As the university year wraps up, it’s time to put all you learned into practice and get a job! Don’t worry if you haven’t been in the industry before, we have some CV examples for students with no experience.
Although your time at university was stressful, stepping out into the ‘real world’ is still daunting. You’ll have dreams of a certain career and probably no idea how to achieve it. Don’t worry, you definitely aren’t alone. In fact, don’t be surprised if you don’t get your dream job straight away.
Many students have to climb the career ladder, and even work in other types of jobs until they can get into their desired career. This is pretty normal, as is not having any experience to put on a CV.
Don’t Be Stressed If You Have No Experience
Leaving university and being worried about how you’ll ever make it is something that most students feel. Not all courses have work experience in it, or guaranteed careers at the end.
Many who study the creative arts actually find it harder once they leave their studies, but that shouldn’t dissuade you. Even without any experience, you can still find a gateway.
Some don’t have any work experience, having prioritized their studies up until this point. There is nothing wrong with that, and we’re here to help you out regardless.
The first step to getting yourself a job is to get your CV sorted, selling the best of yourself.
CV Examples For Students With No Experience
Though we can’t give you any templates, we can give you some ideas about what to put on it. Already, we’ve suggested the dos and donts of writing a CV, but this is specifically for those starting out fresh.
- Highlight your education
You don’t have a lot else to show off, so this is really important. Not only are your grades important, but include any coursework or projects that are relevant to your desired job. Even if you don’t, group projects show off teamwork and communication, and even leadership skills!
Take some time to break down things you have done in your educational career. Think along the lines of being punctual, working to a deadline, IT skills etc. It all counts and shows your intuitive thinking!
- Include certificates or projects outside of school
Perhaps you did a first-aid course or some volunteering work. All of this looks good on your CV if you have no experience. Actually, it looks good even if you do! Stuff like this shows commitment, regardless of what you did it in. It looks even better if it’s to do with your career, but it’s still great anyway.
You’ll only want to list skills that are relevant to the job, and you’ll need to prove them at the interview stage or after. If you have the experience, you can put your evidence on your CV.
These can be very literal things, such as Word, Excel or other systems like this. However, it can also be a little more abstract. Here are some examples:
- Social media
- Public speaking (perhaps you were in drama club, that sort of stuff counts too!)
- IT literate
- Speaking a foreign language.
- Puzzle-solving
Spend some time thinking about what you could put on your CV, just don’t lie!
- Sell yourself with a summary
Give a brief description of your recent qualifications and how your skills apply to the job you’re interested in. This only needs to be a couple of sentences long, but will give an employer a sense your who you are.
Plus, you can include a sentence about what you want to achieve along the lines of:
“Hardworking and determined first class honours graduate looking for a career in animation.”
There are plenty of free templates online, or even in Word. Find one that looks professional but isn’t boring, and get yourself on the career ladder!