Writing your first CV with no experience

A CV is a short document that shows an employer, internship provider or volunteer organisation what you can offer. Even with no paid jobs, you have school, projects, clubs and responsibilities that prove real skills.

The standard sections

• Contact details: your name, phone number, a professional email address and, if you have one, a link to a professional profile such as LinkedIn. The National Careers Service also says a UK CV should not include your age, date of birth, marital status or nationality.
• Introduction or profile: a few short lines just under your name saying who you are and what you are looking for.
• Education: your school, dates and qualifications (for example IGCSEs or GCSEs with grades, and A levels, IB or other courses in progress). Early in your career, put this straight after your introduction.
• Experience: volunteering, placements, part-time work or responsibilities, most recent first, with the organisation, your role, dates and 2 to 3 lines on what you did.
• Skills and achievements, plus interests if they are relevant. Prospects notes that references can be left off to save space; the National Careers Service suggests you only list a referee who has agreed and do not need to give their contact details.

What counts as experience when you have never had a job

• The National Careers Service says that for a first job you should focus on skills from projects, volunteering or work experience, adding that hobbies help too: captaining a sports team shows leadership and organisation.
• Good examples for a teenager: student council or prefect roles, organising a charity bake sale, tutoring a younger student, running a school club, helping in a family business, a coding or art project, a Model United Nations conference, or a sports team.
• For each one, ask: what did I do, what skill did it use, and what was the result? A result can be a number (raised AED 1,200, recruited 15 new members) or an outcome (the event ran on time).
• Gaps and short histories are normal. The National Careers Service notes that gaps in work history are common, and employers of school students expect limited experience.

Writing strong bullet points

• Start each bullet with an active verb. The University of Nottingham lists examples such as led, coordinated, designed, launched, organised, analysed, improved, presented, negotiated, achieved and resolved.
• Avoid weak phrases like 'tried to', 'hoped to' or 'attempted to', which Nottingham's careers service warns against.
• Add evidence. Prospects gives the example 'Remained calm under pressure when answering telephone queries from up to 100 customers a day', which proves the skill instead of just claiming it.
• Weak: 'Was in charge of the bake sale.' Strong: 'Organised a 12-person team to run a charity bake sale, raising AED 1,200 for a local animal shelter.'
• Tailor your CV to each application: read the advert, then make sure the skills it asks for appear clearly in your CV, as both Prospects and the National Careers Service advise.

A worked example for a 17-year-old (one page)

• Header: Layla Haddad | Dubai, UAE | +971 50 000 0000 | layla.haddad.cv@email.com
• Profile: 'Year 12 student studying A level Biology, Chemistry and Maths, with experience organising school events and tutoring younger students. Looking for a summer volunteering or internship role in healthcare or a laboratory.'
• Education: 'Example British School, Dubai, 2020 to present. A levels in progress: Biology, Chemistry, Maths. IGCSEs (2025): 8 subjects, grades 9 to 7.'
• Experience: 'Peer Tutor, Example British School, Sept 2025 to present: Tutor two Year 9 students in maths each week; both improved by one grade in a term.' and 'Charity Bake Sale Lead, Student Council, March 2026: Organised a 12-person team and raised AED 1,200 for an animal shelter.'
• Skills: 'Languages: English (fluent), Arabic (fluent), French (intermediate). Digital: Google Workspace, Canva, basic Python.' Interests: 'Volunteer beach clean-ups; school football team (vice-captain).'
• Prospects says CVs should generally be no longer than two A4 pages; at 17, one well-organised page is usually enough and easier to read.

Layout and country norms, including photos

• Keep it clean: Prospects suggests body text of 10 to 12 point, bold headings of 14 or 16 point and margins of about 2.5 cm; the National Careers Service suggests a clear font such as Arial or Calibri at size 11 or larger.
• Photos: Prospects advises leaving a photo off a UK CV unless you are applying for acting or modelling work, and Pomona College tells students applying in the US not to include a photograph, age, date of birth, marital status, religion or visa status.
• Norms vary by country. Colorado State University's careers centre notes that résumés in some other regions sometimes include photos and personal information, and advises researching the norms of the country where you are applying.
• In the UAE, practice is mixed. Two experts quoted in Arabian Business, one of them a Dubai-based career coach, recommended leaving a photo off most CVs to avoid appearance-based bias, though they said it can suit appearance-focused or client-facing roles such as hospitality, sales or media. One noted that employers may find visa status useful, because they must arrange the work permit.
• Name the file clearly (for example 'Layla-Haddad-CV.pdf'), send it as a PDF unless asked otherwise, and ask someone to proofread it, as the National Careers Service recommends.