Examples & writing guide
Graduate CV example and writing guide for 2026
Updated 17 June 2026
A good graduate CV turns study, part-time work and projects into credible evidence of what you can do. This guide explains how to structure yours, write a focused graduate personal statement and describe achievements even when your professional experience is limited.
Examples by experience level
Graduate CV example
TemplateNavy Atlas4 / 5
Why this works
This graduate CV sample turns university projects, part-time work and an internship into clear evidence of analysis, teamwork and dependable delivery, using figures the candidate could explain at interview.
Continue writing your CVGraduate Business Analyst
TemplateGrey Frame5 / 5
Why this works
This example turns a placement year, university projects and early professional experience into clear evidence of analysis, teamwork and measurable delivery.
Continue writing your CVSenior Data Analyst
TemplateBlue Horizon3 / 5
Why this works
This example traces a credible path from a graduate rotation to analytical leadership, using defensible measures of scale, ownership and results.
Continue writing your CVJunior vs senior: what changes
| Aspect | Junior | Senior |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence base | Draws mainly on degree projects, work experience, part-time employment and relevant extracurricular activity. | Draws on sustained professional responsibility, delivery across several projects and evidence of broader organisational impact. |
| Personal statement | Leads with career direction, relevant study and two or three well-supported transferable strengths. | Leads with professional scope, leadership, specialist judgement and measurable outcomes. |
| Responsibility | Shows ownership of defined tasks and the ability to learn through hands-on work. | Shows responsibility for priorities, standards, delivery and the work of other people. |
| Collaboration | Uses specific examples of contributing to group projects or working with colleagues to solve a problem. | Shows leadership across functions, resolution of competing priorities and influence beyond the immediate team. |
| Adaptability | Uses study, placements or part-time work to show adjustment to new teams, subjects or settings. | Shows effective delivery across functions, teams or locations, with evidence of managing change at scale. |
| Results | Uses modest, defensible measures such as project marks, deadlines, audience size, records processed or time saved. | Uses larger measures tied to programme delivery, service improvement, quality, budgets or team performance, but only where the figures can be verified. |
How to write a graduate CV
Use a simple reverse-chronological format, placing your most recent experience and education first. For most graduates, two pages provide enough room to show useful evidence without padding. A one-page CV can work when your experience is genuinely brief, but do not shrink the type or margins to force it.
A practical section order is contact details, personal statement, skills, experience, education and relevant extras. Move education above experience if your course contains the strongest evidence for the role. If you have substantial internships or directly relevant work, experience may deserve the earlier position.
| Section | What to include | What to leave out |
|---|---|---|
| Contact details | Name, UK location, mobile, professional email and profile link | Photo, date of birth and full street address |
| Personal statement | Target role, strongest evidence and the contribution you can make | Generic claims that could describe any applicant |
| Experience | Jobs, internships, volunteering and projects with outcomes | Duty lists with no context or result |
| Skills | Abilities supported elsewhere in the CV | Long lists of unsupported buzzwords |
| Education | Degree details, dates, relevant modules or projects where useful | Every module regardless of relevance |
| Extras | Relevant societies, awards, languages or interests | Filler included only to occupy space |
Write the personal statement last. Once the rest of the CV is finished, you can identify the two or three points that deserve space at the top. Keep it brief and tailor it to the vacancy.
Treat experience broadly. Paid employment matters, but a graduate CV with no experience can also use assessed projects, society roles, volunteering and independent work. For graduate-scheme applications, an internship, work experience placement, insight day or placement year may help you demonstrate experience. Describe the work honestly and use figures only when you can defend them.
Choose a compact skills section, then prove those skills through examples. Under education, give the exact degree title, institution, result or expected result, and dates. Add selected modules, a dissertation or a substantial group project only when these help the reader judge your fit.
Extras should earn their place. A committee role can show responsibility; a language may be useful in a particular post. Tailor the wording and section order for each application instead of sending the same graduate CV template everywhere.
Personal statement examples
Recent graduate with experience turning complex project findings into clear recommendations for academic and community audiences. Coordinated a five-person research project, maintained the delivery plan and presented the final analysis to 40 attendees. Seeking a graduate operations role where careful analysis, practical problem solving and dependable teamwork can support measurable service improvements.
Hard-working graduate seeking an exciting opportunity with a successful company. I am a good communicator, work well alone or in a team and can learn anything quickly. I would like a role that lets me grow and use my many skills.
Writing your experience
Graduate experience sections often fail because they read like job descriptions. A recruiter already understands that a shop assistant served customers or that a student completed coursework. Your bullets need to show what you changed, produced, solved or learned, with enough context to make the result believable.
Use a simple pattern: action + scope + result. Start with what you did, add the size or difficulty of the task, then state the outcome. A metric can be a percentage, time saved, audience size, number of records, project mark, event attendance or value handled. It does not need to be financial. Use only figures you recorded or can verify; never invent a number because the sentence sounds stronger with one.
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Helped with a university group project | Coordinated tasks for a five-person research project, submitted all milestones on time and earned a 72% final mark |
| Worked in a busy café | Served up to 90 customers per shift while balancing till duties and closing checks, with no cash discrepancies during the final six months |
| Managed social media for a society | Planned a six-week event campaign that increased registrations from 45 to 78 compared with the previous term |
The improved versions work because the reader can see the candidate's contribution, the scale involved and a result. If no numerical outcome exists, give a specific deliverable or change: drafted the handover guide adopted by the next committee, resolved a recurring booking error, or presented recommendations that the project sponsor accepted. Precision matters more than decorative language.
