A graduate CV when you have little work experience
Turn projects, volunteering and practical responsibilities into credible evidence without inventing employment.
You need evidence, not an invented job title
A first-job CV does not have to imitate a senior employee's CV. Your task is to show what you can already do and where you are ready to learn. Start by listing coursework, personal projects, volunteering, internships, student responsibilities and any genuine work in a family business. Choose examples that connect to the role.
For each example, record the task, your own contribution, the tool or method you used and the outcome. Distinguish your contribution from the team's result. If you assisted rather than led, say so. This makes your CV easier to defend in an interview.
Use this structure as a writing outline
Contact: your name, phone, email and city. Profile: two or three sentences identifying your training, strongest relevant evidence and target role. Education: qualification, institution and dates. Relevant projects: two or three examples. Experience: internships, volunteering or informal work, clearly labelled. Skills: tools you can actually use.
Write the content in your own document rather than submitting these instructions. A profile might read: "Business administration graduate with experience organising student-event registrations and maintaining spreadsheet records. Seeking an entry-level operations role where careful record keeping and customer communication are important." Use this only as an illustration; replace every claim with your own experience.
Build a project entry that shows your work
Illustrative project: Student event registration, final year. "Created a spreadsheet to record registrations, checked duplicate entries and prepared an attendance list for the organisers." A second bullet could explain how you resolved an error or coordinated with another team member. A number is useful only if you can support it.
For a technical role, link to a relevant project if it is safe to share. Explain what you built, what works and what you would improve. Remove passwords, customer data and private school or employer information. A modest completed project is stronger evidence than a list of technologies you have only heard of.
Handle gaps and unfinished qualifications honestly
Use clear dates. If a course is in progress, label it in progress rather than completed. Describe an internship as an internship. Mention NYSC status when the employer requests it or it is relevant, without guessing eligibility requirements.
You do not need to apologise for being new to work. If a gap comes up, give a brief accurate explanation and bring the conversation back to what you can contribute now. Avoid including private family or medical details simply to fill space.
Prepare to explain every line
Pick the three strongest entries and practise explaining them aloud. What did you do personally? What was difficult? What changed because of your work? What would you do differently next time? Remove any claim you cannot explain honestly.
Before applying, compare your CV with the vacancy, check spelling and test any portfolio links in a signed-out browser. Ask a trusted reader which skills they can identify from the examples. If they cannot see the connection, make your actions clearer rather than adding more adjectives.