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Create ResumeA strong graduate CV is not about pretending you have more experience than you do. It is about making your degree, placements, part time work, projects, skills and potential easy for a recruiter to understand quickly. In the UK job market, most graduate CVs are screened fast, especially for popular entry level roles. That means your CV needs to answer three questions almost immediately: what have you studied, what can you do, and why are you credible for this role?
I see many graduates lose interviews not because they are unsuitable, but because their CV is vague, padded or written like a university assignment. A graduate CV should be clear, commercial, evidence based and easy to scan. The template below shows you exactly how to structure it.
A graduate CV has one job: make a recruiter confident enough to move you to the next stage.
That sounds simple, but many graduates misunderstand the purpose of a CV. They treat it like a full autobiography, a list of modules, or a polite document that says “I am enthusiastic and hardworking” in several different ways. Recruiters do not need that. Hiring managers definitely do not need that.
A graduate CV should show:
Your education and academic background
Your relevant skills
Your work experience, even if it is part time or unrelated
Your projects, placements, internships or voluntary work
Evidence that you can communicate, learn, organise and solve problems
A clear connection between your background and the role you want
The strongest graduate CVs do not hide the fact that the candidate is early in their career. They position it properly.
For most UK graduate applications, a reverse chronological CV works best. That means your most recent education and experience appear first.
Graduate recruiters are used to this structure. Applicant tracking systems can read it easily. Hiring managers can follow it without doing detective work. And frankly, nobody in recruitment wants to hunt through a creative layout to find your degree result.
Use this structure:
Name and contact details
Professional profile
Key skills
Education
Work experience
Projects, internships, placements or voluntary experience
That is the difference.
A weak graduate CV says, “I do not have much experience, but please give me a chance.”
A strong graduate CV says, “Here is the evidence that I can step into this environment, learn quickly, contribute properly and not be a hiring gamble.”
That second message is what recruiters and hiring managers are looking for.
Additional skills
Interests, only if relevant
Keep your CV to one page if you have very limited experience. Use two pages if you have internships, placements, strong projects, volunteering, leadership roles or several part time jobs worth explaining.
The rule is not “graduates must always have a one page CV”. That is one of those neat little pieces of advice that sounds useful but falls apart in real hiring.
The real rule is this: your CV should be as long as it needs to be to prove your relevance, but not one line longer.
Use this structure as your base. Adapt the wording to the role, industry and level of experience you have.
Full Name
Location: City, UK
Phone: 07xxx xxx xxx
Email: professional.email@example.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/yourname
Portfolio or GitHub: Only include if relevant
Recent Degree Subject graduate from University Name with experience in relevant area, project, placement, part time work or transferable skill area. Skilled in skill one, skill two and skill three, with practical experience gained through academic projects, internships, work experience, volunteering or employment. Looking to apply strong analytical, communication, technical, commercial or organisational skills in a target role or sector position.
Skill one: Brief evidence or context
Skill two: Brief evidence or context
Skill three: Brief evidence or context
Skill four: Brief evidence or context
Skill five: Brief evidence or context
Degree Title, University Name, UK
Dates attended
Grade: First Class, 2:1, 2:2 or predicted grade if still studying
Relevant modules: Module one, Module two, Module three
Dissertation or final year project: Project title
Briefly explain the project, methods used, outcome and relevance to the role.
Academic achievements:
Achievement one
Achievement two
Achievement three
A Levels or equivalent, School or College Name
Dates attended
Subjects: Subject one, Subject two, Subject three
Job Title, Company Name, Location
Dates worked
Describe what you did using clear action and evidence
Show responsibility, reliability, communication or problem solving
Include measurable results where possible
Connect the experience to the type of role you are applying for
Avoid listing basic tasks without explaining the value
Project, Placement or Role Title, Organisation or University
Dates
Explain the purpose of the work
Show your specific contribution
Mention tools, methods, stakeholders or outcomes
Include results, feedback, data or deliverables where possible
Technical skills: Tools, software, platforms or systems
Languages: Include proficiency level
Certifications: Relevant online courses or professional certificates
Driving licence: Only if relevant to the role
Include interests only if they add useful context. For example, student society leadership, sports coaching, content creation, coding projects, fundraising, investing, writing or community work can be useful. “Socialising with friends” is not giving the recruiter much to work with, lovely as your friends may be.