For academic work, name the question, method, constraints and output in plain language. A useful bullet might explain that you cleaned 1,200 survey records, checked inconsistencies and produced charts for a final report. For part-time work, focus on transferable evidence such as handling peaks in demand, training colleagues, improving an everyday process or dealing calmly with complaints. Volunteering and society positions deserve the same treatment when they support the vacancy.
Use direct verbs such as analysed, coordinated, designed, drafted, tested, resolved, scheduled, presented, improved and delivered. Avoid "helped with", "responsible for" and "involved in" when you can name your actual contribution. Keep each bullet to one main point. Three strong bullets usually say more than seven repetitive ones.
Tailor the evidence to the job specification. Match each important skill with a real example from study, work or another activity. For rotational graduate schemes, examples of adapting to a new team, subject or location can be useful because placements may span different functions, teams and sometimes locations. Do not claim flexibility as a personality trait alone; show the reader where you used it.
Key skills & ATS keywords
Hard skills
Soft skills
ATS keywords
Education & certifications
Education usually carries more weight on an early graduate CV than it does later in a career. List your newest qualification first, using its exact title, institution, location if useful, completion date and confirmed or expected result. Keep the wording factual. If the result is pending, label it as expected rather than presenting it as awarded.
Beneath the degree, select evidence that supports the vacancy: a dissertation, substantial project, relevant modules or an assessed presentation. Give the project a short descriptive title and add one or two lines on the method, scope and outcome. Avoid copying the course catalogue. The reader needs to understand what you did, not every topic the course offered.
Graduate schemes set their own entry terms, so check each advert carefully. A graduate scheme is an entry-level training programme that applicants may apply for if they have a degree. Graduate-scheme applicants will usually need at least a 2:1 (upper second-class honours), while some schemes allow a 2:2 (lower second-class honours) when the applicant shows potential and has a good CV. These are route-specific conditions rather than rules for every graduate job.
Some programmes publish narrower requirements. External applicants to HMRC's Finance Graduate Scheme need a degree with minimum 2:1 in any subject. Existing civil servants applying through that scheme need a minimum Level 4 qualification or equivalent. Applicants to the same scheme must be successfully assessed against the Level 7 Apprenticeship Standards and must not undertake another apprenticeship or government-funded qualification at the same time. State these conditions only when discussing that particular application; do not present them as general graduate requirements.
Do not add a certification merely because it appears in another candidate's graduate CV sample. Include a named credential only when you actually hold it and it is relevant to the vacancy. Record its exact name, awarding body and completion date. If it expires, include the status or date accurately rather than implying that it remains valid.
For short courses without a formal credential, a small "Additional training" line may be clearer than a certifications section. Remove weak school-level detail once your degree and later evidence make it redundant, unless an employer specifically asks for it. The final section should make eligibility easy to check while leaving room for the projects and achievements that distinguish you.
Common mistakes to avoid
AvoidListing modules, part-time jobs or society roles without showing how they relate to the vacancy.
InsteadMatch each useful example to a skill or responsibility in the job specification. State what you did, the scale involved and the result, using only figures you can defend.
AvoidTreating a graduate CV with no experience as an empty CV.
InsteadUse evidence from degree projects and work experience. Internships, placements, insight days and placement years can also demonstrate experience when they are relevant to the graduate scheme.
AvoidWriting a generic graduate personal statement that could be sent to any employer.
InsteadName the target role, connect it to your career motivation and tailor the evidence to the organisation. Keep detailed employer research for the application form or interview where appropriate.
AvoidClaiming teamwork or problem solving without an example.
InsteadAdd a short piece of evidence: the problem, who you worked with, your contribution and the outcome. Group projects count when your own role is clear.
AvoidUsing one unchanged CV for rotational and non-rotational roles.
InsteadFor a scheme involving placements across functions, teams or locations, bring forward evidence of adaptability, quick learning and effective work with unfamiliar colleagues.
AvoidPacking the skills section with software names that never appear elsewhere.
InsteadKeep only relevant tools and support the strongest ones in project or experience bullets, such as explaining how Microsoft Excel was used and what the work produced.
Frequently asked questions
Aim for one or two pages, choosing the shortest length that gives enough evidence. A graduate with limited experience can often use one page; use a second when relevant projects, placements or employment would otherwise be cramped.
Use degree projects and any relevant work experience to prove your skills. Internships, work experience placements, insight days and placement years may also help for graduate-scheme applications, while part-time work can demonstrate transferable evidence when it is tailored to the vacancy.
No. Under British CV conventions, leave out both and use the space for evidence that supports the application.
Check the exact vacancy rather than assuming one rule applies everywhere. Graduate schemes commonly ask for a degree and usually at least a 2:1 (upper second-class honours), although some schemes allow a 2:2 (lower second-class honours) when the applicant shows potential and has a good CV.
Include a role-specific qualification only when it is relevant to the vacancy, and give its exact title and completion date. Do not add unrelated short courses merely to fill space.
Work through the job specification and attach a clear example to each relevant skill. Use your personal statement and strongest bullets to show career motivation, interest in the employer and evidence from your degree or work experience.
From example to application
Turn this graduate example into a CV that sounds like you.
Keep the structure that works. Tailor the details around your experience, strengths, and the role you want.