How to shape your first CV

If you are a recent graduate looking to secure your first graduate role, producing a stand-out CV is essential.

Despite employers using a range of methods later in the recruitment process, CVs are still fairly common practice as part of their initial application process. With this in mind, we’ve identified some key considerations for you to help shape your first CV for graduate applications.

Building an evidence bank

A good starting point for shaping your first CV will be to reflect upon what you have been doing throughout your time at university. Whilst there might be a focus on your degree if it has relevance to the position you are applying to, you will also want to consider your part-time work, any internships you have completed, volunteering you have engaged with, and/or any extra-curricular activities you have participated in. It’s these additional commitments that will help to elevate your CV beyond a sole focus on your academic studies.

As you consider the range of activities you have taken part in, start to jot down notes in as much detail as possible, reflecting on the skills, strengths and values you have both acquired and demonstrated through your experience.

These initial jottings can contribute to an ‘evidence bank’ that you can draw on for any future CVs, cover letters and supporting statements you might need to produce.

Structuring your CV

To further inform your thinking during this initial process, sections that are typically included on a graduate CV are:

• Key contact information: As a minimum, this should include your name as the main document heading, a contact telephone number, and a current email address – avoiding anything that isn’t suitable for professional purposes.You can also include your location, a URL to your LinkedIn profile and/or a link to your website or portfolio, depending on your industry.
• A personal profile / summary: Treat this as an initial “pitch” to the employer by including information here that is going to grab their attention. It needs to cover who you are, what relevant experience or expertise you have to offer, and what your objective is with this version of your CV. This section of your CV should be tailored for each application you make, based on the specific role requirements.
• Education: This section should appear first if you are a recent graduate who has less relevant work experience and where your degree has relevance to what you are applying to. You have an opportunity to discuss what you have learnt from your degree course.Avoid being too descriptive about what the course and modules taught everyone, and, instead, focus on your own personal experience of your degree by offering specific examples of work you produced through your assessments. You also have the chance to include examples of where you have demonstrated your range of transferable skills, such as written communication, research, group work, and time and project management.You will still need to include your previous education on your CV, which can either be incorporated in this section, or you might opt to include your other qualifications under an ‘Additional information’ heading on your second page.
• Experience: As part of this section you can discuss your range of experience, whether it be through a year-long industrial placement, shorter-term opportunities, including internships or volunteering, and part-time work alongside your studies.You have the option here to break down your content under two different headings – ‘Relevant experience’, outlining any specific industry experience you might have secured, and ‘Other experience’ where your roles might not have a direct link to the nature of the work you are applying to.

Regardless of direct relevance to your application, there will always be scope to identify and evidence the transferable skills you have developed. For example, if you have worked in retail you will be able to discuss confidently interacting with customers, highlighting your communication and interpersonal skills.

Ensure you bullet-point your content, consistently using action verbs to describe what you have done and achieved through your tasks, projects and responsibilities. Avoid simply re-stating the information included in your job description or listing skills. The employer will be looking for evidence of where you have proven your abilities.

• Interests: Whilst some people shy away from discussing their interests outside of work and study, the opportunity for the employer to understand more about you as an individual remains important. You might have taken part in a regular sporting activity or have been a member of a student society, collect something unusual, enjoy reading particular genres, or have an unusual hobby.Wherever possible, add detail around the interest or activity to indicate what you want the employer to know or understand about you. For instance, if you have regularly travelled to different countries you might discuss your appreciation of different cultures and the chance to experience different ways of living; or if you take part in a team sport then you will be able to discuss your ability to collaborate with others and/or your potential leadership ability.
• Additional information: As part of this section you can incorporate any other details that don’t “neatly” fit elsewhere. This might include languages, including proficiency level; whether you have a driving licence; and additional qualifications, certifications and memberships to professional/industry bodies.
• References: Unless stated as a requirement by the recruiter, you do not need to include the specific contact details of references on your CV. Instead, you can acknowledge ‘References available on request’, indicating your willingness to provide these details at a further stage.

How to tailor your graduate CV

Whilst it is okay to have a “general” copy of your CV content you can work from it is advised that for each application you make, you consider how you can tailor and target it to the specific role and organisation.

Below we have included some suggestions for how to approach this task:

• Access the role description to review the typical responsibilities and tasks involved and consider opportunities where you have previously had to carry out the same or similar tasks. Ensure there are examples of these included in your ‘Experience’ section(s).
• Revisit the person specification that outlines the knowledge, experience, skills and abilities the employer is looking for in their ideal candidate. Again, review your content to ensure you have incorporated examples of this throughout the sections of your CV – using similar terminology wherever possible.
• If the recruiter uses ATS software then the exercise above becomes even more important as this will scan your content for key terms and phrases, typically included within the role information provided.
• Don’t be afraid to “switch it up”. If you have developed a CV that has a real focus on securing a role in social media content creation, for example, but actually you want to broaden your search to communications, then don’t feel that your content needs to remain the same. If you identify a project you worked on during a placement that closely aligns with the role you are applying to, or you carried out some research as part of your degree which reflects a strategic aim of an organisation, then switch-up your content to make it more relevant.

Overall, it’s important not to underestimate the value in highlighting your key achievements through the extra-curricular experience you have gained alongside your academic studies. It is also essential to have a clear and logical structure to your information, whilst remaining open to targeting and tailoring your content to the role and organisation you are applying to. By following these guidelines, you should be able to shape your first CV to be a standout application document.

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