CV with no work experience – how to write it

Having no work experience does not mean an empty CV. A recruiter hiring an intern or a junior does not expect years of employment — they look for evidence that you can handle specific tasks. That evidence usually exists: in university projects, part-time jobs, volunteering or student organisations.

What to include instead of work experience

• Projects — coursework, personal or competition projects. Name, year, your role and one sentence on what you did and which tool you used.
• Part-time and seasonal jobs — waiting tables, retail, warehouse, tutoring. This is experience: customer service, handling cash, shift work.
• Volunteering and student organisations — organising events, running social media, coordinating people.
• Courses and certificates — completed ones only, with the issuer and year.

How to structure the CV

Start with a short profile (2–3 sentences): who you are, what you are learning and what you are looking for. Then education, projects and activities — skills come last. The recruiter sees evidence first and the keyword list second.

Example: the same experience, described better

Before: “Worked in a café during the summer.”
After: “Café (seasonal job, summer 2025): served customers at the till and took orders, balanced the cash register at the end of each shift.”

The second version adds no new fact — it describes the same duties in words a recruiter recognises from the job ad.

What not to add

Do not list skills you cannot demonstrate in an interview, a higher language level than you have, or “results” without numbers you actually know. For junior roles, recruiters check honesty more often than they count keywords.

Frequently asked questions