Career level · Still studying
Student CV writing
A student CV is judged against other students, not against professionals. That changes what counts as strong.
Chanuka Jeewantha
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A student CV should lead with your course, expected graduation date and the one or two projects or jobs that best prove you can do the work you are applying for. Keep it to one page, write part-time work as real experience, and state your availability. Chanuka writes student CVs from $129, for internships, placements and part-time roles.
Overview
Internship and placement recruiters read large numbers of CVs from people on the same course with the same modules. What separates them is rarely the grade. It is evidence of doing something with the course: a project that shipped, a part-time job held for two years, a society budget managed properly. The CV has to put that evidence in the top half of page one.
Focus
What a student CV has to prove.
- Expected graduation date stated clearly, because many internship schemes filter on it
- One or two projects written as the problem, your part and the result
- Part-time work framed around reliability, customers and responsibility
- Skills tied to where you used them, not a list of software you have opened once
- Availability: dates, hours and how the role fits around study
What changes
Compared with the level below.
Compared with a school-leaver CV, the document is now screened at volume, often through the same applicant tracking system used for experienced hires. A design a teacher liked can fail a parser, and achievements from age sixteen start to read as padding.
Mistakes
What costs candidates at this level.
- School results given more space than university work
- No expected graduation date, so the reader cannot tell whether you are eligible
- A different visual design for every application instead of one clean, parseable format
- A part-time job described as "general duties" when it involved cash handling, training or opening up
- Applying for a summer internship with a CV written for a graduate scheme
FAQ
Student CV questions
How do I write a CV as a student with no experience?
Start with what you have done rather than what you lack: projects, coursework with a real output, part-time work, volunteering and society roles. Write each one like a job, with what you did and what came of it. Put your course and expected graduation date at the top, and keep the whole document to one page.
Should a student CV be one page?
Yes, for almost every student a one-page CV is right. Recruiters screening internship applications spend little time on each one, and a second page usually holds school grades and hobbies that weaken the first. The exception is a research or academic application, where publications or lab work genuinely need the space.
What should I put on a CV for an internship?
Put the evidence that matches the internship's requirements first: projects with a clear result, relevant modules only if they produced something, and any work showing responsibility. Add your expected graduation date and availability, since many schemes are open only to penultimate or final-year students. A short profile naming the area you want to work in helps the reader place you.
Is it worth paying for a CV as a student?
It is worth it when you are applying for competitive internships or placements and your applications are not getting responses. A professionally written CV will not replace experience you do not have, but it will present what you do have properly. For casual part-time applications, a careful self-written CV is usually enough.
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