Graduate CV Writing That Gets You Past the Screening
Your first professional CV. Written by our team around your degree, placements, and the skills employers actually hire for.
The graduate CV problem
Every graduate applying for the same role has a degree. Some have two. That makes the CV the only thing that separates candidates at screening stage, and most graduate CVs are doing nothing to help.
The no-experience trap
Everyone applying has a degree, which means the degree alone is not a differentiator. The CV has to surface what makes you a more compelling candidate than the 200 others with the same qualification. Most graduate CVs do not do that.
ATS filters treat graduates the same as everyone else
Applicant tracking systems do not give graduates a pass for being new to the workforce. Keywords still matter. Format still matters. A graduate CV that looks beautiful in Word and has no relevant terms for the role will be filtered out before anyone reads it.
Listing duties instead of transferable skills
The most common graduate CV mistake: writing "Served customers and handled till" instead of framing part-time work, placements, and volunteering as demonstrated, transferable evidence. That shift is the difference between a CV that gets ignored and one that gets read.
The difference between screened out and called
A graduate CV that gets a call is specific, targeted, and structured to show the employer what they are hiring, not just a list of what you have done. Most graduates are one rewrite away from a very different response rate.
What goes into a strong graduate CV
1. Profile
Not a generic objective statement. A 3 to 4 sentence paragraph that names your degree, your target role or sector, and two or three specific things you bring. Written for the employer, not about you.
2. Education
Your degree, institution, graduation year, and grade or predicted grade. Relevant modules listed selectively, not exhaustively. Dissertation title if relevant to the target role. A-levels included briefly unless the degree result is the thing that matters.
3. Experience
Part-time work, placements, internships, and volunteering all belong here. The question is not whether the job is relevant, it is whether the skills demonstrated are relevant. A retail job contains customer service, time management, and problem-solving. A bar job contains cash handling, pressure performance, and team communication. Your CV writer surfaces what is already there.
4. Skills
The difference between soft skills (useless) and demonstrated skills (useful). "Good communicator" tells a recruiter nothing. "Presented dissertation findings to a panel of 12 academics" tells them something real. Every skill on a graduate CV should be attached to evidence, not floated as a claim.
5. Projects and Extracurricular
When to include them: when they demonstrate skills or commitment not covered elsewhere. How to frame them: as evidence of the same transferable qualities the employer is hiring for, not as filler. A society committee role, a coding project, a sports captaincy, or a volunteering role can all work if framed correctly.
Graduate CV Writing
Graduate
- Graduate or entry-level CV rewrite
- Skills, placements, and education-led structure
- ATS-optimised format
- 3-4 business day delivery
- Free unlimited revisions
Already graduated a few years ago but still in an entry-level role? The Graduate tier still applies. If you have more than 2 to 3 years of professional experience to work with, the Professional tier at £79 will produce a stronger result. Not sure? The free review tells us which fits.
Common questions about graduate CVs
Yes. No work experience does not mean no evidence. Your degree modules, dissertation, group projects, societies, volunteering, and any part-time work all contain transferable skills that belong on your CV. Our writers work from what you have, not what you wish you had. The graduate CV is built around your academic record and the skills demonstrated alongside it.
Yes, briefly. List your A-level subjects and grades in one line under your education section. Unless your A-level results are exceptional or directly relevant to the role, they are secondary to your degree. As your career progresses, A-levels will eventually drop off entirely. For now, include them but do not lead with them.
One page for most graduates, with two pages acceptable if you have significant placement or internship experience to include. The instinct to pad a graduate CV to look more substantial usually backfires. Recruiters respond better to a tight, well-structured one-pager than a two-page CV where half the content is irrelevant.
Yes, within the Graduate tier. When you submit your free review, tell us the specific scheme or employer you are targeting and we will incorporate that into the rewrite. If you want the same CV tailored to multiple different schemes, we handle revisions at no extra charge within the same application.
If you have less than two to three years of professional work experience, the Graduate tier at £39 is likely the right fit. If you have more experience but it has not been in a role that reflects your potential, the Professional tier at £79 gives us more to work with and produces a more authoritative result. Start with the free review and we will advise after seeing your CV.
Your first professional CV should work as hard as you did to earn the degree.
Upload what you have. Our team will review it, tell you exactly what needs to change, and confirm which package fits your situation.
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