How to write a CV with no work experience (UK)

Everyone starts somewhere. If you’re a student, a school leaver or looking for your first proper job, employers know you won’t have years of experience — they’re looking for evidence that you’re reliable, willing to learn and able to get on with people. The good news is that you almost certainly have that evidence already. This guide shows you how to find it and present it. If you’re not sure what a CV is or what goes on one, read our plain-English guide to what a CV is first.

What counts as experience

“Experience” is much wider than paid jobs. All of these belong on your CV:

• part-time, weekend or holiday jobs — including babysitting, tutoring or a paper round
• helping out in a family business
• volunteering: charity shops, food banks, care homes, community events
• work experience placements from school or college
• internships, including short or virtual ones
• roles in clubs, societies or sports teams — captain, treasurer, organiser
• the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, National Citizen Service (NCS), Scouts, Guides or cadets
• personal projects: a website, a YouTube channel, a small online shop, a fundraiser

Treat each one like a job: give it a title, the organisation, dates and two or three bullet points about what you did.

The best structure for a first CV

Keep it to one page and use this order, so your strongest material comes first:

1. Name and contact details
2. Personal statement
3. Education
4. Experience (paid, voluntary and other)
5. Skills
6. Additional information — languages, driving licence, achievements, relevant interests

Once you have a year or two of work behind you, swap Education and Experience around, as in a standard UK CV.

Your personal statement

Three or four lines: what you’re studying or have just finished, what you bring, and what kind of role you want. Be specific to the job — a statement for a café job should sound different from one for an office apprenticeship.

Making education your main section

When you don’t have much work history, education does the heavy lifting. Include:

• your current or most recent course, with the institution and dates (“expected 2027” is fine)
• predicted or achieved grades, if they’re good
• A-levels, BTECs, T Levels or Highers, with grades
• GCSEs in one line, e.g. “8 GCSEs (grades 9–5) including English and Maths” — or your National 5s in Scotland, using the grades exactly as you were given them
• relevant modules, coursework or a final project — especially if it links to the job
• awards, prizes or positions of responsibility

Skills — and how to prove them

Employers hiring for first jobs care most about transferable skills: communication, teamwork, reliability, time management, problem-solving and basic IT. Listing them isn’t enough; point to where you used them.

Useful extras employers look for

• languages you speak, and how well
• a full or provisional UK driving licence
• certificates: first aid, food hygiene, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award
• software you can use: Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, Canva, coding languages
• availability, if it’s a selling point — e.g. “Available evenings and weekends”

Example: a first-job CV

Mistakes to avoid

• Writing “no experience” anywhere — just show what you have
• An unprofessional email address — create a simple firstname.lastname one
• Listing every GCSE individually — one line is enough
• Hobbies that say nothing (“watching TV, socialising”) — include interests only if they show something useful
• Sending the same CV everywhere — tweak the statement and skills for each job
• Spelling mistakes — ask someone to read it before you send it

Moving to the UK from abroad as well? See how a UK CV differs from a US resume. Once your CV is ready, our guide on how to get a job in the UK covers where to look, applying and interviews.