Give a Grad a Go Logo-Dark-Blush

CV guide: Free CV templates for students

Free CV templates for students and graduates 📝

Student and graduate CV hub

As the UK’s top graduate recruitment company in London, we see hundreds of CVs every day – and we’d like to say we know a few things about how to write a good one and what employers look for.

We’ve created a student and graduate CV hub with CV tips, examples and free templates to download for a range of different graduate roles.

So, if you’re a university student starting to apply to graduate roles or a recent graduate, take a look and get your CV in top shape ready to impress employers and kickstart your graduate career!

The importance of a good CV

Your CV is the first impression an employer will make of you and is what will allow your application to progress to the next stage.

You want your graduate and student CV to showcase your best qualities, work experiences and demonstrate why a company should hire you.

A top-quality CV will considerably boost your chance of getting a face-to-face interview, so it’s really worth spending time perfecting the content and presentation of your CV.

You need to sell yourself in the best way possible and engage an employer in the short space you have. We know this can be challenging, especially creating your first graduate CV, so we’ve put together our tips and tricks for a standout graduate CV to land your dream graduate job!

how-to-write-a-good-cv-min
Graduate How to write a good CV

Basic CV guide

Just started to think about applying for graduate jobs and not sure what specific sector you want to work in yet?

If like many graduates you’re unsure, you need a CV that will serve you for a range of different roles.

A good basic CV template will last you for life; as your career progresses and you become more specialised in a field you can add to it and slot in the information without having to change the structure.

We’ve put together a guide of what to include in your generic CV with free cv templates (thank us later). Click the link below!

basic-cv-templates-free-download-examples
Graduate Basic CV templates: Free download examples

Professional CV guide

Applying to more competitive and specialised graduate jobs? You’ll need a CV that sounds and looks as professional as possible.

Our professional CV guide has a range of grammar tips, free templates, and examples for how to tailor each section of your CV to project an experienced and polished profile.

professional-cv-templates-free-download-examples
Graduate Professional CV templates: Free download examples

Creative CV guide

Applying to creative graduate roles? We’ve got tips and free templates for you too! For graduate roles in the creative industry, both the presentation of your CV and the content are crucial to nail.

Here’s our guide for creating a CV that highlights your creative skillset, along with design tips and templates that show off your flair!

creative-cv-templates-free-download-examples
Graduate Creative CV templates: Free download examples

How to tailor your CV to each job application

Tailoring your CV to each different role you are applying for is vital in showing employers you’re interested and suitable for their role and will be a perfect fit for the company.

Whilst it may sound time-consuming having to edit your CV for each role, it doesn’t have to be when you know what to change. We’ve put together our guide on how to tailor your CV to each job application.

Or continue through the CV guide to see other CV tips to make sure your CV is as impressive as possible and ready to wow employers.

how-to-tailor-your-cv-to-each-graduate-job-application
Graduate How to tailor your CV to each graduate job application

CV structure tips

A well-structured CV will increase your chances of landing your desired job. You should make it easy to read, clear, and concise.

Use clear fonts such as Arial or Calibri along with bullet points and short but impactful sentences.

Your graduate CV should include dates of all of your education and experiences ensuring that they are consistent with your LinkedIn profile.

Save your CV under a sensible file name as this is what your potential employer will receive. Use the ‘First name, Last name – CV’ format, not ‘final final CV’ or ‘asdfghjk’.

Ensure that you have included your contact details, personal statement, education, work experience and any interests/hobbies.

For the reference section of your graduate CV, you can simply say ‘References available on request’ however, make sure to have these prepared.

cv-structure-how-to-write-a-graduate-cv-min
Graduate CV structure: How to write a graduate CV

CV content

Your CV is now properly structured; what’s next?

You should include content in your new CV that will convince an employer to call you for an interview.

Keep clichés out of your personal profile and talk about your accomplishments.

Include quantifiable statistics in your responsibilities as this will be more impressive. Eg – ‘Grew the company’s B2B Twitter following by 2,500+ in 3 weeks, generating 3 new leads’.

Mention your awards, achievements and interests, this can add lots of personality to your graduate CV.

Think about what’s going to make you stand out from the crowd as it helps to paint a more individual picture keeping it professional.

how-an-employer-reads-your-graduate-cv
Graduate How an employer reads your graduate CV
Next article in this series: /