Student CV: Template + 20 Examples [Also With No Experience]

"Your student days are the best years of your life." Bet you’ve heard that old chestnut before.

Problem is, you’re too skint to even put food on the table half the time, let alone have a little fun. The solution? Get some work and earn some dosh to supplement your student loan. To do that, you need a great CV.

In a moment you’ll see how to write a student CV that’ll get you interviews faster than Stormzy spits lyrics.

This guide will show you:

• A job-winning student CV example you can copy, tweak and make yours.
• How to write a student CV that’ll get you more interviews than any CV you’ve written in the past.
• Tips and examples of how to put your skills on a CV for students to convince employers you have everything they’re looking for.
• A student CV format that works even if you have no experience.

Here’s a student CV example made using our CV builder:

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Sample student CV—See more templates and create your CV here.

Student CV Sample (Text Version)

1

Choose the Best CV Format for Students 

By CV format, we mean the structure and the order of sections of your CV. You want to organise the information on a student CV in a way that best sets out your skills and experience.

There are two main formats, reverse-chronological and skills-based CV format, also known as functional. The first puts the spotlight on your previous work experience by starting with your most recent job and working back. It’s great for people with time in the workforce under their belt, but not ideal for students with no experience.

That’s why a CV template for students should follow a skills-based format. This emphasises your abilities and qualifications, taking the spotlight off your employment history. There’s a set structure for it to follow.

Student CV Template—Section Order

• CV Header
• Personal statement
• Key skills
• Education
• Work experience
• Additional sections

Before we start writing though, let’s get your CV layout right.

Here’s a fun fact for you, recruiters only spend around 9 seconds looking an average CV. However, if your student CV looks professional and presentable enough, it will earn you more eye-time.

The very first thing that’ll make an impression is the visual layout of your CV. The rules are quite strict and if you don’t get it right then your CV gets binned. Here they are:

Student CV Tips for Layout

• Set margins of one inch on each side of the page.
• Set spacing to 1.15.
• Use a clear, readable font set at 10 to 12 point.
• Left align only, no justification.
• Double-space between sections for emphasis and clarity.

These rules make sure you stick to standard business layout rules and ensure plenty of white space on the page. White space isn’t wasted space, it’s a powerful way to make your CV more readable.

The best format to save your CV is PDF. It makes sure your layout stays intact. You should also save a copy in another format, like MS Word DOC, as some employers won’t accept PDF. For extra flexibility make a copy in Google Docs and create a sharing link to it as a backup option.

What’s a clear, readable font you say? Here are our suggestions.

CV Fonts Top 10

• Calibri
• Cambria
• Helvetica
• Gill Sans (a favourite of the BBC)
• Verdana
• Garamond
• Trebuchet MS
• Lato
• Book Antiqua
• Didot

Two other brief points. There’s no need to include a photo, it’s not the done thing for a UK CV template. 

As for length, one page should be enough for a CV template for students but if you need to then two pages is fine. No more though.

Now everything’s set and we’re ready to start writing your student CV.

The header is the first part of your student CV that gets read. It’s that section at the very top of the page with your name and contact details. 

Forget it and they won’t know who you are or how to get in touch with you. Remember it, but get it wrong, and you’ve ruined that first impression.

Student CV Template—Header

• First name + surname in bold font 4–6 points larger than the body text.
• Contact details: phone number and email are essential. Home address is optional.
• Make sure the email is a clickable link.
• Unlike the rest of your CV this section can be centre aligned.

Ensure the email address you use is plain and professional. [email protected] is worth a giggle, but won’t cut it for a student CV.

If you need to, choose any of the free webmail providers out there and create a new one with a plain combination of your first name and surname. Informal emails have been proven to have a negative impact on the chances of being hired.

Also be careful with using links to your social media, you have to make sure there is nothing that could put off a potential employer. If you do include social media links, make them clickable. Here’s one that’s done just right. 

Student CV Example Header

Next up, your personal statement.

Also known as your personal profile, this is a brief paragraph that summarises your skills and experience. It shouldn’t explain why you’re good for any job, it needs to explain why you’re good for this job. So write a fresh personal statement for each job you apply for.

How? Read the job advert. Get an understanding of the skills and experience wanted and tweak your personal profile to match. How long should your CV personal statement be? No longer than 150–200 words, or four lines: space is at a premium on your CV so don’t waste it.

