How to Write a CV With No Experience in 2024

It’s hard to believe, but it’s true: It IS possible to find a decent job without work experience. But you must know the right way to tackle this challenge. And learning how to write a CV with no experience is the first step. So, pull up your sleeves and get ready.

This guide will show you: 

• A CV with no experience sample that’s better than 9 out of 10 of those out there.
• How to write a CV with no experience that will land you more interviews.
• Tips and examples of how to highlight the right skills on a no-experience CV.
• How to write a CV for a job with no experience to prove your worth.

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Sample CV made with our builder—See more CV examples and create your CV here.

Looking for more specific guides for job applicants with little work experience? Check these:

• Internship CV
• Student CV
• Graduate CV
• School Leaver CV
• CV for a 16-Year-Old
• CV for a Part-Time Job
• 100+ CV Examples for Every Industry

CV with no experience sample

Now, here’s how to write a CV with no experience, step by step: 

1. Choose the right format for a CV with no experience 

Writing a CV, especially one with no experience, is not a freestyle affair. Hiring managers are used to dealing with a particular CV format. Handing them something unfamiliar will only hurt your chances.

For a CV with no work experience, go with the skills-based format. This CV format puts the spotlight on your skills and doesn’t suffer from a lack of work history. It includes a header, CV objective, skills summary, education section, and some “extra” sections.

Once you have some work history under your belt, the reverse-chronological CV format will be for you. It places work experience front and centre and is what employers expect to see. Trying to use this CV structure now, though, is like trying to cram a square peg into a round hole.

Here’s how to create the right format for a no-experience CV:

• Pick a basic font for your CV, like Arial or Calibri, and set it to 11–12 pt.
• Leave the page margins at one inch on all sides and use standard line spacing (1–1.15).
• Make each section stand out using larger subheadings.
• Use enough white space to make scanning through your CV layout quick and easy.
• Check the job advert for a preferred file format. If there’s no preference you can find, save your CV in PDF. It makes viewing and printing easier on a huge range of devices.

If you complete these steps, you should have a no-experience CV template ready in no time! However, you can also opt for editable pre-made templates instead of creating one from scratch. 

Read more: What Should My CV Look Like? UK Examples & Guide

2. Fill the header part of your CV with no experience

The first thing in your no-experience CV is a header with your personal information. Add your full name, phone number, email, and—if you have one—your LinkedIn. (On that note, remember to clean up your online profiles, especially if they’re set to public. Employers will check them out, whether you list them on your CV or not.)

What goes after the header in a CV with no experience? The next section contains your personal statement. That’s not where you should start writing, though. Not if you want to avoid writer’s block. Instead, start with your skills summary and come back to the CV objective at the end.

Pro Tip: Feeling tempted to add your best headshot to your CV? It’s not a great idea. Adding a photo to a CV can get your application rejected straight away due to anti-bias policies.

3. Make your no-experience CV irresistible with a skills summary

Your skills are your biggest selling point in a CV with no work experience. But a simple list of hard skills and soft skills is not going to cut it. Instead, make the main part of your CV a skills summary.

Here’s how to create a skills summary in a CV with no experience:

• Brainstorm some abilities you have and feel would be suitable for the job you want. 
• Look through the job advert for this specific job and highlight all the skill requirements.
• Grab 3–5 of your skills that match the requirements. These will be the key skills for your CV.
• Make each skill bold and surround them with white space to make them stand out—like headlines.
• Create 2–5 bullet points under each skill. Each bullet point should offer proof and an example of the given skill in action. Draw on your academic achievements and general life experience for evidence of your skills.
• Put numbers to everything you can. What sounds better, “got good grades” or “maintained a 93% average”?
• Start each bullet point with a strong verb.
• Look into accomplishment statements to help you structure your bullet points.

See the examples below:

How to write a CV with no experience—Key skills

The second sample is hardly terrible; at least it’s not just a laundry list of skills. But “not bad” doesn’t get you the job if even one other candidate has a good, great, skills summary.

The first example is much more convincing, relying on concrete details and numbers.

Need ideas about which skills matter in a CV with no experience? Here’s a bunch you can use:

What skills to put on a CV with no experience: examples

• Active listening skills
• Analytical skills
• Communication skills
• Computer skills
• Customer-service skills
• Decision-making skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Leadership skills
• Technical skills

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

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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.