Aisha Khan
Location: Birmingham, UK
Phone: 07xxx xxx xxx
Email: aisha.khan@example.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/aishakhan
Recent Business Management graduate from the University of Birmingham with experience in customer service, market research and student society leadership. Confident analysing information, presenting recommendations and working with different stakeholders. Looking to apply strong commercial awareness, communication and organisation skills in a graduate business, operations or account management role within the UK job market.
Commercial awareness: Built through business strategy modules, competitor research projects and customer facing work
Communication: Experienced presenting findings, handling customer queries and coordinating society events
Research and analysis: Able to gather information, identify patterns and summarise recommendations clearly
Organisation: Balanced university deadlines, part time work and student society responsibilities
Microsoft Office: Confident using Excel, PowerPoint and Word for reports, presentations and data tracking
BA Business Management, University of Birmingham, UK
2021 to 2024
Grade: 2:1
Relevant modules: Marketing Strategy, Operations Management, Business Analytics, Consumer Behaviour
Dissertation: The impact of online reviews on purchasing decisions among UK consumers
Researched consumer behaviour using survey data from 180 respondents, analysed patterns in buying decisions and presented recommendations for small ecommerce brands.
Academic achievements:
Achieved 68 percent in final year dissertation
Delivered group presentation awarded highest mark in marketing strategy module
Completed business analytics coursework using Excel data analysis
Customer Assistant, Marks & Spencer, Birmingham
2022 to 2024
Supported customers in a busy retail environment, handling product queries, complaints and payment issues professionally
Trained two new team members on store processes, customer service standards and stock procedures
Worked across peak trading periods, developing resilience, prioritisation and clear communication under pressure
Identified repeated customer questions around product availability and shared feedback with supervisors to improve floor communication
Events Coordinator, Business Society, University of Birmingham
2022 to 2023
Helped organise employer networking events for students interested in business, finance and consulting careers
Contacted speakers, managed room bookings and promoted events through social channels
Increased attendance at one employer event by improving the event description and sharing clearer benefits for students
Software: Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Canva, Google Workspace
Languages: English fluent, Urdu conversational
Certifications: Google Digital Garage Fundamentals of Digital Marketing
Daniel Hughes
Location: Manchester, UK
Phone: 07xxx xxx xxx
Email: daniel.hughes@example.com
GitHub: github.com/danielhughes
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/danielhughes
Recent Computer Science graduate from the University of Manchester with practical experience in Python, JavaScript, SQL and full stack development projects. Strong foundation in software engineering principles, database design and problem solving, with experience building applications from concept to deployment. Seeking a graduate software developer role where I can contribute to clean, maintainable code and continue developing in a professional engineering team.
Programming: Python, JavaScript, Java and SQL used across university and personal projects
Web development: Built responsive applications using HTML, CSS, React and Node.js
Databases: Designed and queried relational databases using SQL
Version control: Used Git and GitHub to manage code, branches and project documentation
Problem solving: Applied debugging, testing and structured analysis across academic and independent projects
BSc Computer Science, University of Manchester, UK
2021 to 2024
Grade: First Class
Relevant modules: Software Engineering, Algorithms and Data Structures, Database Systems, Web Technologies, Cyber Security Fundamentals
Final year project: Task management web application for student teams
Designed and built a full stack web application allowing users to create projects, assign tasks, track deadlines and update progress. Developed the front end with React, built REST API functionality with Node.js and used SQL for data storage.
Academic achievements:
Achieved First Class mark for final year software project
Completed group software engineering project using Agile working methods
Built and documented multiple applications on GitHub
Student Budget Tracker Application
2024
Built a web application to help students track income, spending categories and monthly budget limits
Used React for the front end and Node.js for server side functionality
Designed SQL database tables for users, transactions and spending categories
Added input validation and basic reporting to help users identify overspending patterns
Weather Dashboard API Project
2023
Created a dashboard using third party API data to display current weather and forecast information
Practised API integration, error handling and responsive design
Documented setup instructions and project decisions clearly on GitHub
IT Support Volunteer, Community Learning Centre, Manchester
2023
Supported adult learners with basic IT issues, including account access, document formatting and online forms
Explained technical steps clearly to users with different levels of confidence
Developed patience, problem solving and communication skills in a practical support environment
Tools: Git, GitHub, VS Code, Postman, Figma basics
Methods: Agile basics, debugging, documentation, testing fundamentals
Certifications: freeCodeCamp Responsive Web Design Certificate
Your CV profile should be short, specific and useful. It should not sound like a motivational poster.
