PROFESSIONALLY WRITTEN CV WRITING BLOG
Graduating from university is a major achievement. You have spent years studying, working towards your degree and developing the knowledge you need to start your career.
The difficult part often comes when you have to turn all of that into a CV that makes an employer want to meet you.
A graduate CV is very different from the CV of someone who already has ten or fifteen years of professional experience. You may not have a long employment history, but that does not mean you do not have plenty to offer.
In fact, you probably have far more relevant experience than you realise.
The key is knowing what a prospective employer is likely to want and then finding the evidence in your background that demonstrates those skills and qualities.
That is exactly how I approach graduate CV writing.
I do not simply take a standard graduate CV template and fill it with your university details, qualifications and a part-time job. I look at the role you want, consider what the employer is likely to be looking for and then explore your education, employment, achievements and responsibilities to find the evidence that supports your application.
That produces a much stronger CV because it is written around what you can offer the employer, rather than simply being a record of what you have done.
How I Structure a Graduate CV
When I write a graduate CV, I do not normally follow the traditional CV format.
A graduate often has limited formal employment experience, so putting work history near the top can actually hide some of the strongest evidence they have to offer.
I normally start with a professional summary, followed by skills and competencies, then education.
After that comes work history, which may include part-time jobs, internships, placements, holiday work or other employment.
I then look at achievements and responsibilities outside formal employment.
This is particularly important for graduates because some of their strongest evidence may have nothing to do with a paid job.
You may have been a school prefect, captain of a sports team, member of a debating team, student representative or committee member. You may have helped organise university events, raised money for charity, led a project or taken responsibility for other people.
Those experiences can tell an employer a great deal about you.
My job is to understand what you actually did, what responsibility you had and what you achieved, and then decide how that information should be positioned within your CV.
You can read more about how I approach CV writing through my CV Writing Service, where I explain why I use a bespoke approach rather than relying on generic templates.
I Start With the Job You Want
One of the biggest differences between my approach and a generic graduate CV service is that I do not start with your employment history.
I start with the role.
I want to understand what type of position you are applying for and what the proposed employer is likely to want from someone entering that role.
That might be leadership, communication, commercial awareness, analytical ability, organisation, problem solving, customer service, research, technical ability, teamwork or the ability to take responsibility.
Once I understand that, I can work backwards through your experience.
I am looking for evidence.
Perhaps your university degree has given you strong research and analytical skills. Perhaps you completed a major project that involved teamwork and tight deadlines. Perhaps your part-time job involved dealing with customers or solving problems. Perhaps you captained a sports team and gained leadership experience.
The important thing is that I am not simply asking, “What have you done?”
I am asking, “What have you done that demonstrates what this employer is likely to want?”
That is a very different way of writing a graduate CV.
It is also why I spend time talking to you rather than simply sending you a questionnaire to complete. You can read more about exactly how that works on my CV Writing Process page.
You Probably Have More Experience Than You Think
One of the most common things I hear from graduates is that they do not have enough experience.
Usually, what they mean is that they do not have enough traditional full-time employment experience.
Those are not the same thing.
Your degree can provide evidence of research, analysis, written communication, project work and meeting deadlines.
A university project can demonstrate teamwork, organisation, presentation skills and problem-solving.
An internship or placement can provide practical experience of working in a professional environment.
A part-time job can demonstrate communication, customer service, reliability, resilience and the ability to work under pressure.
Volunteering can demonstrate initiative and commitment.
Sport can demonstrate discipline, teamwork and leadership.
The objective is not to pretend you have more experience than you do.
It is to understand the experience you already have and show an employer why it matters.
Your Achievements Can Be Extremely Valuable
This is an area where I believe many graduate CVs miss a real opportunity.
Graduates will sometimes tell me they were a prefect, captain of a sports team or involved in debating, but they do not believe those things are particularly relevant.
I see them differently.
Being a prefect can demonstrate responsibility and trust.
Captaining a sports team can demonstrate leadership, organisation, teamwork and the ability to motivate others.
Being part of a debating team can demonstrate confidence, research, communication and the ability to construct and present an argument.
Organising a university event can demonstrate planning, coordination and problem solving.
These experiences do not become valuable simply because they are listed on the CV.
The value comes from understanding what you actually did and what those experiences demonstrate about you.
That is why the consultation is so important.
I ask questions designed to uncover information you may not initially think is relevant. Quite often, the most useful evidence comes from something the graduate almost left out.
How I Use Part-Time Work on a Graduate CV
I have no problem including part-time employment on a graduate CV, even when the job has no obvious connection to the career you are trying to start.
What matters is what you actually did.
Imagine you worked in a restaurant while studying.
A basic CV might tell an employer that you served customers, took orders and worked as part of a team.
That is factual, but it does not tell the employer much.
I would want to explore whether you dealt with difficult customers, trained new staff, worked in a particularly demanding environment, handled cash, took responsibility for opening or closing, solved problems or were trusted with additional responsibilities.
Those experiences may be highly relevant to the graduate role you are now targeting.
The same applies to retail work, administration, warehouse work, hospitality and other part-time employment.
I look at the role through the eyes of the proposed employer and make sure the relevant experience is properly presented.
Education Still Matters
As a graduate, your education will naturally be one of the most important parts of your CV.
Your degree, university and classification should be clear and easy to find.
Depending on the role, there may also be value in including relevant modules, dissertation work, academic projects or particular areas of study.
But your CV should not become a university transcript.
The question I ask is whether the information helps demonstrate that you are suitable for the job.
If your dissertation involved detailed research and analysis and you are applying for a position where those abilities are important, it may be worth giving it some emphasis.
If you completed a major project involving teamwork, deadlines and presentation, that may also be valuable.
