Are you finding yourself facing a blank document, and wondering if you’ll just have to somehow fill a page with what you did in your degree?
Writing a CV is a challenge for anyone, let alone if you feel like you have nothing to say. Especially as a student, with minimal work experience, it can be a struggle to think of what an employer wants to see, and how to ensure you’re presenting your skillset in the most effective way possible.
Here are a few pointers if you’re wondering how to write a CV as a student or if you need help refining it.
Know That You Have More Experience Than You Realise
First things first, it’s vital that you’re aware that you have far more experience than you probably realise. Even if you’ve never had a proper ‘job’ before, you’ll be surprised at how much experience you have from other activities, and how many transferable skills there are.
Part-time jobs, extra-curricular activities, and any position you’ve held with responsibility – will have all given you transferable, softer skills that you should make sure you’ve thought through, and then should highlight in your CV.
It’s all about how you present your experience, and what you choose to emphasise that you’ve gained from it.
What Should I Include In a Student CV?
Focus on ‘Skills’ Rather Than ‘Roles’
As we touched on above, you should really drill down into the skills you’ve gained from experiences, and centre your CV around them. As well as part-time jobs and other activities, your degree should be one of the most important parts of your CV and will have given you a set of softer skills (maybe that student debt wasn’t for nothing!).
You will have developed some fantastic skills while studying, which are really attractive to potential employers. If you’re struggling to get off the mark writing your CV, some potentials to include (not that we’re giving you the answers…) are time management, working to deadlines, working under pressure, and working collaboratively – all of which are absolutely essential to professional success.
The softer skills your degree has generated are often more attractive to employers than the content of your degree, particularly if yours is in a more general subject, and not directly applicable to the job you might be applying to.
There will also be some less general skills more specific to your degree – have a think through the three years, have a quick brainstorm, and don’t undersell yourself!
Show Off Your Achievements
Think beyond qualifications here. Achievements and success don’t have to be specific qualifications or awards, although these are great to include as well.
Specific, ideally quantifiable achievements are a must for a strong CV and is advice we give to professionals at all levels. Achievements set you apart from others, particularly in a crowded market, and often give a CV the edge.
Including examples of achievements is really important, and often gives some real substance to your skillset and experience.
Examples might be navigating and leading a particularly tricky group project, taking on a leadership position and implementing specific changes, or performing particularly well in something you found challenging.
Make them as specific as you can, and where possible, make sure they’re quantifiable.
Talk About the Experience You’ve Gained Moving Away From Home
Moving to a new city is daunting, and also gives you some valuable life skills.
Now we’re not necessarily talking about your steep learning curve trying to cook pasta for the first time, or learning how to work the washing machines in the launderette. But the bigger picture: softer skills.
Moving away from home teaches you the value of independence, and forces you to move outside of the comforts of the place you’ve grown up – new places, new faces and new responsibilities.
This doesn’t need to be a major part of your CV, but it is good to think about the skills this has given you and mention them where appropriate.
Treat Volunteering & Extra-Curricular as Work Experience
You must be sick of the phrase transferable skills by this point in the article, but at the risk of sounding like a broken record, thinking through the skills that extracurricular activities have given you is also very useful.
It’s not always enough to simply list your sports teams or the clubs you’ve participated in, you need to think and write about the relevant skills they’ve given you.
Being a member of a sports team at uni, for example, improves your teamwork skills, shows dedication to improving and training, and the ability to perform under pressure and at high levels.
Writing detail about activities and volunteering you may have done looks great on a CV, and demonstrates to potential employers a different skillset that can set you apart from other candidates.
Showcase Your Personality
Employers are looking to hire people with a similar culture fit. Personality, values, and what you’re looking for in a job and an employer could put you ahead of other potential candidates.
Company culture and fit within the team are really important to any business worth working for, so writing a bit about you can be really useful, and also gives your CV a bit of a personal touch, setting it apart slightly.
Try and avoid being too generic, and really try and put a bit of yourself into it. Words and phrases such as ‘dynamic’ and ‘hard-working’ are great, but can often lack substance without some more specific adjectives.
If you’re struggling with this, it’s always a good idea to ask a friend, parent, or even professor for some ideas – it can be a tricky one to try and perceive yourself from the outside, so having some guidance can be really helpful.
Keep it Relevant & Brief
Keeping it short and sweet makes sure the most important and relevant parts are highlighted. If you include too much detail, although it can seem like a good idea at the time, you run the risk of a potential employer skim reading, and missing some of the most important bits.
Don’t write things for the sake of filling space. Consider everything you include and what it adds, and be brutal with it – if it’s not adding something useful then get rid.
Final Thoughts
In short, you may think you lack experience, but so many things in your life have given you softer skills and life experience – it’s just thinking of them, and getting them down concisely on paper.
Believe in what you’ve done, and your employability, and really think about what you would bring to a business, and the rest will follow!