How to write a CV with no work experience

Lead with what you have: your education, projects, volunteering, part-time or informal work, and skills you can prove with a short example. Open with two or three lines naming the job you want, keep it to one or two pages and tailor it to each ad. Every line should still be true.

By Paul and the c-v.ai team, drawing on years of hiring across industries and of writing CVs professionally. Published 10 November 2026.

What to put on your CV instead of jobs

Employers hiring for a first job want signs that you are reliable, can learn and can get on with people. You can show that without a job title. The UK's National Careers Service suggests focusing on skills from projects, work experience or volunteering, and adding interests that show useful skills. Use any of these:

Education. Your school or college, the dates, your qualifications and grades if they help, and subjects that relate to the job.
Projects. A school enterprise project, a coursework piece, a website you built, an event you helped organise. Say what you did and what came of it.
Volunteering. A charity shop, a sports club, a food bank, a place of worship, a school open day.
Part-time and informal work. Babysitting, dog walking, tutoring, helping in a family business, a paper round, piece jobs. SAYouth, South Africa's youth employment platform, suggests listing full-time, part-time or piece jobs, internships and volunteer experience.
Responsibilities. Team captain, prefect, class representative, club treasurer. The National Careers Service gives captaining a sports team as an example of leadership and organisation.
Skills with proof. Each skill you list should come with an example, as the next section shows.
Courses and certificates. First aid, food hygiene, a language course, a coding course, a driving licence.

Skills-based or chronological?

A skills-based CV puts skills first and says little about dates. The University of Kent's careers service says it suits people whose degree or work isn't directly relevant to the role. CareerOneStop, run by the US Department of Labor, warns that without a detailed history, a skills-only CV can be misread by employers or rejected by applicant tracking systems. It recommends a combination format for most people.

With no work history, a combination layout works well:

Name and contact details.
A short personal statement.
Key skills, each with a one-line example.
Education.
Experience: volunteering, part-time and informal work, in date order with the most recent first.
Extras: languages, certificates, interests, references.

Writing each section

Personal statement

Two or three lines that say what you are doing now, what you want and one thing that shows you can do it.

Weak: Hard-working and motivated school leaver looking for any job.
Stronger: School leaver with two years of Saturday volunteering in a charity shop, used to handling cash and helping customers. Looking for a part-time retail role while I study.

Skills with proof

Weak: Good communication skills.
Stronger: Communication: explained returns and prices to customers at the charity shop, and presented our enterprise project to a panel of local business owners.

Experience that isn't a job

Write it the same way as a job: what you did, where, when, and a bullet or two about results. Unpaid doesn't need to be hidden. Call it what it is, such as "Volunteer" or "Babysitter".

Education

Put it near the top. The National Careers Service suggests education straight after your personal statement when you're early in your career. Include grades if they help, plus anything you led or won.

A full worked example

Ellie Morgan is a fictional 18-year-old in Bristol. She finished her A levels in summer 2026 and is applying for a full-time retail assistant job.

Ellie Morgan

Bristol · 07700 900456 · ellie.morgan@example.com

Profile

School leaver with two years of Saturday volunteering in a charity shop, used to handling cash, pricing stock and helping customers. Looking for a full-time retail assistant role.

Key skills

Customer service: helped customers find items and explained the returns policy at the charity shop.

Handling money: took card and cash payments on the till and counted up at the end of each shift.

Teamwork: one of four students who ran our college enterprise stall for a term.

Education

A levels in Business, English Literature and Art, Harbourside College, Bristol, 2024 to 2026 (results: B, B, C)

GCSEs: seven at grades 9 to 5, including English and maths, Kingsdown Academy, 2024

Experience

Volunteer Shop Assistant, Hope Street Charity Shop, Bristol, Saturdays, 2024 to present

Serve customers on the till and sort and price donated stock.

Set up a weekly window display, which the shop manager now asks me to plan.

Babysitter for two families, Bristol, 2023 to present

Look after children aged 4 to 9 on weekday evenings, including school pick-ups.

College enterprise project, Harbourside College, autumn term 2025

Helped design, make and sell printed tote bags at a weekly stall. Kept the sales record.

Extras

Languages: English (native), Spanish (basic) · Food hygiene certificate, Level 2 · Interests: netball, team captain this year

References available on request.

It fits on one page. Every skill has an example, the volunteering reads like a job, and nothing is inflated. For the job ad she applies to, Ellie would move the most relevant skill to the top and use the ad's words where they describe what she has done.

Country notes

United States: a first résumé

In the US the document is called a résumé. CareerOneStop says it should be one to two pages, with a second page only if your experience needs it. For recent college graduates with little work experience, it suggests an Objective of one to three sentences in place of a summary, a Key Qualifications section with skills from coursework, volunteering, projects or hobbies, and education near the top. It suggests listing your GPA if it's higher than 3.0, for college only and not high school.

United Kingdom: a school leaver CV

JobHelp, the UK Government's job-search service, says the ideal CV is no more than two sides of A4. The National Careers Service suggests education after your personal statement early in your career, interests that show useful skills, and references only from people who have agreed. It says not to include your age, date of birth, marital status or nationality.

South Africa: a matric CV

Wits University's online careers guidance suggests fresh school leavers and graduates put education ahead of work experience, include school-leaving results and achievements, and show soft skills such as reliability and teamwork. It advises fitting a CV onto two pages unless the recruiter asks for something else. The South African Government's CV guide suggests listing your languages with how well you speak and write each one, and including part-time jobs and volunteer work. The Western Cape Government's guide lists your ID number under personal details and says to leave out a photo unless one is requested. Your ID number is sensitive, so think about where the CV will go before you add it.

India: a fresher resume

If you apply through your college placement cell, follow its format, because cells can set strict rules. IIT Madras's internship resume guidelines for 2025-26, for example, require your CGPA exactly as it appears on your grade card with no rounding, ask for proof of every internship and project, and ban pictures. Other colleges and employers set different rules, so check before you write.

Before you send it

Tailor it to each ad: our guide to tailoring a CV to a job description shows how.
Proofread it, and ask someone else to read it too.
Save it as a PDF and run the copy-and-paste test from our ATS-friendly CV checklist.

For the full process, read how to write a CV. For examples in particular jobs, see our CV examples.

Questions

What do I put on my CV if I have no experience?

Your education, school or college projects, volunteering, any part-time or informal work such as babysitting or helping in a family business, clubs and teams, and skills backed by an example. A short personal statement at the top says what kind of job you want.

How long should a CV with no experience be?

Usually one page, and no more than two. Australia's Youth Central says one or two pages is best if you haven't worked much. In the UK, two sides of A4 is the usual limit, and in the US CareerOneStop says to use a second page only if your experience needs it.

Should I include my grades?

Yes, when you are just leaving school or college and they help. A South African university careers guide suggests fresh school leavers include school-leaving results, and a US government guide suggests a college GPA above 3.0. As your work history grows, you can shorten this section.

Can I put babysitting or helping my family's business on my CV?

Yes. Informal and unpaid work counts when it shows a skill the job needs, such as reliability, handling money or looking after people. Describe what you did and for how long, and keep it accurate.

Should I use a skills-based CV if I have no experience?

A mix usually works better. Put a short skills section near the top with an example for each skill, then list education and any experience in date order. A US Department of Labor guide warns that CVs with no dated history can be misread by employers and rejected by applicant tracking systems.

Who can I use as a reference with no work history?

A teacher, tutor, coach or volunteer organiser who knows you. Ask them first. The UK's National Careers Service says to list someone only if they have agreed, or to write that references are available on request.