The information needs to earn its place on the CV.
Your Professional Summary Needs to Work Hard
Your professional summary is one of the first things an employer will read, so it needs to tell them something useful.
I do not want to see a graduate CV opening with a paragraph packed with words such as “hard-working”, “enthusiastic”, “motivated” and “excellent team player” without any evidence behind them.
Your professional summary should give the reader a clear understanding of who you are, what you have to offer and the direction you want your career to take.
It should also begin to reflect the type of role you are applying for.
A graduate applying for a commercial position may need a very different emphasis from someone applying for an engineering, marketing, finance or project management position.
The summary needs to be based on your actual background and the employer you are trying to attract.
For more guidance on this area, I also have a dedicated guide on How to Write a Personal Profile.
Skills and Competencies Need Evidence
I also take a different approach to the skills and competencies section.
I do not believe in simply filling this part of the CV with a list of generic phrases.
I want to understand what skills the proposed employer is likely to be looking for and then find evidence that you actually possess them.
Perhaps you have demonstrated leadership by captaining a team.
Perhaps you have developed strong analytical ability through your degree.
Perhaps debating has developed your communication and confidence.
Perhaps balancing university, employment and extracurricular commitments demonstrates organisation and time management.
The skills section should therefore be supported by the rest of the CV.
It should not simply tell the employer what you claim to be good at. It should give them evidence.
Graduate CVs and Applicant Tracking Systems
The modern recruitment process also means that your CV needs to work for both the person reading it and the technology processing it.
Applicant Tracking Software, commonly known as ATS, is used by many employers as part of the recruitment process.
That means your CV needs to use relevant terminology from the role naturally and sensibly.
It also needs to be structured clearly and professionally.
I do not believe a graduate CV needs complicated graphics, unusual layouts or excessive design simply to stand out.
The content should do the hard work.
The right terminology, the right evidence and a clear structure are far more important.
I explain this in much more detail in my ATS-Friendly CV Guide, which covers how ATS works and why the way you use keywords matters.
How Long Should a Graduate CV Be?
For most graduates, I would normally expect a CV to be around two pages.
That gives you enough room to explain your education, relevant experience, skills and achievements without trying to include absolutely everything you have ever done.
There is no point adding information simply to fill two pages.
A strong two-page CV is far better than a weak two-page CV containing repetitive or irrelevant information.
The objective is to give the employer enough information to understand what you can offer and enough reason to want to meet you.
How to Make a Graduate CV Stand Out
Making a graduate CV stand out does not mean using bright colours, complicated graphics or a strange layout.
It means making the information relevant.
When I write a graduate CV, I want the employer to see evidence of ability rather than a collection of generic claims.
I want them to see achievement, responsibility, initiative and potential.
Most importantly, I want them to understand why your experience is relevant to the role they are trying to fill.
That is why I tailor the emphasis of the CV around the role.
Your experience does not suddenly change because you have applied for a different job, but the parts of that experience that deserve attention can change considerably.
Why My Graduate CV Writing Approach Is Different
I do not use a questionnaire-only approach.
I start with a one-to-one consultation because I want to understand you properly.
I want to know what you have studied, what you have done, what you have achieved and where you want your career to go.
I then look at the role you are targeting and explore the skills and qualities a prospective employer is likely to want.
From there, I look through your background for the evidence.
That might come from your degree. It might come from your part-time employment. It might come from a university project, a sports team, a debating competition, volunteering or a responsibility you took on outside education.
The important thing is that we find it.
This is why two graduates with almost identical degrees can end up with completely different CVs.
The CV should not simply explain what makes you a graduate.
It should explain what makes you a graduate worth meeting.
Ready to Create a Graduate CV That Properly Represents You?
Your degree has taken years of hard work, and your CV needs to make sure that effort is properly represented.
You do not need to pretend that you have years of professional experience.
You need to identify the experience you already have, understand which parts are relevant to the role you want and present that evidence in a way that makes sense to the employer.
That is what I do.
My graduate CV writing service is completely bespoke. We start with a one-to-one consultation, I ask the questions that uncover the information that matters and I then build the CV around your background, your ambitions and the type of role you want to secure.
Before you decide whether professional CV writing is right for you, you can read about How My Process Works, see what previous clients have said in my Client Reviews, explore my CV Writing Service and view my Pricing.
You can also read more about who I am and my experience before making a decision.
If you would like to talk through your situation with me, you can Book a Consultation. There is no pressure to proceed. We can simply discuss where you are now, the type of role you are targeting and whether I can help.
Graduate CV FAQs
How do I write a graduate CV if I have little or no experience?
You probably have more relevant experience than you think. Your degree, university projects, part-time work, internships, volunteering, sport, societies and other responsibilities can all provide evidence of useful skills. The important thing is identifying which parts of your experience demonstrate the qualities relevant to the role you want.
What should I include on a graduate CV?
When I write a graduate CV, I normally structure it around a professional summary, skills and competencies, education, work history and achievements. The exact emphasis depends on the role you are targeting and the evidence available from your background.
How long should a graduate CV be in the UK?
For most graduates, around two pages is appropriate. The more important point is that those two pages contain the right information and demonstrate why you are suitable for the position.
How can I make my graduate CV stand out?
A graduate CV stands out when it contains relevant evidence rather than generic statements. Showing where you have demonstrated leadership, communication, organisation, problem solving, responsibility and other relevant qualities is much stronger than simply claiming you possess those skills.
Should I tailor my graduate CV for every job?
Yes. Your background remains the same, but the emphasis should change according to the role. I start by considering what the proposed employer is likely to want and then identify the relevant evidence from your education, employment and wider experience. That makes the CV much more targeted than sending the same document to every employer.