Entry Level CV Examples
Updated 7 July 2026
Writing an entry level CV when you have little or no work experience can feel daunting, but it is absolutely possible to create a strong, professional document that wins interviews. This guide shows you how to structure an entry level CV, what to include when your work history is thin, and how to turn education, volunteering and transferable skills into compelling evidence that you are ready for your first role.
Entry Level CV examples
School Leaver Entry Level CV
entryLeads with education and turns volunteering and part-time work into professional achievements with metrics.
Graduate Entry Level CV
entryEducation section leads with degree classification and relevant modules, while internship and society roles demonstrate initiative and transferable skills.
Career Changer Entry Level CV
seniorReframes unrelated work history to highlight transferable skills, then leads with recent retraining and a clear career pivot in the personal statement.
How to write an entry level CV
An entry level CV should be one page long, with Education leading and Work Experience following. When your work history is limited, your qualifications, academic achievements and relevant coursework become your strongest assets, so put them front and centre.
Format and structure
Use a clear, reverse-chronological layout. If you have almost no work history, consider a combined or skills-based format that lets transferable skills lead, but keep it simple and ATS-friendly. Avoid graphics, tables or columns that break automated parsing.
What to include in each section
| Section | What to include |
|---|---|
| Personal statement | 3-5 lines: lead with enthusiasm and potential, not what you lack. Mention your degree or training, key skills, and career goals. |
| Education | Degree, grade, relevant modules, dissertation or project topics, and any academic awards. For school leavers, list A-Levels and GCSEs with grades. |
| Work Experience | Any paid, unpaid or informal roles. Turn volunteering, babysitting, work shadowing and society roles into professional bullet points with metrics. |
| Skills | Lead with soft skills (teamwork, communication, time management) over narrow technical tools. Employers hiring entry-level candidates weight these more heavily. |
| Additional sections | Hobbies, interests, volunteering, certifications and online courses. These fill the page and evidence transferable skills and personality. |
Keep every bullet point action-oriented and quantified where possible. Even informal experience can be written professionally.
Personal statement examples
Recent marketing graduate with a 2:1 degree and hands-on experience gained through a summer internship and leading a university society. Skilled in social media management, content creation and data analysis, with a proactive attitude and strong attention to detail. Passionate about digital marketing and eager to contribute fresh ideas to a dynamic team.
Hard-working and motivated individual looking for an entry level role to gain experience and develop my skills. I am a quick learner and a team player who is passionate about marketing. I have no professional experience yet but I am eager to start my career.
Writing your experience
When you have little or no formal work history, every piece of experience counts. The key is to reframe unpaid, informal or short-term roles as professional achievements by focusing on what you did and the impact you had.
Turn informal experience into professional bullet points
Instead of writing "helped at a charity shop," write "Volunteered weekly, assisting with stock management and customer service in a busy charity shop serving 50+ customers daily." Quantify wherever possible to show tangible results.
Before and after examples
| Weak | Strong |
|---|---|
| Helped organise a charity event. | Organised a charity bake sale that raised £250 for local youth programmes, coordinating with 5 volunteers. |
| Babysat for family friends. | Provided regular childcare for two families, supervising children aged 4-10 and planning age-appropriate activities for up to 4 hours per session. |
| Did work experience at a marketing agency. | Shadowed senior marketing consultants over a one-week placement, observing client meetings and gaining insight into campaign strategy and analytics tools. |
Use action verbs that suit entry-level roles
Start each bullet with a strong verb: assisted, supported, coordinated, organised, contributed, managed, delivered, developed, planned, researched, presented, achieved. Avoid passive phrasing like "responsible for" or "duties included."
Work shadowing counts
List work shadowing as a legitimate experience entry. Describe what you observed and the skills you gained. It signals initiative and exposure to a professional setting, even if unpaid and short.
Key skills & ATS keywords
Hard skills
Soft skills
ATS keywords
Education & certifications
Education is the backbone of an entry level CV. When work history is thin, your qualifications, grades and academic projects become the evidence that you can deliver.
What to include in the Education section
- Full degree title, classification (e.g. 2:1, First Class) and university name.
- Relevant modules with grades, especially those that align with the target role.
- Dissertation or final-year project topic and grade, if strong.
- Group projects that demonstrate teamwork, research or presentation skills.
- Academic awards, scholarships or commendations.
For school leavers, list A-Levels and GCSEs with grades. If you achieved strong results in subjects relevant to the role, highlight them.
Free online courses and certifications
Add free online courses to compensate for missing work experience. They signal self-directed learning and let you list role-relevant skills you could not gain on the job. Include the course title, provider and completion date.
Examples:
- Google Digital Garage: Fundamentals of Digital Marketing
- HubSpot Academy: Content Marketing Certification
- freeCodeCamp: Responsive Web Design Certification
- FutureLearn: Customer Service Fundamentals
- Coursera: Introduction to Data Analysis (if relevant)
List certifications in a dedicated Certifications section or under Education, depending on space and relevance.
Common mistakes to avoid
Padding the CV to two pages to look more experienced.
Keep it to one page. Recruiters expect a short CV for entry-level roles, and one page ensures they read the whole document.
Writing "I have no experience" or leading with what you lack.
Pivot to potential and enthusiasm. Lead with your degree, skills and eagerness to learn, not what you are missing.
Listing duties instead of achievements (e.g. "responsible for stock management").
Show impact with metrics: "Restocked shelves and maintained shop floor presentation, contributing to a 15% increase in footfall."
Using slang, colloquial language or informal email addresses (e.g. "partygirl99@email.com").
Keep language professional and use a simple, professional email address (e.g. firstname.lastname@email.co.uk).
Over-designing the CV with graphics, colours or columns that break ATS parsing.
Use a clean, simple template with standard headings and no tables or text boxes. ATS systems cannot read complex layouts.
Skipping proofreading, leaving typos or formatting errors.
Proofread multiple times and ask someone else to review. With no track record to fall back on, a single typo can sink your application.
Junior vs senior: what changes
| Aspect | Junior | Senior |
|---|---|---|
| Personal statement | Leads with degree, enthusiasm and career goals. Focuses on potential and transferable skills rather than years of experience. | Leads with years of experience, specific expertise and measurable achievements. Focuses on value delivered in previous roles. |
| Education section | Placed above Work Experience. Includes degree classification, relevant modules, dissertation topic and academic projects to fill space and show capability. | Placed below Work Experience. Brief, listing only degree title and institution unless qualifications are highly relevant to the role. |
| Work Experience | Includes volunteering, work shadowing, internships, part-time jobs and informal roles. Focuses on transferable skills and any quantifiable impact. | Lists only professional roles with clear job titles, companies and measurable achievements. Volunteering is omitted unless highly relevant. |
| Skills section | Leads with soft skills (teamwork, communication, time management) over hard skills. Employers weight these more heavily for entry-level roles. | Leads with hard skills and technical expertise. Soft skills are assumed and rarely listed explicitly. |
| Hobbies and interests | Included deliberately to evidence transferable skills and personality. A team sport shows collaboration; a society role shows leadership. | Omitted or very brief. Senior CVs focus on professional achievements, and hobbies are seen as filler unless directly relevant. |
| Length | One page. Recruiters expect a short CV and will not read beyond one page for an entry-level candidate. | Two pages. Senior candidates have enough experience to justify the extra space, and recruiters expect more detail. |