Student Resume Template & First Job CV Example (No Experience)
A good student resume (called a CV in the UK and most of the world) proves that you can do the job even before your first full-time role. With little or no work experience, it shows three things instead: what you study, what you have already done (part-time jobs, projects, volunteering, clubs) and the skills an employer can use from day one. Below is a complete one-page example in a single-column, ATS-friendly design, what to write in each section, bullet points you can adapt and the keywords employers search for.
Use this template → Check your CV with ATS
Design: Classic · single column · ATS-friendly
Student resume example
How to write a student resume, section by section
Employers spend only a few seconds on a first look at an entry-level CV. Keep it to one page and make every line show something you did, learned or are good at.
1. Header
Your name, a short headline (for example Business student · part-time, weekends and summer), phone, a simple e-mail with your name in it and your city. A LinkedIn profile or portfolio link helps if it is up to date. A photo, date of birth and marital status are not needed in the US, UK or Canada; add them only where local employers expect them.
2. Summary
Two or three lines: what and where you study, your year or expected graduation, when you can work and two strengths with one proof. Skip the old-style objective like “seeking a challenging position”; write what you offer instead.
3. Experience
Every kind of work counts: part-time and summer jobs, babysitting, tutoring, helping in a family business, freelance or volunteer roles. Give the role, place and dates, then 2–4 bullet points that start with a verb and include a number: customers per shift, children in your group, money you handled, people you trained.
4. Projects
If you have little work history, projects are your experience. Add school or university projects, competitions, a club you organised, a website, an app or a small business idea. Name your role, the team size and the result.
5. Skills
Six to ten skills that appear in the job ad and that you can prove: computer and office tools, languages, customer service, cash handling, social media, basic coding or design. Keep soft skills short and show them in your bullet points.
6. Education
For a student this is the core of the CV: school or university, programme, start year and expected graduation date, relevant courses, strong grades and honours. Also mention your programme in the headline and summary, so a recruiter sees it in the first seconds.
7. Extras
Languages with levels, certificates (first aid, a driving licence, online courses), volunteering, sports teams and interests that say something about you. One line each is enough; they help when two candidates look the same on paper.
Student resume bullet points you can adapt
ⓘ The numbers below are illustrative sample data. Use your own real figures, even small ones.
Part-time and summer jobs
- Served up to 150 customers per shift in a busy café and kept order times under 4 minutes
- Handled cash and card payments; trusted to close the register 3 evenings a week
- Trained 2 new team members on the menu, the till and food-safety rules
School and university projects
- Led a team of 4 in a recycling survey of 320 students and presented the results to the student council
- Built a sales dashboard in Excel with pivot tables for a course project, graded A
- Wrote a 20-page research report on local transport and presented it to a class of 30
Volunteering and clubs
- Tutored 6 secondary-school students in maths every week for a school year
- Organised a charity book sale with 12 volunteers and 400 visitors
- Ran the social media account of the school debate club and grew it to 1,200 followers
Skills in action
- Combined 15 hours of work per week with a full study load and kept a strong grade average
- Answered customer questions in English and Spanish during summer tourist season
- Created posters and posts in Canva for 3 campus events
Certificates and courses
- First Aid and CPR certificate, 2025
- Microsoft Office Specialist: Excel Associate, 2025
- Online course: Introduction to Python programming, 2024
Student skills and ATS keywords
Hard skills
- Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint
- Google Docs and Sheets
- Data entry
- Cash handling and POS systems
- Customer service
- Social media content
- Canva and basic graphic design
- Research and report writing
- Basic HTML or Python
- Foreign languages
Soft skills
- Reliability and punctuality
- Teamwork
- Communication
- Willingness to learn
- Time management
- Problem solving
Keywords to include for ATS
Many employers, including shops, restaurants and large companies hiring for entry-level jobs, use an applicant tracking system (ATS) that searches resumes for words from the job ad. Use the exact words from the ad where they are true for you, for example:
- entry-level
- part-time
- customer service
- cash handling
- Microsoft Excel
- teamwork
- communication skills
- time management
- problem solving
- data entry
- flexible schedule
- fast learner
Variants: high school, university, graduate and job abroad
High school student or teenager (first job)
Keep it short and honest: school, expected graduation, availability (after school, weekends, holidays), and any babysitting, pet sitting, helping neighbours, school roles, sports or volunteering. Reliability and a positive attitude are what employers look for first.
University student (part-time job)
Lead with your programme and year in the summary, then part-time jobs and projects. Show that you can combine work and study: hours per week and the shifts you can take.
Recent graduate (entry-level job)
Put your degree, final project or thesis and the most relevant courses up front, then any internships, part-time work and projects. Match the summary and skills to the exact job ad.
Student applying abroad
Write the CV in the language of the country, explain your degree in local terms (for example, the level and the length of the programme) and list language levels by the CEFR scale (A1–C2) or the exam you passed.
Common student resume mistakes
- Writing “no experience” instead of listing projects, part-time jobs and volunteering
- Listing duties (“worked at a café”) instead of what you did with numbers
- An unprofessional e-mail address or an old nickname
- A generic objective (“seeking a challenging position”) instead of what you offer
- Two pages of school details: one page is enough for a first CV
- Typos and mixed date formats: ask someone to read it before you send it
Student resume FAQ
How do I write a resume with no work experience?
Replace work history with what you have done: projects, volunteering, clubs, babysitting, tutoring or helping in a family business. Describe each one like a job, with your role, dates and a result with a number, and add the skills and education the job ad asks for.
What should a student put on a resume?
A header with contact details, a short summary, any work or volunteer experience, projects, skills, education with relevant courses and honours, plus languages and certificates. Everything should fit on one page.
How long should a student resume be?
One page. Employers hiring for first jobs and entry-level roles expect a short CV, so keep only what is relevant to the job you are applying for.
Should I put my grades on my resume?
Add your grade average or honours if they are strong or if the job ad asks for them. If they are average, leave them out and let your projects, courses and skills speak instead.
Is a student CV the same as a student resume?
For first jobs, yes: the US and Canada say resume, the UK, Ireland, India and most other countries say CV. Both mean a short one- or two-page summary of your education, experience and skills. An academic CV for research jobs is longer.
Can I use this student template for free?
Yes. You can open the design in the MyEasyCV builder and create your CV for free with an account. Download options are explained on the pricing page.
Can I translate my CV for a job or study abroad?
Yes. Upload your current CV, choose the language and MyEasyCV rewrites it in that language in an ATS-friendly design, ready for you to check and edit.
Create your student resume in this design
Open the builder with the same design selected, add your own projects, jobs and skills, then check it with the ATS checker before you apply.
