You don't need a work history to build a great CV. ParaFree's AI turns your coursework, projects and part-time jobs into professional bullet points. Free, no signup.
Build My Student CV Free →The biggest mistake students make is leaving sections blank because they think they have "nothing to put." Here's what actually counts as experience for a first CV:
Your degree, institution, expected graduation year, and any relevant modules. Include your grade or predicted class if strong.
Dissertations, group research projects, coursework deliverables, lab work. Describe the problem you solved and the skills you used.
Retail, hospitality, tutoring, delivery — any paid work demonstrates reliability, time management and customer-facing communication.
Charity work, community events, student union roles. Shows initiative and values beyond academic achievement.
Society committee roles, sports team captaincy, event organising — all demonstrate leadership, teamwork and commitment.
Software, programming languages, lab techniques, design tools, languages. Include proficiency level (basic/intermediate/advanced).
The hardest part of writing a student CV is making your experience sound professional without embellishing. ParaFree's AI bridges this gap — you give it rough notes about what you did, and it writes polished, action-verb-led bullet points.
Your notes: "worked at Tesco on weekends, dealt with customers, handled cash, helped train new staff"
AI output: "Delivered consistent customer service in a high-volume retail environment, handling 150+ transactions daily · Trained and mentored 3 new team members on till operations and store procedures · Maintained accurate cash-handling records with zero discrepancy across 12-month tenure"
Your notes: "social secretary for the chess club, organised events, managed social media, 40 members"
AI output: "Organised 12 club events across the academic year for a 40-member society, coordinating venues, catering and participation logistics · Managed society social media accounts, growing Instagram following by 28% in one term · Served as key point of contact between club members and the Students' Union"
Free forever. No signup. AI turns your notes into a professional CV in minutes.
Start My Student CV →For most entry-level and graduate roles, recruiters expect:
For a first CV, clean and readable is more important than creative or eye-catching. The Classic, Modern and Minimal templates in ParaFree work well for most graduate roles. For creative industries (design, media, marketing), the sidebar templates or the Blush design can help you stand out. For technical roles (engineering, finance, law), stick to Classic or Executive.
For ATS (Applicant Tracking System) safety — important for large graduate schemes and corporate employers — see the ATS resume builder guide.
CV conventions vary significantly between countries. As a student applying internationally or looking for graduate jobs in a specific market, use the right format:
Focus on academic projects, coursework, volunteer work, societies, sports leadership and any part-time jobs. ParaFree's AI can take rough notes about these and write them as professional bullet points demonstrating transferable skills.
Contact information, a short professional summary, education (with relevant modules and predicted grade), any work experience, key projects or dissertations, skills (technical and soft), and activities. A well-written one page covering these is professionally strong.
Yes, completely. No signup, no credit card, no payment at download. All AI writing features are also free.
One page is standard for student and graduate CVs in the UK, Australia and most international markets. Only expand to two pages if you have substantial relevant experience (typically 3+ years post-graduation).
Include your grade if it's strong — typically a 2:1 or above (UK), GPA 3.0+ (US), or a Credit average or higher (Australia). If lower but improving, you may omit grades and focus on experience instead.
For a full comparison of free CV builders that work well for students, see our Best Free CV Builder 2026 guide — including which ones have payment walls at download.
Start with zero experience and finish with a professional CV in under 15 minutes.
Build My CV Free →