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Get That Job With The Right CV: What if I haven't had much work experience?

by Julie Gray

It can feel quite daunting to write a first or second CV with little or no work history. How can you prove your worth to an employer with no evidence?

The great news is that by asking this question you’re already thinking along the right lines. You are correct to focus on proving which skills and qualities you offer an employer.

Start with the skills in the job advert. Perhaps one is ‘communication’. You may not have written reports, answered phones or given presentations, but you still communicate whenever you talk to or email someone. Try to think of an example from home, school, university or another job, even if it was part-time.

Perhaps you ordered a customised present for someone’s birthday. You explained exactly what you wanted, agreed a price and received a great result. It’s not work, but it is an example of good communication with a positive outcome – proof.

When playing football, you talk to your team mates all the time to coordinate your game, and you’ve won nine of your past ten matches. This could be another example of good communication.

Perhaps friends come to you for help using computers /software /iTunes? Explaining technical things to non-technical people requires good communication skills and is another way to demonstrate how well you communicate.

Once you’ve put into your CV examples of each skill listed in the advert, there is one more extremely powerful thing you can offer: a genuine desire to work for this particular employer.

Research the job, the company and the marketplace. Google is often the quickest way. Think about it for a while, then add to your CV (and covering letter) the main reasons why you’d love to do this job for this company.

This targeted approach will help you to stand out above other, possibly more experienced applicants, who – amazingly – often don’t bother with this essential step.


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