CV examples

Graduate CV example

Explore a graduate CV example with role-specific experience, skills, project wording, practical writing tips and a Word template.

A graduate application needs a clear account of your work as well as a readable layout. This fictional example focuses on how to use accurate experience labels. Employment, education and project records are kept separate so a reviewer can identify your contribution and scope. Compare the example with your own background; do not add tasks, tools or qualifications you cannot support.

Example CV (fictional)

This example is fictional; the names of people and organisations are not real.

Build a CV with this template ↗ Download as a Word template (.docx) · Free Word CV templates

How to write this CV

Use accurate experience labels

Internships, course projects and volunteering are different forms of experience. Even without paid employment, you can explain the work you actually completed. Prioritise relevant education and projects rather than listing unfamiliar tools to appear more experienced than you are.

Prioritise relevant experience

Read the responsibilities in the vacancy and match them to your experience. Connect skills such as Excel, Data organisation, Process review to work you actually performed. Put relevant contributions first instead of giving every past task the same amount of space.

Separate contribution from outcome

When describing teamwork, do not imply that the entire result was yours. Explain your responsibility, who you worked with and what you delivered. Without a measurable result, a verifiable deliverable, checklist or report can still provide concrete evidence of your contribution.

Check portfolio and project links

If sharing a project such as university process analysis project, identify what kind of work it was. Distinguish learning exercises from commercial projects. Check that links open, that you have permission to share the work and that no private information is exposed. A concise scope description can replace a link.

Order sections for your experience

Make relevant education and projects easy to find. List placements separately and describe supervised responsibilities accurately. Instead of a long personal statement, summarise your target role, demonstrated skills and the kinds of work you are ready to contribute to.

Example sentences to describe your work

Adapt them to your own real work; never write something you did not do.

  • Supported data preparation for weekly internship reports
  • Flagged missing spreadsheet fields to responsible colleagues
  • Extracted follow-up tasks from meeting notes
  • Mapped a sample customer process for a course project
  • Presented research findings during a team presentation
  • Organised project deliverables with their supporting sources

Skill ideas

Choose only what is true for you.

  • Excel
  • Data organisation
  • Process review
  • Presentations
  • Research
  • Documentation
  • Teamwork
  • Note taking
  • Time planning
  • Basic SQL

Common mistakes

  • Replacing evidence of your work with general personality claims
  • Presenting personal projects, internships and employment as the same kind of experience
  • Copying fictional dates, duties or skills without checking them against your background

Frequently asked questions

Will my CV be empty without employment?

No. Include education, completed projects, student societies and genuine volunteering contributions. Do not copy a fictional internship or job from an example into your own CV.

How should I adapt this example?

Replace the name, contact details, education and dates with your information. Rewrite every experience bullet around work you actually did, remove unrelated skills and leave out projects that do not belong to you.

Which layout should I choose?

The layout on this page is a starting point, not a mandatory design for the profession. Choose readable headings and enough space for your content. Open the final PDF to review page breaks and make sure contact details are easy to find.

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