4. Highlight education on a CV with no experience

You see so many CV examples for students with no experience out there because students are the most likely to be looking for their first job. But whether you’re still studying, just graduated, or finished school years ago, your education section is an important part of your CV.

How to format the education section in a CV with no work experience:

• Create an entry for each of your secondary and post-secondary qualifications.
• List the name of the qualification, the awarding institution, and the dates you attended there.
• Include an expected graduation or completion date if you’re still studying.
• Put all these qualifications in a reverse chronological order—from most recent to least.
• List your A-levels, but only state the number of GCSEs.
• Put “including Mathematics and English” after the number of GCSEs. Some employers need to see you’ve passed at least these two.

See in the example below how to do it the right way:

No work experience CV example: Education section

See the difference? The right example is much more informative than the other one. Including your educational background on a CV with no experience will help an employer make the right choice.

Brush up on other key CV sections. Learn more: Essential Parts You Must Include in a CV.

4. Add “extra” sections to your CV

In a CV with no experience, all that can set you apart from other candidates is your skills summary and education section. That’s not much. You need to stand out from the crowd. Adding more sections to your CV can help to highlight your skills while making your application more personal.

Here’s the golden rule: every single “extra” thing you put into a CV template with no experience has to be clearly and directly relevant to the job application at hand. This means there’s no one-size-fits-all solution.

What to put on a CV with no experience?

• Add 2–4 “extra” CV sections.
• Choose from certifications, awards or other accolades, memberships in professional bodies, conferences, volunteer and one-time gigs, and hobbies and interests.
• Think of industry-specific CV sections you can add. For example, programming languages, projects, productions, and performances. 
• List foreign languages you speak—they’re always relevant.

The following CV with no experience sample will give you some idea of the possibilities:

CV example with no experience—Additional CV sections

Remember that all extra sections of your no-experience CV must be relevant to the job. For example, if you’re applying for a cashier position at a clothing store, it’s worth mentioning that you’re interested in fashion. On the other hand, listing your passion for entomology is not a great idea if you're applying for a call centre job.

Looking for additional ideas to make your CV more unique? Check here: 18 Great CV Ideas to Try.

5. Collect the best bits together to create an impressive CV objective

All the heavy lifting is done at this point. It’s time to go back to the top of your CV with no experience and create an objective, otherwise known as a personal statement for a CV.

First, gather all the ingredients you’ll need—you can lift most of these directly from your CV:

• Think of an adjective or two that describes you. Make sure they suit the job to which you’re applying. Something like “hard-working”, “creative”, or “enthusiastic”.
• Go through your skills summary, education section, and extra sections and pick out two or three of your most relevant and impressive achievements. Pick the ones that most clearly and compellingly speak to the requirements in the job advert.
• Write a sentence that describes what you intend to do for the employer. Not any employer, but this particular one to which you’re applying. Look through the job advert and the company’s website, and search around the web for hints about what they need.
• Now put everything together using this formula: 

These CV examples with no experience will show you how to get it right: 

CV with no work experience examples—CV objective

Same candidate, same history, applying for the same job. Which no-experience CV objective would impress you more?

The first one is focused on what the candidate can do for their potential new employer. It includes plenty of evidence to back up its claims, including a lot of numbers. It’s packed with accomplishments, even though the candidate hasn’t worked a day.

Want to learn about a different type of CV introduction? Check here: What Is a CV Summary?

6. Pair your CV with no experience with a cover letter

First, have you been explicitly told not to include a cover letter? No? Then forget everything you’ve heard about employers not bothering to read cover letters. The last thing you want is to submit a job application to one of the many who do without including a cover letter.

Writing a cover letter is all downhill once you’ve got your CV ready. Keep it short and to the point. Don’t dwell on your lack of experience. Instead, focus on your skills and what you intend to do for the employer.

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 

Here’s how to write a CV with no experience, step by step:

• Choose the right format for a CV with no experience.
• Create a compelling skills summary that shows you’ve got what it takes.
• Detail your education; it might be your biggest source of achievements.
• Write an impressive CV objective to get their attention from the get-go.
• Include a cover letter to give yourself every chance of landing that interview.

With any luck, your next CV will include some great work experience! Now it’s your turn:

• What did you find most difficult in writing a CV with no experience? 

• What advice do you have for your fellow readers?

Let me know in the comments section. We can’t wait!