Graduate CV Example

Putting together a strong job application as a recent graduate is tough. The UK job market is still recovering from the economic impact of COVID-19, and it’s difficult to impress employers when you have little or no work experience.

To get a good position after graduating from university, you need to know how to write a competitive graduate CV that properly displays your qualifications and experience.

To help you do just that, we explain exactly how to write a great graduate CV, section-by-section. Additionally, we include a free downloadable graduate CV example for you to reference, as well as some quick writing tips.

1. Contact information

In your first section, let employers know how to contact you. You can write a great CV, but without any contact information employers won’t be able to reach you about potential offerings or interviews.

There’s no need to get creative with this bit. Simply list your name, phone number (mobile is preferred), location, and a professional email address. You can also include your LinkedIn profile URL if you have one.

2. Personal statement

A CV personal statement is a brief paragraph located at the top of your CV that explains to employers who you are, what your qualifications are, and why you’re interested in the position.

Most importantly, it gives you a brief opportunity to introduce yourself and provide context to your qualifications.

Having a convincing personal statement is particularly essential when writing a graduate CV because it’s a chance to explain why you’re passionate about the role or a particular career path. If you’re inexperienced, this passion can help make up for a lack of formal work experience, and win over employers by showing them you’d be a dedicated employee.

Spend a little time thinking about what to say, as you don’t want to sound too generic. Remember, a personal statement is valuable, as it’s the first thing that will be seen on your CV.

3. Key skills

Including a bulleted list of skills on your CV is a great way to catch the eye of employers.

In fact, as a recent graduate, you likely have more skills than you might think. Working on projects, volunteering, and participating in extracurricular activities (such as being the leader of a university club) all teach valuable technical and soft skills.

Here are some examples of hard and soft skills that you’ve probably picked up throughout university:

Hard Skills

• Microsoft Office
• Research
• Google Drive Suite
• Writing
• Copyediting

Soft Skills

• Organisational skills
• Collaboration
• Time management
• Leadership skills
• Interpersonal skills

4. Education

If you have little or no work experience, your education section should be the most robust part of your CV. You can use this section to prove why you’re qualified for the job.

For your qualifications, include your university name, degree, degree classification (hons), relevant modules and dates attended as well as your A-Levels and GCSEs

Because you’ll have likely taken around 10 GCSEs, you only need to abbreviate them as ‘GCSEs: 10 including Maths and English’ or something similar. Most employers will, at a minimum, want to know you’ve acquired GCSEs in Maths and English.

This leaves more room for your A-Levels, which are what really count.

Here’s an example of a properly formatted education section on a graduate CV:

King’s College London (2019–2022)
BSc (Hons) Geography  — upper second-class honours

Relevant Modules: World Geography, Sustainable Development, Extreme Climates, Geographies of the Anthropocene, Water Governance and Management  Land Surveying
A-Levels: English (A), Maths (A), Geography (A)
GCSEs: 10 A–C, including Maths & English

5. Work experience

When including your prior work experience, don’t make the mistake of thinking you can only include experience from previous jobs. Remember, as long as your experience is relevant to the position you’re applying for, it’s okay to include it.

Experience acquired while doing work placements, voluntary work, or even taking part in competitions such as Young Enterprise is also great to include and shows employers that you have transferable skills.

However, be sure to include the company or organisation, dates of employment and position title for each role you include. Also include a brief sentence outlining your role, followed by bullet points summarising your responsibilities, key achievements, and skills developed.

6. References

Finally, include a section for references at the bottom of your graduate CV. Usually, two references are ideal: one academic referee and one prior work referee.

Especially if you have minimal work experience, references are a great way to show employers some of your positive traits and further convince them that you’d make a strong addition to their company.

Unless specifically told otherwise in the job posting’s requirements, you can choose to either include your reference’s contact details, or omit them. If omitting their contact information, be sure to write ‘available upon request’ or something similar, so that employers know you’re willing to provide them.