Student CV example and template (UK)

Below are three full student CV examples for the UK: a school student looking for a first weekend job, a university student looking for part-time work alongside a degree, and a student applying for an internship or placement year. Each one is laid out the way British employers expect, with notes on why it works, so you can pick the one closest to you and use it as a model.

All three follow the same rules: one page, education near the top, every bit of experience treated like a job, and nothing an employer can’t check. If you’d rather start from blank prompts, our copy-and-paste UK CV template includes a student version.

Student CV example 1: school student looking for a first weekend job

Ellie is in Year 11 and wants Saturday work at a garden centre. With no paid job yet, the CV is built from a school work experience week, a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and some babysitting.

Student CV example 2: university student looking for part-time work

Daniel is in the second year of a Computer Science degree and has worked behind a bar since the first term, and now wants a part-time role on the university’s IT service desk, which fits better with the course.

Notice that the bar job stays in, even though it isn’t an IT job. It proves Daniel is reliable, handles money and copes with impatient people, which is exactly what a service desk needs.

Student CV example 3: internship or placement year

Priya is in the second year of an Accounting and Finance degree and is applying for a year-long placement in audit. Competition is stronger here, so the CV leans on the course, a society role with real responsibility and figures that are honest and easy to explain.

Placement and internship applications often go through an online form as well as, or instead of, a CV. Keep your CV up to date anyway, because you can copy your answers from it, and most forms still ask for one at some stage.

Why these student CV examples work

The three CVs are aimed at very different jobs, but they share the same habits. Copy the habits, not the wording.

• The personal statement names the job. “A Saturday job at a garden centre” or “a 12-month audit placement” tells the reader in one line that the CV was written for them.
• Education comes before experience, because it’s the student’s strongest and most recent achievement. Grades are shown only where they help, and predicted ones are labelled.
• Unpaid roles get a proper heading. A society treasurer or allotment volunteer has a title, an organisation and dates, just like a job.
• Availability is spelled out for part-time jobs. A manager filling weekend shifts wants to know when you can work before anything else.
• Each one fits on one page. For the reasons behind the layout, such as fonts, margins and date styles, see our guide to the UK CV format.

The personal statement is where most student CVs go wrong. Compare these two:

Turning student life into CV bullet points

Most students have more to say than they think. The trick is to describe what you did and what changed because of you, rather than just naming the activity. If you have very little to start with, our guide on writing a CV with no work experience lists everything that counts.

Ideas to mine for bullet points

• a course project where you led the group, met a deadline or presented to a panel
• a society, club or sports team role: treasurer, captain, social secretary, events organiser
• student ambassador, peer mentor, course rep or halls rep work
• tutoring younger students, coaching a junior team or helping at a holiday club
• a summer job, seasonal work or temping through an agency
• anything you built or ran: a website, an online shop, a fundraiser, a podcast

Tips for international students in the UK

If you’re studying in the UK on a Student visa, a few extra points apply to your CV:

• Check your work conditions first. Your visa sets whether you can work and how many hours you can do in term time. Read the rules on GOV.UK’s Student visa page and only offer availability you’re allowed to work.
• Use UK terms for your school qualifications, or explain them briefly, for example “High school diploma (equivalent to A levels), 2025”, if you know the equivalence. Otherwise give the qualification name and the overall grade.
• Leave out your photo, date of birth and passport number, even if CVs in your home country include them.
• List your languages and your level, because they can be a real advantage in customer and international roles.

In your final year, it’s worth reading about the Graduate visa and, for the longer term, our guide to finding a visa sponsorship job in the UK.

Student CV checklist

Before you send your student CV, check that:

• it fits on one page, unless you have enough relevant material for a placement CV to need two
• the personal statement names the type of job you want
• your course, place of study and dates are clear, with “expected” for a degree you haven’t finished
• predicted grades are labelled as predicted
• every volunteering, society and project entry has a title, organisation and dates
• your availability (part-time jobs) or start date (placements) is on the page
• your email address is your name, not a nickname from school
• the spell checker is set to English (UK), and someone else has read it through

Most part-time and placement applications go better with a short letter alongside the CV. Our guide on how to write a cover letter includes an example for a first job.

The best student CV examples all do the same thing: they treat school, university, volunteering and part-time work as real experience, and they make it obvious which job the CV is for. Pick the example above that is closest to your situation, keep its shape, and fill it with your own story.

Frequently asked questions