Writing your first CV can feel difficult when job adverts keep asking for experience. You may have completed your studies but never held a permanent job. What should you put under “Work Experience”?

Start with what you have actually done. An industrial attachment, class project, student leadership role, community activity or responsibility in a family business can give you material to discuss. The task is to explain that experience honestly and connect it to the job you want.

This guide takes you through the process, with a fictional example you can use as a starting point.

Start with one job advert

Before choosing a template, read the advert carefully. Identify the tasks, qualifications and skills the employer requests.

For example, an entry-level administrative role might involve answering enquiries, updating records, organising documents and using spreadsheets. Your CV should help the recruiter find evidence that you can handle those tasks.

Make a working list:

Only include examples that are true for you. If you have not used a particular tool, do not list it simply because it appears in the advert.

Choose a clear structure

For a first-job application, this is a useful starting order:

1. Name and contact details

2. Short personal profile

3. Education and relevant training

4. Relevant experience

5. Selected projects or leadership activities

6. Skills

7. Referees, if requested

Keep the document focused. One or two pages is a useful target for an early-career CV, but follow any page limit or format stated by the employer. Oxford’s careers guidance similarly recommends concise applications adapted to the position.

If your attachment is more relevant than your coursework, you can place experience before education.

Make your contact details easy to find

At the top, include your name, a working telephone number, a professional email address and your town or county. Add a LinkedIn or portfolio link if it contains relevant, up-to-date information.

For example:

Alex Sample
Nakuru, Kenya
[Your telephone number] | alex.sample@example.com
[LinkedIn or portfolio link, if relevant]

Check your voicemail, inbox and spam folder during your job search.

For an ordinary first-job CV, keep personal information limited. Avoid adding identity document numbers, bank details or unrelated family information. If a verified employer requests additional information through its application process, assess that request separately.

Write a short profile with useful details

Avoid opening with a long list of qualities such as “hardworking, dynamic and highly motivated”. These words tell the employer little about what you can do.

Instead, identify your training, relevant experience and target role.

Example:

Business administration diploma graduate with attachment experience in document filing, visitor enquiries and spreadsheet updates. Seeking an entry-level administrative role requiring organised records and clear communication.

Adjust the profile for each application. A profile aimed at office administration will need different evidence from one aimed at sales or research assistance.

Present your education accurately

List your most recent qualification first. Include the qualification, institution and completion year. If you are still studying, clearly label the expected completion date.

You can add a relevant project, specialisation or training course where it helps explain your preparation for the role.

Example:

Diploma in Business Administration
[Institution name], completed [year]

• Relevant project: prepared a stock-recording worksheet for a simulated retail business.

• Relevant coursework: office administration and business communication.

Use the exact qualification you hold. Do not describe incomplete training as a completed award.

Include KCSE details where the application requests them or where they help establish your eligibility. You do not need to turn the CV into a record of every school you attended.

Show experience even if it was unpaid

A section titled Relevant Experience gives you room to include attachments, volunteering and other genuine responsibilities.

Label each activity clearly. Do not present a class project as employment or call an unpaid student role a permanent job.

Compare these descriptions:

Too vague:

Assisted with office duties.

More informative:

Filed incoming correspondence by date and department and helped retrieve documents for staff.

Too vague:

Good leadership skills.

More informative:

Organised a student discussion group, circulated meeting details and recorded agreed tasks.

A useful writing pattern is:

Action + task + context or result

Numbers can clarify the scale of your work, but only use figures you can explain. A specific description without a number is better than an invented achievement.

Sample CV for a first job

The example below is fictional. Replace every detail with your own experience. It is a content model, not a CV to submit unchanged.

ALEX SAMPLE

Nakuru, Kenya
[Telephone number] | alex.sample@example.com

PROFILE

Business administration diploma graduate with attachment experience supporting visitor enquiries, filing and spreadsheet updates. Interested in an administrative assistant role involving accurate records and day-to-day office support.

EDUCATION

Diploma in Business Administration
Example Training College | 2023–2025

Relevant project: developed a spreadsheet for recording stock movements in a simulated small business.

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

Administrative Attaché
Example Services Office | May–July 2025

• Welcomed visitors and directed enquiries to the appropriate staff member.

• Updated a correspondence register using an existing Excel worksheet.

• Filed documents by category and date to support retrieval.

• Drafted routine messages for a supervisor to review.

PROJECTS AND VOLUNTEERING

Registration Volunteer
Example Community Careers Event | March 2025

• Helped participants complete registration forms.

• Checked entries for missing information.

• Worked with other volunteers to direct participants to sessions.

SKILLS

• Excel: data entry, sorting, filtering and basic SUM formulas.

• Word: document formatting and simple tables.

• Office support: filing and correspondence tracking.

• Languages: English and Kiswahili.

REFEREES

[Include the requested details only after obtaining each referee’s permission.]

Why this example works

The profile identifies a particular type of role. The experience section explains concrete tasks. The skills section describes what the applicant can do with each tool.

It also labels the attachment and volunteer role accurately. It does not pretend the applicant has years of professional experience.

Keep the layout simple

Use clear headings, readable text and consistent dates. As a practical default, use a single-column layout and ordinary bullet points.

Some employers use applicant tracking systems, or ATS, to process applications. A clear structure helps make relevant information easier to locate, but no template guarantees that you will pass screening.

Use job-related terms naturally when they describe your actual experience. Do not paste the entire advert into your CV or add hidden keywords.

Follow the requested file format. If the employer accepts PDF, export a text-based PDF rather than a photograph or scan. Open the exported file to check that the text is readable and nothing has moved.

Give it a useful filename, such as:

Alex-Sample-Administrative-Assistant-CV.pdf

Handle referees carefully

Check whether the advert asks for referees and how many it requests. Obtain permission before sharing someone’s contact details.

For a first job, an attachment supervisor, lecturer or volunteer coordinator may be appropriate if they know your work well enough to comment on it.

Give your referee the job description and your updated CV so they understand the application.

Check the application instructions

A CV may be only one part of the application. Read the advert again before submitting.

Check whether the employer requires a cover letter, application form, certificates, portfolio or particular email subject line. Submit through the stated channel and avoid sending extra documents that were not requested.

If you are using a recruitment platform, check the information entered in your profile as well as the uploaded CV. They should agree.

Your final CV checklist

Before sending, confirm that:

• Your telephone number and email address are correct.

• The profile matches the role you are applying for.

• Qualifications, dates and organisation names are accurate.

• Attachments, projects and unpaid roles are labelled honestly.

• Each listed skill is something you can explain or demonstrate.

• The document contains no copied sample details or placeholders.

• Your referees have agreed to be contacted, if you list them.

• The file opens correctly and follows the employer’s instructions.

• You have checked spelling and asked someone else to read it.

Need help reviewing your draft?

Start with Querilla Marketing’s free CV text review. It provides basic checks on pasted text and can compare selected terms with a job description. It does not assess your original document layout or predict a hiring decision.

For help rewriting your CV or preparing an application, explore our career support packages and request a quote.

Your first CV does not need a long employment history. It needs a clear, honest account of what you have learned, what you have done and how that prepares you for the role.