Graduate CV example (UK graduate schemes)

Where your CV fits in a graduate scheme application

Large graduate schemes rarely hire from a CV alone. The usual route is an online application form, sometimes with a CV upload, then online tests, a video or phone interview and an assessment centre. Smaller employers and graduate jobs advertised on ordinary job boards often ask for a CV and a covering letter and nothing else.

Either way, your CV is the source document. You copy from it into form boxes, you get asked about it at interview, and assessors read it before the assessment centre. So it has to be accurate, specific and easy to talk through. Anything you cannot explain in two minutes should come off.

Put education first, with the detail that matters

For your first graduate job, the degree is still your main qualification, so it goes above your work history. A bachelor's degree is a level 6 qualification, and graduate adverts often state a minimum classification, so give yours in full: "BA (Hons) Geography, 2:1". If you have not had your final result, write "expected 2:1" and your current average.

Under the degree, add two or three things that tell an employer what you can do, not just what you studied. The dissertation is the obvious one. Two or three modules that match the job are enough; nobody needs the whole programme. A levels go in one line underneath. GCSEs can usually go, unless the application form asks for them.

Write the dissertation like a project

A dissertation is the biggest piece of independent work most graduates have done, and it is usually described badly. "Dissertation on healthcare access" is a topic. "Mapped access to GP surgeries by bus across two boroughs using QGIS and open transport data (74)" is a piece of analysis with a method, a tool and a result. If you used real data, surveys, interviews or software, say so. Add the mark if it helps you.

Make the placement year do the work

A year in industry, a summer internship or even a few weeks of work shadowing is the part of a graduate CV that recruiters read most closely, because it is the nearest thing to the job they are hiring for. Give it a proper job title, a one-line description of the organisation, and four or five bullet points that show what you produced.

If you had no placement, look for the next best thing: a research assistant role, a project for a real client as part of your course, a society role with a budget, a freelance job or a long-running volunteer post. Give it the same treatment as a job.

How much to say about part-time jobs

Keep them, but keep them short. Bar, retail and call centre work shows that you can hold down a job alongside a degree, and recruiters notice when someone has worked through university. Two bullet points usually cover it. Pick the ones that show responsibility (keyholder, trainer, cash handling) or something measurable. If you had several similar jobs, group them into one entry, such as "Retail and hospitality roles, 2021 to 2025".

A profile that names the scheme

Three lines under your name are enough. The first says what you studied and your classification. The second gives the one piece of experience you most want them to read. The third says which kind of scheme you are applying for. "Motivated graduate seeking a challenging role" could head any CV in the pile, so it tells the reader nothing. "Geography graduate with a 2:1 and a year in a housing association data team, applying for data analysis schemes" gets Aisha read.

Tailor it to the scheme

Every graduate scheme publishes the skills or competencies it assesses, often on the careers page or in the application guide. Read them, then check that your profile and bullet points use the same ideas. You do not need to copy their words exactly, but an analysis scheme that asks for "turning data into insight" should find a line on your CV where you did precisely that.

Analysis and data schemes

Lead with tools and outputs: Excel, SQL, Power BI, Python or R, and what you made with them. Put the dissertation method up front. Mention any statistics or quantitative modules by name.

Operations and management schemes

Lead with organising people and processes: rotas, stock, events, customer problems you solved, anything where you improved how something ran. Your part-time job may deserve more space here than on an analyst application.

A 2:2, a gap or a change of direction

Some schemes ask for a 2:1 and some do not, and the entry requirements are listed on each one. If you have a 2:2, apply to the schemes that accept it, and let your experience, projects and skills carry the page. State the classification honestly if the form asks; it will be checked. If you took time out after graduating, say what you did in one line. If your degree has nothing to do with the job, lead with transferable projects and a clear profile explaining why you want this route.

Assessment centres start with your CV

Interviewers at assessment centres often have your application in front of them and pick out a line to ask about. Before you go, read your CV and prepare a two-minute story for every bullet point: the situation, what you did, and the result. The placement and dissertation lines will almost certainly come up. If there is a line you would struggle to talk about, cut it before you apply, not after.

Keep the CV to one page unless you have a year in industry and a lot of relevant project work, in which case a tidy second page is fine. Save it as a PDF unless the employer asks for Word, and before you send it you can check it against the job description with our free ATS CV checker.