CV for your first job: how to get interviews with no experience

The paradox of the first job: you need experience to get hired, but you need to be hired to gain experience. The good news is that recruiters who hire junior candidates know this — and they look for other signals beyond professional experience. This guide shows you what they're looking for and how to present it.

The CV order changes when you have no experience

In a standard CV, work experience comes before education. For your first job, reverse this order:

1. Personal details and contact
2. Professional summary (adapted)
3. Education (with relevant details)
4. Projects and academic work
5. Experience (internships, part-time, volunteering)
6. Technical skills
7. Certifications and additional training

Education: go beyond the degree

Don't just write "BSc in [field], [University], 2024". Expand with:

• Final grade — If it's a 2:1 or above, always include it
• Relevant modules — List the 4 to 6 most pertinent courses for the role
• Dissertation or final project — Describe the topic and what you developed in 2 lines
• Awards and distinctions — Academic merit, scholarships, honours

Academic projects: your hidden portfolio

A well-presented coursework project is equivalent to professional experience for junior recruiters. For each relevant project include:

• Name and context (module, group project, etc.)
• The problem you solved and how
• The technologies or methodologies used
• The outcome (grade, impact, public presentation)

If the project is available online (GitHub, portfolio, report), include the link.

Internships: don't underestimate them

A 3-month placement is real experience. Treat it exactly like a professional position: company, dates, job title and bullet points with what you did and learnt. If you achieved any measurable result — even a small one — include it.

Volunteering and extracurricular activities

Recruiters value candidates who did more than the minimum required. Activities that show character and initiative:

• Volunteering with charities or NGOs
• Roles in student unions or societies (president, treasurer, etc.)
• Organising academic events
• Tutoring or mentoring other students
• Participation in competitions (hackathons, olympiads, business case competitions)

Soft skills: show, don't tell

Don't write "good communication skills" or "team player" — these are phrases everyone puts and no one believes. Instead, demonstrate them through the examples you've already included:

• Leadership → "Coordinated a team of 5 people on project X"
• Communication → "Presented results to a panel of professors and partner company"
• Time management → "Balanced 20h/week part-time job with full-time degree"

Professional summary for candidates with no experience

Instead of focusing on what you don't have (experience), focus on who you are and where you're going:

"Computer Science graduate from [University], with a strong foundation in web development (React, Node.js) and hands-on experience from real-world academic projects. Passionate about solving problems with clean code. Looking for a first developer role where I can grow quickly and contribute from day one."

Certifications that make a difference

In many fields, short, recognised certifications are worth as much as months of experience. Examples:

• Tech: Google Cloud, AWS, Meta Developer, freeCodeCamp
• Marketing: Google Ads, HubSpot, Meta Blueprint
• Data: IBM Data Science (Coursera), Google Data Analytics
• Project management: Google Project Management, Scrum.org

CV Creator Pro has templates optimised for candidates without experience — the structure is automatically adapted to highlight what matters most at your career stage. Create your CV free