Graduate CV Writing Guide

You’ve written countless essays, revised until the early hours, passed all your exams and officially graduated! You might not know how you got there, but you did – congratulations!

The idea of more research and writing probably doesn’t appeal to you right now, but getting a good job does. Here we share our tips on how to create a CV that will help you stand out from the crowd and start on your path to career success!

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Before even looking for jobs, take a little time to consider which industry you want to get in and tailor your CV to match what employers are looking for.

This can reduce your job search by months and you won’t have to drastically alter your CV every time you look to apply for a job. 

Tailoring your graduate CV and using industry related keywords to put the best of you forward, can help ensure you get into the interview ‘pile’ every time.

When applying for graduate roles, employers don’t expect you to have tons of work experience but they do expect you to use what you already have.

Were you president of the Students Union or a Class Mentor? Which societies were you involved in? What soft skills did you learn from them?

By putting your education first on your CV and showing employers what you already can do shows you are resourceful and skilled and will be a great asset to the company.

It is also advisable to write a few lines about your dissertation and mention how you overcame the most challenging aspects in order to achieve, especially if it is directly related to your industry.

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If you find you haven’t a lot of work experience in the industry you want to be in, or your university degree doesn’t relate as well as you would like, try finding some paid internships or voluntary charity work in your field to get you on your way. 

If you haven’t found a job straight out of graduation, internships can help reduce any potential career gap and an opportunity to create new contacts and learn new, relevant skills to put on your brand new CV.

Formatting is also an important aspect to consider when writing your CV. Think about which is more relevant to your career path, your education or your work experience and put that on top. 

Your document will only be looked at for a few moments so you need to put the most relevant information at the beginning – your graduate CV personal statement. Your CV is one place you certainly don’t leave the best till last.

Looking for some graduate CV examples? We share advice on how to format a graduate CV template in our guide on how to write a CV with no experience. 

And for more advice around putting together a graduate CV example, check out our video – you’ll also get a feel for a typical graduate CV layout:

How to Write a Great Graduate CV

After introducing yourself with a stellar cover letter you need to follow it up with an equally impressive graduate CV. With that in mind, here are some of our graduate CV tips: 

1. Tailor your applications

A common mistake among graduate job seekers is to submit the same CV for different jobs. This is often pretty transparent to employers and is not very impressive. 

That’s why you should tailor your graduate CV for each job description. It makes your CV directly relevant to the job and shows how you’d be the perfect fit for the exact role you’re applying for.

We also recommend putting the most job-relevant or transferable skills and information first. This way employers can discern why you’re suitable for the role with just a quick glance at your CV.

This will depend on what industry you’re applying to. If you’re applying for a creative role, then a more visual CV could be the way to go. If you’re applying to a job in the financial sector, then a traditional CV may be more appropriate.

2. Make The Most Of Your Work Experience

What was true for the personal statement remains true for the CV. Employers don’t expect you to have tons of work experience for a graduate role. 

It’s all about making the most of the experiences and key skills that you do have. If you have had a couple of jobs or stints of work experience, then list your employment history in reverse chronological order.

Luckily for you graduates, you will always have your skills and academic achievements to fall back on – if nothing else. 

If you feel the need to gain more experience, then try finding an internship, volunteer work, or something along those lines. They are a great way to get into the industry you want, the perfect way to fill a career gap and are also a good opportunity to network. 

3. A couple of things to keep in mind when writing your CV

Writing a graduate CV should not be a repetition of your cover letter. They should be two separate and distinct things. After all, no one wants to read the same thing twice and simply copying and pasting is not very impressive either. 

Secondly, when setting out your graduate CV you need to make sure that all the different elements of a CV, like contact details and the personal statement, are in the correct place. An employer should not be scavenging through your CV trying to find your phone number. 

Graduate CV writing: Final checks

Here are some important final checks you should do before sending off your graduate CV and cover letter:

• Print it off and read it over carefully, look for obvious spelling mistakes and sentences that don’t quite make sense.
• See if your CV has targeted the industry/employers you’re interested in.
• Look for evidence to show that you meet the minimum requirements for the job.

If you’re a fresh graduate with a questionable careers office, use professional CV writers like PurpleCV to give yourself the best chance of finding work.

Professionals with experience of your industry write every CV from scratch and costs as little as £50 – check out our CV Writing Service for more information. You’ve worked hard for the past three years; treat yourself to a great CV for a great career.