Then, get started by asking yourself three questions. Who are you? What can you offer to the employer? And, what are your career goals? Give examples with achievements to back them up if you’re able to.

Student CV Personal Statement Examples

The three questions you needed to ask yourself? In the first example they’ve all been answered, with specific details about the writer’s skill set and experience. It’s also tailored to a particular job with a particular company.

The second is as dull as a 3-hour-long organic chemistry lecture. It looks like something the job applicant is using for every application they send. That line about working well as an individual and a team player is pure cliche. They will have seen it a thousand times before. Your goal is to stand out but this one just sailed over the crossbar.

In a skills-based CV format for students your most important section is? You guessed it, your skills summary. In the absence of a longer work history this is the section of your student CV that sells you as a candidate. 

Your skills can be divided into two categories, hard and soft. Hard skills are abilities you need to be technically competent at something, such as computer programming. Soft skills, also known as employability skills, are the broader abilities that are valuable to almost every employer. Examples of soft skills include teamwork, interpersonal skills and self-motivation. They’re not just important for your CV either. It’s estimated that employability skills are worth around £100 billion to the UK economy. Skills are serious business.

If you’re not taking notes already then now’s the time to start. Let’s dive straight into an example.

Student CV Example—Skills Summary

When it’s done right, a skills summary is a powerful way of positioning yourself as a prime candidate in the absence of professional experience. Use a clear layout, dividing your skills into subheadings, then use bold and capitalisation for emphasis. 

Once you’ve created headline skills, add bullet points giving details, and where possible, examples. Don’t do what the wrong example does though and just make a shopping list of skills. There’s nothing to back up the claims you’re making. It’s as rubbish as running out beer during freshers week.

The right example though uses experience and extra-curricular activities to demonstrate solid workplace skills, even in the absence of a long work history to fall back on.

The best way to write this CV section is to first brainstorm a short list of core headline skills. Then take the time to consider all of your life experience and how this has enabled you to develop those skills. All the while, remember to make it relevant to the job you’re applying for. Just as you did when writing your personal profile.

Also don’t forget to make use of CVkeywords, here’s why they’re vital.

CV Keywords

CV keywords are words or phrases in your CV that the ATS will pick up. The ATS is an application which scans your CV before it gets read by a human and more than 90% of large companies use it. In fact, if the ATS doesn’t like what it sees then your CV will have as much chance of success as Boris Johnson becoming president of the NUS.

Identify the keywords by looking at the job ad. If you can see “Accountant with minimum 2 years experience,” add it to you profile. Do the same for skills. If the job listing mentions Wordpress, this phrase should appear in your skills section.

Remember though: never lie. It’s tempting, especially when you’ve got limited experience, but just don’t. It’s actually fraud and can have serious consequences for your future when you get found out.

Pro Tip: Two of the biggest and best keywords are the name of the company and the job role you’re applying to. Make sure you include them in your CV profile to keep the ATS happy.

Next we’ll work on your education section.

When making a CV in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building your CV here.

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When you’re done, Zety’s CV builder will score your CV and tell you exactly how to make it better.

6

Add Your Education Even If You Haven’t Graduated Yet

You’re a student, you’re in the process of being educated. So make sure you include your education on your CV, not forgetting what you’re currently pursuing. This section should be listed in reverse-chronological order with your most recent education coming first and working back from there.

We’ll use the example of a post-graduate student so you can see how to write your education section for school, undergraduate and postgraduate education.

Student CV Examples–Education Section

As with the rest of your student CV, use some layout hacks to make this section easier to read. Bold and italic have added emphasis and clarity to the most important sections. Always include the dates in which you completed the particular stage of education and put in “expected completion date” as the case may be, if you haven’t finished it.

Include honours for university education if you achieved them and specify the A levels you attained. For GCSEs always mention Maths and English if you’ve achieved them, they’re considered essential for most jobs. There’s no need to specifically list other subjects unless they are directly relevant to the job you’re applying for.

That’s all there is to it. You’ve now got a CV education section that’d make Professor Brian Cox proud.

Try out some different CV templates. Read more here: 20+ Free CV Templates to Download Now

The rule here is simple. If you have any work experience at all, add it, regardless of what you’re applying for. Even if it’s just hospitality work or being stood behind the till at your local supermarket. It'll still show skills that every hiring manager looks for like customer service, communication skills and a good work ethic.