Recruiters are not looking for lines like:
Weak Example:
“I am a hardworking, passionate and enthusiastic graduate with excellent communication skills and a desire to succeed.”
The problem is not that these qualities are bad. The problem is that everyone says them. There is no evidence, no direction and no useful positioning.
A better graduate CV profile connects your degree, strengths and target role.
Good Example:
“Recent Economics graduate from the University of Leeds with experience analysing data, preparing research summaries and presenting findings through academic projects and part time retail work. Confident using Excel and PowerPoint, with strong commercial awareness and an interest in graduate analyst roles within financial services.”
That works better because it tells me:
What you studied
Where your strengths sit
What practical skills you bring
What type of role you are targeting
Why your background makes sense
A recruiter should not have to guess your direction. If your CV looks like it could be sent to marketing, finance, HR, teaching, sales and operations without changing a word, it is too vague.
This is where many graduates panic, and I understand why. Entry level job descriptions often ask for experience while claiming the role is suitable for graduates. Yes, the contradiction is real. No, you are not imagining it.
But “experience” does not always mean a formal office job. Recruiters look for evidence that you can operate in a workplace. That evidence can come from several places.
You can include:
Part time jobs
Retail, hospitality or customer service work
Internships
Placements
University projects
Group assignments
Volunteering
Student society roles
Freelance work
Personal projects
Competitions or hackathons
Tutoring or mentoring
Care responsibilities, where relevant and framed professionally
The mistake is not having limited experience. The mistake is describing useful experience as if it was meaningless.
For example, a retail job can show customer handling, reliability, communication, commercial awareness, complaint resolution and working under pressure. A hospitality job can show pace, teamwork, prioritisation and resilience. A university project can show research, stakeholder thinking, analysis and presentation skills.
The recruiter is looking for transferable evidence. Your job is to make the transfer obvious.
Do not write:
Weak Example:
“Worked on the till and helped customers.”
Write:
Good Example:
“Handled customer transactions and product queries in a high volume retail environment, developing confidence communicating clearly, resolving issues and staying organised during peak trading periods.”
That is not exaggeration. That is translation.
And graduate CVs often need translation because hiring managers are not always good at spotting transferable skills unless you spell them out.
For graduates, education usually sits near the top of the CV, especially if your degree is recent and relevant. But do not just write your university name and degree title. Use the education section to show relevance.
Include:
Degree title
University name
Dates
Grade or predicted grade
Relevant modules
Dissertation or final year project
Academic achievements
Technical tools or methods used
The key word is relevant. You do not need to list every module you ever completed. Nobody needs an emotional reunion with your entire academic transcript.
Choose modules that support the job you want.
For finance, analyst or consulting roles, highlight modules involving data, economics, business strategy, statistics or financial analysis.
For marketing roles, highlight consumer behaviour, digital marketing, branding, market research or communications.
For software roles, highlight programming, databases, algorithms, web development, software engineering and cyber security.
For HR roles, highlight organisational behaviour, employment relations, psychology, research methods or business management.
Your dissertation or final year project can be powerful if you explain it properly. Do not just list the title. Show what you actually did.
A useful project description includes:
The topic or problem
The method used
Tools, data or research involved
The outcome or conclusion
Why it matters for the role
Good Example:
“Completed dissertation on employee engagement in hybrid working environments, using survey responses from 120 UK employees to analyse patterns in communication, motivation and manager support.”
That tells me far more than a title alone.
Most graduate CVs are not read slowly at first. They are scanned.
That does not mean recruiters are careless. It means they are filtering large volumes of applications and looking for signals. A recruiter may properly read your CV later, but the first screen is often about relevance, clarity and risk.
When I screen a graduate CV, I am usually checking:
Does this person meet the basic requirements?
Is the degree, subject or background relevant enough?
Have they shown any practical evidence, not just claims?
Can I understand their direction quickly?
Is the CV clear and professional?
Are there obvious gaps, inconsistencies or careless mistakes?
Would the hiring manager understand why I sent this person across?
That last question matters more than candidates realise.
Recruiters are not just judging you. They are also thinking about whether they can justify you to the hiring manager. A clear CV makes that easier. A vague CV makes it harder.
