Your first job CV: turn everyday experience into clear evidence

Start with evidence you already have

A first CV can feel difficult because the usual heading, “work experience”, appears to ask for something you have not yet had. Start by changing the question. Instead of trying to look experienced, identify what you have actually done that would help someone understand how you work. A college assignment, volunteer shift, family responsibility or personal project can provide useful evidence when its setting is explained honestly.

This guide takes you from a blank document to a first draft. It is general preparation, not a promise of an interview. The employer’s current application instructions take priority, including its required file format, qualifications and eligibility rules.

The UK National Careers Service recommends adapting a CV to the opportunity and using relevant projects or volunteering when your work history is short. The examples below are our own illustrations. Replace every detail with something true about you; never copy an example as though you did it.

Build your CV in six practical passes

1. Make a small evidence bank

Open a separate note before designing the CV. For each activity, record the setting, your responsibility, the steps you took and something that shows what happened. You do not need a dramatic achievement. Organising a shared document, checking a list carefully or returning to a task until it was finished can be meaningful when linked to a relevant duty.

Keep private information out of your notes. An example can explain that you helped organise appointments without naming another person or describing their medical circumstances.

2. Read one real vacancy closely

Pick an opening you could genuinely apply for. Copy its essential requirements into your private planning note, then add a corresponding example beside each. Separate requirements you meet, skills you are developing and conditions you need to clarify. A CV cannot substitute for a mandatory licence or qualification.

If the role involves customer contact, prioritise an example of listening and explaining. If it involves administration, show accurate records or organised documents. Keep a longer master CV for yourself and save a tailored copy for each application. This helps prevent an unrelated detail from taking the space needed for your strongest evidence.

3. Choose a straightforward order

A useful first draft has contact details, a short introduction, education, relevant experience or projects, and specific skills. Put the most relevant evidence earlier. A recent course may deserve prominence for one job; volunteering may be more relevant for another. There is no benefit in leaving a large empty “employment” section simply because a template included it.

Use a professional email address and a phone number you can answer. Check local expectations and the employer’s instructions before including personal details. Do not attach identity documents, bank details or someone else’s reference contact information to an initial CV without a legitimate request and appropriate permission.

4. Write bullets that describe an action

“Hard-working team player” is difficult for a reader to evaluate. A specific sentence lets them understand the work. For example: “Collected each group member’s research notes, organised them by topic and checked the presentation against the assignment brief.” This describes an academic activity without pretending it was paid employment.

A useful drafting pattern is: action + task + method or outcome. Not every bullet needs a number. If you genuinely counted something, you can include it; if you do not know the number, leave it out. Avoid turning “helped” into “managed” unless you actually held responsibility for the work.

5. Make the document easy to scan

Use ordinary section headings, consistent dates, readable text and enough white space to separate sections. A simple layout is easier to revise than a heavily decorated template. Avoid rating yourself with five stars for a skill: explain what you can do with that skill instead.

Open the exported file on a phone and a computer if available. Look for tiny text, clipped lines, broken characters and a second page containing only a few words. Copy a paragraph from the final file into a plain text editor to check that it remains text rather than an unreadable image. This is a practical check, not a guarantee about an employer’s screening software.

6. Run a truth and consistency check

Compare dates, course names and job titles with your application form. Ask yourself whether you could comfortably explain every sentence in an interview. If a line exaggerates your contribution, rewrite it before submitting. Remove template instructions and unused placeholders.

Save a copy with the role and date in the filename, then record which version you sent. A generic filename such as “CV-final-final” becomes confusing when you are applying to several employers.

When the page still looks short

Do not fill space with claims you cannot support. Add useful detail to an existing example: what instruction you followed, how you checked the work or what you learned. A concise, honest CV is more useful than a long list of unsupported adjectives. If you have no suitable example for an important skill, plan a small legitimate project that helps you develop it; list it only after doing the work.

Before you send

• The contact details work and the document opens.
• The first half explains your strongest relevant evidence.
• Projects and volunteering are labelled accurately.
• Dates and qualifications match your application form.
• You followed the employer’s file and submission instructions.

Next, use the cover-letter guide to explain why this evidence matters for one particular role, then record your submission in an application tracker.