How to write a CV with no work experience

Everyone starts with no experience. Employers who hire for entry-level jobs know this. They are not looking for a long work history. They want to see that you are reliable, that you can learn, and that you can follow instructions.

Your CV's job is to show those things using what you have already done. This guide shows you how.

Change how you think about "experience"

Experience is not only a paid job with a payslip. Anything where you took responsibility counts. Think about the last few years and write down everything you did, for example:

• Helping in a family shop or spaza
• Selling snacks, airtime or clothes to friends and neighbours
• Looking after younger children or a sick relative
• Volunteering at church, a soup kitchen or a community clinic
• Being a class rep, prefect or sports captain
• Doing piece jobs such as gardening, washing cars or helping at events

Each of these shows something an employer wants: handling money, serving customers, being trusted, turning up on time.

Put your strongest section first

When you have no job history, do not leave a big empty "Work experience" heading at the top. Order your CV so the reader sees your best points first:

1. Contact details
2. A short profile (two or three sentences)
3. Skills
4. Education
5. Volunteering, projects and other activities
6. Languages
7. References

If you have done piece jobs or helped in a family business, you can still call that section "Experience". Just be honest about what it was.

Write a profile that sounds like you

The profile sits at the top and tells the reader who you are and what you want. Keep it short and specific. Avoid empty words like "hardworking team player" on their own; back them up with something real.

Example profile

Recent school leaver from Soshanguve who helped run my aunt's tuck shop on weekends for two years. I handled cash, counted stock and served customers. I am looking for my first job in retail or as a general worker, and I am available to start immediately.

Notice that it names a real task, a real place and the kind of job wanted. That is far stronger than a list of adjectives.

Describe what you did, not just where you were

For each activity, write one or two bullet points that start with an action word: served, counted, organised, cleaned, helped, sold, trained. Add a number if you have one.

Example bullets

Weak:

• Helped at church events

Strong:

• Set up chairs and served food for about 150 people at monthly church lunches
• Collected and counted donations with the treasurer after each event

The strong version tells the employer you can work hard, work with others and be trusted with money.

Show your skills honestly

List skills you can prove or explain in an interview. Good ones for a first CV include:

• Basic computer skills (typing, email, Word, using a smartphone for work apps)
• Cash handling
• Customer service
• Driving, if you have a licence (write the code, for example "Code B (old Code 8)")
• First aid, if you have a certificate

Leave out skills you cannot back up. An interviewer may ask you to show them.

Keep it short and easy to scan

Many big companies use an ATS, which means software that sorts CVs before a person reads them. It looks for clear headings and words that match the job advert. To help both the software and the person:

• Keep your CV to one page, or two at most
• Use simple headings like "Education" and "Skills"
• Copy important words from the advert if they are true for you, for example "stock counting" or "customer service"
• Save and send it as a PDF so the layout does not break on someone else's phone

Add references people can actually reach

With no employer to vouch for you, use a teacher, a coach, a pastor, a community leader or someone you did piece jobs for. Do not use family members. Ask each person first, and give their name, how they know you, and a phone number that works.

Where to look for your first job

Once your CV is ready, register on free youth job platforms such as SAYouth.mobi and with Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator. Also look at programmes like YES (Youth Employment Service), which places young people in paid work experience with companies. If you are still deciding what to apply for, our guides on a matric CV and CVs for learnerships can help, and what to put on a South African CV explains what to leave out.

Build your first CV now

You do not need to start from a blank page. Look at the matriculant with no experience example or the general worker example, then use our builder to fill in your own details step by step. Pick a layout from our CV templates and preview it for free before you decide.