This is why generic graduate CVs fail. They make the recruiter do too much work.
A recruiter should be able to scan your CV and say, “Yes, I can see why this person fits this graduate analyst role,” or “Yes, this makes sense for a junior marketing position.”
If your CV makes them say, “Maybe, but I am not sure what they actually want,” you are in trouble.
A professional graduate CV is not about fancy design. It is about judgement.
In UK recruitment, especially for graduate schemes, entry level corporate roles and professional services positions, simple formatting usually wins. Overdesigned CVs can look impressive for about three seconds, then become annoying when the recruiter cannot find basic information.
A professional graduate CV should have:
Clear headings
Consistent spacing
Simple fonts
No photos unless specifically required, which is uncommon in the UK
Contact details at the top
Bullet points that show evidence
Reverse chronological order
Role specific wording
No spelling mistakes
No exaggerated claims
No strange graphics that confuse ATS systems
Use a clean layout. Make it easy to read on a laptop screen. Save it as a PDF unless the employer asks for Word format.
Also, name the file properly. “CV final final real one updated version 7” may be emotionally accurate, but it is not ideal.
Use a file name like:
Firstname Lastname Graduate CV
Simple. Professional. Less chaotic.
Graduate CV mistakes are often not dramatic. They are usually small decisions that create doubt.
If your CV could be used for ten different roles, it is probably not strong enough for any of them.
Graduate employers know you may be exploring options. That is normal. But each application still needs to feel intentional. A marketing CV and an analyst CV should not have the same profile, same skills and same project emphasis.
Tailoring does not mean rewriting everything. It means changing the emphasis.
Words like motivated, passionate, enthusiastic and hardworking are not banned. They are just weak without evidence.
Show the behaviour instead.
Instead of saying you are organised, show how you balanced deadlines, work shifts and project responsibilities.
Instead of saying you are analytical, show how you used data, research or structured thinking.
Instead of saying you are a team player, show what you contributed in a group project or workplace setting.
Some graduates bury retail, hospitality or admin work because they think it is irrelevant. That is often a mistake.
For many entry level roles, part time work is evidence that you understand customers, responsibility, punctuality and workplace expectations. Those things matter.
A hiring manager may prefer a graduate with a 2:1 and two years of part time work over a graduate with a slightly stronger academic profile but no evidence of workplace maturity.
Not always, but often enough that you should not dismiss it.
A task tells me what you were assigned. Impact tells me why it mattered.
Weak bullet points sound like a job description. Strong bullet points show contribution.
Weak Example:
“Answered customer emails.”
Good Example:
“Responded to customer emails, resolving order queries clearly and escalating complex issues to the correct team to reduce delays.”
The second version gives me communication, judgement and process awareness.
Creative CVs can work in some design related fields, but for most graduate roles, clarity beats decoration.
If your CV has text boxes, icons, columns, skill bars and tiny font sizes, you may be creating problems for both recruiters and ATS systems.
Skill bars are especially unhelpful. What does “Excel 80 percent” actually mean? Did Excel personally approve that score? No.
Use words instead. Say what you can actually do.
Tailoring a graduate CV does not mean inventing a new personality for every application. It means showing the most relevant version of your background.
Start with the job description. Look for repeated themes. Employers often reveal what they care about through repetition.
If a graduate role mentions data, reporting, Excel, problem solving and stakeholders, your CV should highlight analytical projects, Excel use, research, reporting and communication.
If a role mentions customer relationships, targets, negotiation and communication, your CV should highlight customer service, sales exposure, persuasion, resilience and relationship building.
If a role mentions organisation, deadlines, administration and attention to detail, your CV should highlight coordination, accuracy, process handling and reliability.
A practical tailoring framework:
Match your profile to the target role
Reorder skills so the most relevant ones appear first
Choose modules and projects that support the role
Rewrite work experience bullets to highlight transferable evidence
Add role specific tools, systems or terminology where truthful
Remove details that distract from the application
This is where candidates often go wrong. They think tailoring means stuffing keywords into the CV. It does not.
Keyword matching helps, especially with ATS systems, but relevance still has to feel human. A recruiter can tell when a CV has been awkwardly padded with job description language.
Use the employer’s language where it genuinely matches your experience. Do not turn your CV into a ransom note made from job advert phrases.
Good graduate CV bullet points are specific, active and evidence based. They do not need to be dramatic. They need to be clear.
