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Get the hands-on knowledge you need with a well written CV for work experience. Simple tips to get your working life started in style.
Getting hands-on experience is one of the smartest things you can do when you’re just starting out your working life. It boosts your confidence and employability and helps you to decide what sort of career you might want to pursue.
It’s not a paid job, so do you need a CV? The answer is a definite yes. You need to know how to write a CV for work experience that’ll convince the employer you’ve got something to offer them too.
The good news is that there’s an easy formula for writing a CV for work experience that’ll have you learning the ropes at the company of your choice. Keep reading and you’ll see work placement CV examples that will help you get your foot in the door.
Want to save time and have your CV ready in 5 minutes? Try our CV builder. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, you’ll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ CV templates and create your CV here.
Sample CV made with our builder—See more CV samples here.
Looking for different CV writing advice? Read more here:
Jay Ahmed
Ph: 0777 777 7777
Email: jayahmed_zety@gmail.com
Second year computer science student at University College London seeks summer work experience opportunity with Androdyne Systems. As a volunteer redesigned bird charity’s website landing page resulting in a 200% increase in traffic. Keen to learn more about your implementation of AI supply chain management as a first step in a career in logistics information systems.
Education
BSc Computer Science, September 2019–June 2021 (expected graduation date)
University College London
Work Experience
Volunteer Website Developer & IT Consultant
The Feather Trust, Battersea, London
January 2020–Present
Skills
Hobbies & Interests
There’s a good chance this is the first time you’ve written a CV, so let’s briefly discuss what a CV actually is. Here are a few quick facts for you.
So bearing that in mind, let’s get started on our step-by-step guide to creating your CV for work experience.
The format of a CV means the way the sections are set out, what information is included and how that information is presented. In the UK there are two main types of format, skills-based CV and chronological. The best CV format for work experience is chronological because it’s the format that hiring managers prefer.
In the past few decades youth unemployment has kept rising. There’s consistently a lot of competition out there for work experience placements and it keeps getting tougher. Having a perfect CV structure is the first step to making your application stand out from the rest. Here’s how to do it.
Read more: How to Create a Professional CV Layout
The first section of your CV is called your personal statement or personal profile. It’s a short paragraph, 3–4 lines long, and it introduces you as a candidate. The trick here is to make it interesting and convince the hiring manager to read the rest of your CV. Here’s how to do just that.
Writing a CV personal statement is much simpler than you think. All you’re doing is answering these questions.
If you were an experienced worker, you’d answer the first two questions by mentioning your job title, how much experience you have and some of your professional skills. But for a CV for work experience you’ll have to take a different approach.
Take a look at the sample CV above for inspiration, and there’s another example below for further guidance. This part of a CV tends to be hard work even for experienced candidates, but for a work placement CV you should just keep it short and simple.
Final year A-level student seeks work experience opportunity with ABC Property Group. Eager to gain practical knowledge with West London’s fastest-growing estate agency. Hoping to take my first steps in a career in property sales and lettings.
It’s simple and effective, no buzzwords, just a clear and honest introduction to your CV.
Read more: How to Write a CV Summary: 10 Professional Examples
As your career progresses you’ll make this the third section of your CV below your work history section. But right now it should go second under your CV profile. The fact you’re writing a CV for work experience means that you don’t have much work history to include. So here’s a quick lesson on including your education.
If you’re a school-leaver or still at school, then do this.
If you’re a uni graduate or still studying then this is what you need to do.
Read more: What to Include in a CV: All the Essential Sections
If you’ve got no experience at all then you can leave this section out. But don’t skip to the next chapter of this guide just yet. Remember that any sort of experience at all is worthy of being included in a CV for work experience. That includes part-time work, Saturday jobs and volunteer work.
If you’ve got it, flaunt it. Most other applicants won’t have anything to include, so it’ll give you an advantage. Here’s how to write it.
Here’s an example. It uses the PAR (Problem-Action-Result) technique to structure the bullet point.
There's a problem, customers who want to cancel, an action, the new sales pitch, and the result, a reduction in cancellations. And it puts a number to the result too, which makes it look even better.
Read more: What to Include in the Work Experience Section of Your CV
A skills section is an essential addition to your work placement CV. But you’ve got to target it to the work experience opportunity you’re applying for. Here’s how to do it.
Here are some great skills for a CV for work experience.
Read more: Best Skills to Include On Your CV: Top List of Examples
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.
When you’re done, Zety’s CV builder will score your CV and tell you exactly how to make it better.
Work placement CV examples have a tendency to all look the same. You need to stand out if you want to get the best work experience opportunities. And an easy way to add some weight to your CV is to include some additional sections.
Read more: Best Hobbies and Interests for a CV
What’s even better than a perfect CV for work experience? A matching cover letter for work experience to go with it. It’ll add a real professional touch to your work experience application.
Here’s what to include in a cover letter for work experience.
Pro Tip: If you can’t find a formal offer of a work experience placement then try out a speculative cover letter. It can help you discover all sorts of hidden opportunities.
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.
And my last bit of advice. Follow up your work experience application. If you haven’t had any news within a week of applying then contact the employer to check. It’s a final professional touch that’ll give your chances of success a boost.
Thanks for reading our CV template for work experience. If there’s anything else you’d like to know about what to write in a CV for work experience then ask me in the comments section and I’ll be glad to help.
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