UK CV Tips · 2026
How to Write a CV With No Experience (UK 2026)
Why this matters
UK graduate, school-leaver, and career-changer CVs without paid experience face a particular challenge: the standard CV format assumes professional history. Reframing the CV around what you've built, learned, and led — rather than where you've been employed — produces a stronger document. Most candidates with no formal experience underestimate what counts as relevant.
Exact steps
- 1 Open with a Personal Profile that names what you're working towards
- 2 Lead with Education — degree, A-levels if relevant, predicted grades if pre-graduation
- 3 Add a Projects section with 2-3 specific projects (academic, side, voluntary, freelance)
- 4 Add Leadership / Activities — society leadership, sport captaincy, volunteer roles
- 5 Add Skills relevant to the target role (technical, language, software)
- 6 Add part-time or seasonal work if any (retail, hospitality counts)
- 7 Keep to 1 page total — under 10 years out from school
What good looks like
Personal Profile: Recent computer science graduate from Imperial College London (2:1) seeking junior software engineering role. Three years of self-directed Python and TypeScript projects, including a published GitHub library used by 200+ users. President of CS Society 2024-2025. Projects: • Open-source rate-limiting Python library (200+ GitHub stars, 4 contributors) • Final-year project: ML-based exam timetabling system (graded First) • Side: Built and shipped a Notion alternative app to App Store (40+ users) Leadership: • President, Imperial CS Society (2024-2025) — 800+ members, 12 events organised • Volunteer Python tutor, Code Club (2023-Present) — taught 12 KS3 students
What bad looks like
Personal Profile: Looking for opportunities in technology. Education: Imperial College London, BSc Computer Science, 2:1, 2021-2024 Work Experience: • Summer job at Tesco, 2023, stacked shelves Skills: Python, JavaScript, Microsoft Office, Communication, Teamwork
Common mistakes
- ✗Apologising for lack of experience in the personal profile
- ✗Not including projects, society leadership, or volunteer work — these all count
- ✗Generic skills (Communication, Teamwork) instead of specific technical skills
- ✗Going over 1 page — under 10 years from school usually fits in 1 page
- ✗Listing every short summer job equally — focus on the most relevant
Recruiter pro tip
The single biggest mindset shift for no-experience CVs is treating projects and activities as equivalent to work experience. A graduate who built a working app with 50 users has more relevant experience for a junior software role than a graduate with 6 months of unrelated retail work. Lead with what's most relevant to the target role, not what's most chronological.
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