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5 min read

How To Write An Impressive CV Without Work Experience

A lot of people think this is not possible, but it is. Everyone has started from somewhere in their lives and everyone once had no experience in the role that they currently have. You are no different from them, but you do still need to have a CV to hand if anyone asks for one or if you find a role that you think suits you and the sort of career that you'd like to pursue.
Written by
Emily Topping
Guest Post
Published on
September 27, 2022

A lot of people think this is not possible, but it is. Everyone has started from somewhere in their lives and everyone once had no experience in the role that they currently have. You are no different from them, but you do still need to have a CV to hand if anyone asks for one or if you find a role that you think suits you and the sort of career that you'd like to pursue.

Not having any work experience is a small segment of an entire CV, it just means we need to get a little more creative to get the same impact. A lot of hiring managers that have been doing this for a significant period of time will be able to know if you have work experience in the field or not from the beginning, as a lot of people leaving university do not have work experience and possibly a mother who took time out to raise her children may have not worked for several years.

Here are a few tips that we have for you if you want to still have an outstanding CV but just lack some work experience.

Get creative and impress them with your skills

Have you played as a captain for a team? This is a huge skill that a lot of companies are looking for, it shows leadership and grit. It also shows that you take a good viewpoint on your health and that you have the social skills to lead a team and get on with members of that team.

Be open in your personal statement

You don’t have work experience; you don’t need to lie about it. Your potential employer may appreciate the honesty if you state it within your personal statement. It doesn’t need to come across as a cry for help either, you can just simply put down that you were focusing on your studies, children, life goals or whatever may be the reasoning, even if there is no reasoning. Just be honest about it.

List your skills and not your roles

Where you’d put your previous roles, you just need to put down the particular skills that you have that you think that job role requires. It is as simple as that, at the end of the day that is what they are looking for, a person with a set of skills that they can use in their organisation.

Got a degree? Talk about it

A degree is basically a job, it is a commitment to a goal over time. By getting a degree it doesn’t just mean that you have a piece of paper that says you have got a certain qualification. It shows that you can work towards an end goal, you can organise your time to meet the requirements and that you can learn a skill, these are all things that an employer is going to be looking for.

If you want to build a network with local and national companies to discover new opportunities, you’ll want to attend our events! As the UK's number one platform for face-to-face recruitment, we at The UK Careers Fair promise several opportunities to meet with the best companies for you. Book a ticket today!

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