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Student CV: Template + 20 Examples [Also With No Experience]
Think getting a job as a student with no experience is impossible? Think again. You just need a great CV. Follow our expert advice & you'll be hired in a flash.
It’s not just about what you put in a CV, it’s also about how you present it. Learn how to use the correct CV format and how to best showcase your skills and experience.
Your CV format is the structure that your CV is built on. CV formatting provides a template for you to arrange your experience, skills and achievements, so they’re easily readable by ATS software and humans alike.
A properly formatted CV is a recruiter’s best friend. It makes their job easier and lets them see your expertise at a glance. But format it badly and your CV won’t even get read.
Don’t worry. In five minutes you’re going to learn how to write a CV in a format that suits your circumstances and best shows off your strengths as a candidate. You’ll be hired in a flash.
Here’s what you’ll get:
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 templates and create your CV here.
Whether you’ve got no experience at all or you’re a senior exec with decades of experience, you need to get your basic CV layout right in order to be taken seriously. For a professional CV make sure you follow these rules. So fire up your word processor and get yourself ready.
Remember these and you’ll have a CV that’ll make a great first impression with recruiters. You’re about to find out about the different types of UK CV format but these rules stay the same, regardless of which template you choose.
Read more: Complete Guide to Professional CV Layout
Ant and Dec, French and Saunders, Morecambe and Wise, Sooty and Sweep, good things come in pairs and the same goes for CV formats. Depending on your circumstances there are two standard types of UK CV format.
There are two main types of CV:
This is what each type of CV does:
Now let’s take a look at samples of both of them, and see how they’re written and for who they’ll work best.
For some great CV tips that work regardless of your format, see this guide: 20+ Job Winning CV Tips and Advice
Here’s how a chronological CV should look.
Jennifer Hopkins
Office Manager
0777 777 7777
jennyhopkinszety@gmail.com
linkedin.com/jenniferhopkinszety
Office Manager with 8+ years experience looking to take on new challenges at Techtron Solutions. Proven wins including achieving 40% reduction in annual office supply costs through targeted procurement re-negotiation and contract management skills. Also skilled in working in partnership with HR, and negotiated an outsourced payroll system, which saved 10 man-hours per month. Seeking to leverage my professional skills to achieve similar efficiencies and savings at Techtron as it continues to provide class-leading CRM solutions.
Office Manager
Semaphore Accounting, London
August 2017–Present
Office Assistant
Patel & Smythe, London
July 2012–August 2017
A levels: English, Maths, German, September 2010–June 2012
Forest Hill Comprehensive, London, UK
9 GCSEs including Maths and English, September 2008–June 2010
Forest Hill Comprehensive, London, UK
Chronological CV format focuses on your work experience. It’s also known as reverse-chronological format, because it lists your most recent role first and then moves back through your previous jobs.
Chronological format is a great choice if you’ve had several years or more of steady career progression. But it’s versatile and can work equally well for a graduate CV or student CV. All you’d need to do is rearrange your CV sections, put your education section first, and ensure that everything is in reverse-chronological order.
What’s more, recruiters love it. It’s the format they’re most familiar with and they scan in in seconds, picking out all the info they need with ease. Computers love it too, it’s easily read by the ATS software that’s used to scan incoming job applications. On the minus side, it really exposes any gaps in employment. If that sounds like you then you should consider the skills-based format.
This is where you put your name and contact information. Here’s how to get it right.
A personal statement is also known as a personal profile, professional profile or career objective. It’s a short paragraph designed to grab the recruiter’s eye and show that you’re the best candidate for the job.
It’s incredibly important because it’s the first place a recruiter looks when they read your CV. Here’s how to get the most out of your personal statement.
Find out more: How to Write a Personal Statement: Examples of Professional Profiles
Just as it says on the tin, this is where you list your professional experience. In a chronological CV, this section has the starring role so give it the attention it deserves. Here’s how to make the most of your work experience.
If you’re writing a student CV, or you’ve just graduated then your education would go before your work experience, immediately after your personal statement. Whatever you do, don’t think you can skimp on this section. Employers expect to find certain essential information. This is what to include in your CV education section.
Skills demonstrate how well you can perform tasks at work, your effectiveness in workplace scenarios and your expertise related to your profession. Here’s how to write your skills section in a chronological CV.
The sections you’ve just seen are must-haves. You can’t write a chronological CV without them. But if you want to beat the 250 applicants clamouring for every job, you’ll need a little something extra. Think of it as the sweet rainbow swirl of icing that makes a delicious cupcake even better.
Examples of additional CV sections:
And that’s your template for creating a chronological CV. Now let’s take a look at a skills-based CV.
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.
Jay Thompson
UX Designer
0777 777 7777
jayt_zety@gmail.com
linkedin.com/in/jayt_zety
UX designer with 5+ years experience and specialization in complex web application design. Specialise in improving user satisfaction and sales conversions through the creation of interactively tested, data-driven, and user-centered design. Looking to leverage my skills to bring monetized improvements to Eastonic as UX Team Lead.
UX DESIGN
GRAPHIC DESIGN
IT SKILLS
Freelance UX Designer
London & Amsterdam
September 2015—present
BA (Hons) User Experience Design
London College of Communication, September 2012–June 2015
Skills-based CV format, also known as a functional CV, focuses on your core set of skills and abilities rather than your work experience.
Skills-based CVs are a good choice for:
A word of warning, caution is needed when using this format. Recruiters don’t tend to like it, because it’s missing the neatly laid out work history they’re used to. Plus, it may not be readable by older ATS systems. That said, a well-written functional CV can be a great help for some candidates. Here’s the basic structure.
Your header and personal statement should be written in exactly the same way as with a chronological CV. But in a functional CV, your skills section is the beating heart of your job application. It needs to be written in more detail and with great care to ensure you focus on relevant examples that emphasize your strongest abilities. Here’s how to do it.
In a skills-based CV this section plays second fiddle to your skills. But it still needs to be formatted with due care and attention.
As for the remaining sections, write your education section in the same way as you would for a chronological CV. And don’t forget to include relevant additional sections. They’re a powerful addition to your CV, regardless of the format you choose.
And that’s it. You’re all set to use your new found formatting skills to create the best CV template possible.
If you’d like a more detailed guide to CV writing then read more here: How to Write a Professional CV
And to format your cover letter perfectly, read more here: How to Format a Cover Letter [Examples & Step-by-Step Guide]
Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume 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.
To be sure of a job-winning CV format remember the following:
Got any questions about how to format a CV? Still not sure what the best CV format for you is? Let’s have a chat in the comments section. I’d love to help.
Think getting a job as a student with no experience is impossible? Think again. You just need a great CV. Follow our expert advice & you'll be hired in a flash.
Recruiters will trade great skills for a great job. All you need to know is what key skills to put on your CV and that job is yours.
You've got no time for complications. You need an easy to use simple & basic CV template that’ll get you hired. We’ve got 18 expert designs that’ll do just that.