Use this formula:
Action plus context plus skill or result
For example:
Analysed survey responses from 150 students to identify patterns in study habits and present findings in a final year research project
Coordinated weekly society communications, improving event attendance by making updates clearer and more consistent
Supported customers in a fast paced retail environment, handling queries, complaints and transactions professionally
Built a basic web application using React and Node.js to practise full stack development and improve project documentation
Prepared presentation slides and delivered findings to a seminar group, receiving positive feedback for structure and clarity
Managed competing university deadlines and part time work shifts, maintaining strong academic performance and reliable attendance
Researched competitor activity for a marketing assignment and summarised recommendations for a student led campaign proposal
Used Excel to clean, organise and interpret data for coursework involving sales trends and customer segmentation
Notice that these bullets do not try too hard. That is important.
Graduate CVs become weaker when candidates inflate everything until it sounds ridiculous. You do not need to describe a university group project as “leading cross functional transformation”. Please do not do that. Hiring managers have suffered enough.
Use mature, accurate language. Show value without pretending you were the CEO of your seminar group.
Yes, but keep it practical. On a graduate CV, the personal statement is usually better described as a professional profile because it should focus on your career direction, skills and evidence.
A good graduate CV profile should be around three to five lines. It should answer:
What did you study?
What are your strongest relevant skills?
What practical evidence supports those skills?
What type of role are you applying for?
Avoid personal life details, vague ambition and emotional language.
Do not write:
Weak Example:
“Since childhood, I have always dreamed of working in business and making a positive impact in a successful company.”
Write:
Good Example:
“Recent Business and Management graduate with experience in customer service, student event coordination and market research projects. Strong communicator with practical experience presenting ideas, handling customer queries and organising deadlines. Interested in graduate roles across business operations, account management and commercial support.”
The good version gives the recruiter something usable.
Most graduate CVs should be one to two pages.
Use one page if:
You have limited work experience
Your projects are simple
You are applying for a straightforward entry level role
You can include all relevant evidence without cramming
Use two pages if:
You completed internships or placements
You have several relevant projects
You have technical experience
You held leadership roles
You have strong voluntary work or part time work
You need space to explain your relevance clearly
Do not force everything onto one page if it makes the CV unreadable. Tiny margins and microscopic font sizes do not make you look concise. They make the recruiter feel like they need an eye test.
Equally, do not stretch a thin CV to two pages with filler. If the second page is mostly empty phrases and generic skills, cut it.
The best length is the one that presents your evidence clearly.
Many UK employers use applicant tracking systems to store, filter or manage applications. ATS software is not always as terrifying as people make it sound, but you should still make your CV easy to read.
Use:
Standard headings such as Education, Work Experience and Skills
Clear job titles and dates
Simple formatting
Relevant keywords from the job description
PDF or Word format depending on employer instructions
Full terms as well as abbreviations where useful
Avoid:
Tables that hold important information
Text inside images
Unusual fonts
Headers or footers containing key contact details
Skill graphics
Multiple columns if they make the reading order unclear
The ATS is not the only audience. That is the part many candidates miss.
You are writing for both the system and the human. A keyword stuffed CV may pass a basic scan but still annoy the recruiter. A beautiful CV may impress you but fail if the system cannot parse it. The best graduate CV sits in the middle: clean, relevant and human readable.
Before you send your graduate CV, check it like a recruiter would.
Is your target role clear within the first few lines?
Does your degree information appear clearly?
Have you included your grade or predicted grade if it helps your application?
Are your most relevant skills easy to find?
Have you included evidence instead of empty claims?
Does each bullet point show action, context or value?
Have you tailored the CV to this specific role?
Is your part time work framed professionally?
Are your projects explained in a way employers understand?
Is the formatting simple and ATS friendly?
Have you removed irrelevant school level details if they no longer add value?
Is your email address professional?
Have you checked spelling, dates and consistency?
Would a hiring manager understand why you are applying?
That final question is the one I would not skip.
A graduate CV does not need to prove you are perfect. It needs to prove you are relevant, thoughtful and worth speaking to.
Written by Simar Malhi, a recruiter and headhunter with international recruitment experience. I write about CVs, job applications, hiring decisions, and the reality behind recruitment processes. My goal is to help candidates understand more honestly how employers, recruiters, and hiring managers actually select candidates.
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