What is usually going wrong
Your education section is doing all the work
Degree, university, dates — and then nothing, because nobody showed you that projects and societies count as experience.
You are applying with the same CV everywhere
The consulting firm and the game studio get identical documents. Both bin it for opposite reasons.
Deadlines pile up with exams
Application season collides with coursework, so every CV tweak happens at midnight — or not at all.
What actually moves the needle
- 1
Mine your coursework for evidence
Group projects, dissertations, lab work, and presentations are experience. "Led 4-person team building a market analysis presented to 60 people" is a CV line.
- 2
One page, aimed per application
Student CVs are one page — the skill is choosing what matters for this role. Keep a master version and cut a tailored copy per application.
- 3
Start before you feel ready
Internship deadlines open nearly a year ahead at large employers. A working CV built now — even imperfect — beats a perfect one that misses the window.
Check your student CV free
Paste what you have — even a rough draft — and get the specific fixes that matter for internship and graduate applications.
Get the fixes by email
A short series with the specific changes for your situation, the templates to copy, and nothing else.
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Straight answers
What should a student put on a CV with no internships?
Education first, then projects, society or volunteer roles, part-time jobs, and skills. Frame each with what you did and what resulted — initiative is the thing employers hire students for.
Should students include their grades?
Include them when strong or when the employer asks (graduate schemes often do). Otherwise the degree and expected classification are enough.
How long should a student CV be?
One page, always. Recruiters hiring students expect potential, not history — a tight page signals you know what matters.