Many students don’t have any experience at all, so if you do have some it’ll make your CV stand out. Don’t just list jobs you’ve had though, structure it correctly. Here’s how.

Student CV Examples—Work Experience

The right way of doing this is to use some layout tricks for emphasising the basic info about the job. Then don’t just give a list of duties like the wrong example does. 

Write it in a way that demonstrates skills to the reader and gives something measurable for what you did. Targets and numbers are the best way to do this.

For example, it’s not just about delivering customer service, it’s about doing so and achieving the company targets set for that task. The first student CV shows you’ve acquired some skills and achieved measurable results. The second is just a list of duties that does nothing to make you get noticed by the hiring manager.

If you’ve had more than one job then list them in reverse-chronological order. Also make good use of action words. These add energy to your CV and they’re exactly the thing that recruiters are trained to home in on.

All well and good, but what can you put in a student CV template with no experience? Read on. 

Writing a student CV template for a first job? You can leave out the work experience section all together. Then add extra sections to show off all the other experience and skills you have. That sounds contradictory, but it’s not. First we’ll give you some suggested additional sections, then show you some CV examples for students with no experience.

Student CV Examples—Additional Sections

• Volunteer Work
• Awards and Honours
• Hobbies and Interests
• Languages
• Certification
• Training

These serve the same purpose. Helping your CV to convince the recruiter you’re the best choice for the job, without needing a long list of work experience. Now for some examples of how to write them.

Volunteer Work

There’s a hint in the name here. Yes, volunteer work is a form of work experience in itself. Contributing your time unpaid also shows motivation and work ethic. Both of these are qualities that are admired by every employer. Any form of volunteer work is well worth including on your CV.

Volunteer Work—Student CV Sample

This example shows off additional training, and sought after communication and resilience skills. An excellent addition to a student CV.

Awards and Honours

An easy win. Recognition of your talents and abilities is a great way of making you stand out in terms of skills and achievements.

Awards and Honours—Student CV Template

Simple! Just include the details of the award, your placing and the name plus the year you achieved it. Do keep it relatively recent and relevant though. Being awarded “Best Donkey” in your Year 2 nativity play isn’t going to cut it.

Languages

The UK is an increasingly multi-cultural society and business is ever more global so language skills will always be looked upon favourably.

Languages—Student CV Example

All you need to do is state the language and the level of ability you’ve achieved.

Also, don’t forget to proofread! You’d never hand in an essay without proofreading so bring that same attention to detail to your CV writing.

Warnings over, now your CV is finished! You’ve now got a student CV that’ll get you interviews, get you hired and make you that little bit less skint. There’s one final touch to really push your chances of success into the stratosphere.

It’s not a good night out without a kebab to finish and it’s not a good CV without an accompanying cover letter. 

Cover letters cause a bit of argument in recruitment circles. There’s around a 50/50 split in opinion on whether not including one is a deal-breaker. 

That’s not just another dry statistic. Now your CV is perfect you don’t want to ruin your chances with the half of employers who want cover letters do you? As for the other 50% they can just ignore it.

For employers who do appreciate them though, a well-written cover letter can be the little extra nudge needed to push you into the yes pile. And here's what to include in a cover letter.

Need more convincing? The right cover letter length is one page long, tops. What’s one page compared to all the coursework you have to submit? And it’s much better for you than a dirty doner, that’s for sure.

This time we really are finished. Time for a recap.

Make sure your cover letter formatting is perfect. Read more: How to Format a Cover Letter [Examples & Step-by-Step Guide]

And for even more CV writing tips, check out this guide: 20+ CV Tips and Job Winning Advice

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your CV will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Key Takeaways

That’s all there is to it when it comes to writing a student CV. We can’t promise you won’t be eating Pot Noodle anymore, but at least it’ll be posh Pot Noodle.

Here’s how to write a student CV:

• Choose the best student CV format. Skills-based aka functional CV format works best.
• Leverage layout for a visually appealing student CV that’ll get read from top to bottom.
• Grab their attention with tailored personal statement.
• Use a student CV template centred around your skills summary. But don’t forget your education, always include work experience, and add value with additional sections.
• Add a student cover letter for top marks.

Got any more questions on how to create a CV template for UK students? Still struggling with making your skills summary shine? Ask away in the comments section and we’ll be happy to help.