should I include a photo? No — in the UK and the US, photos are not expected, and they say nothing about your ability to do the job.

What if I have literally no experience at all? Then your first step is not the CV — it is getting one thing to write about. A few weeks of volunteering or a short course gives you a real entry and a referee.

How long should a first CV be? One page. A single focused page respects the reader's time and makes you look organised.

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