Writing Your First CV as a Student

Your first CV does not need to be impressive. It needs to be clear, honest and easy to scan in under a minute.

The order that works

• Name and contact details: phone, professional email, city, LinkedIn if it is filled in
• A two-line summary: the role you want and what you bring
• Education: degree, university, expected graduation, relevant courses only if they match the job
• Projects: two or three, each with what you built and what came out of it
• Experience: internships, part-time work, volunteering
• Skills: tools and languages you can actually use in an interview

Write bullets that show action

Start each bullet with a verb and add the scope or result. "Helped with event" says little. "Organised registration for a 200-person university event and managed a team of 5 volunteers" says a lot.

Leave these out

• Photos, date of birth or marital status unless the employer asks for them
• "References available on request"
• Skills you cannot talk about for two minutes
• Long paragraphs: recruiters skim

Grades and activities

Include your grade if it is strong or if the employer asks for it. Student activities count when you had a real role: leading, organising, selling, teaching.

Keep it to one page

A student CV that runs to two pages usually repeats itself. Cut anything that does not support the job you are applying for, and save the file as a PDF with your name in the file name.