CV Guide For School Leavers

With stiff completion in the job market, fitting your CV to a specific industry can be helpful. Customizing it even further for a specific role can be the push you need for your resume to land on top of the pile.

Drafting an impeccable CV is your first step to gaining employment. There’s enough information out there about what makes the ideal CV, however, one thing to consider is the fact that it can change depending on where you are career-wise.

If you are in search of a job for the very first time, you will be excused for thinking that building your recent school leaver CV might be a struggle while trying hard to secure a position in a company.

However, it is not only paid employment that can help in your career journey. Follow the tips below when drafting your recent impressive CV and it will be done in no time.

 

Template CV for School Leavers
One can use a recent CV template for school leavers which can be found on the internet, where you only need to put your details where applicable and it’s very easy to use. Below is an illustration of a student CV template for the first job.

  • Full Name
  • Permanent Address
  • Cell Phone Number
  • Landline No
  • Email

Unless required in an application, avoid including your date of birth (DOB), number of children, marital status, gender or other personal information that is unrelated to your capacity to carry out the job.

 

Personal Statement
Give a short review of your soft and hard skills, as well as experience from either voluntary work or from temporary jobs you’ve had.  Showcase your tasks and responsibilities, for instance, the fact that you were a member of the school debate club. Highlight skills gained such as communication skills from public speaking, teamwork, time management and so forth. Likewise, state the sort of jobs you are searching for and why you think you’d be great at it.

Example: Passionate, dedicated chair lady of the schools’ debate team with GCSEs grades A-B. Gained numerous numerical and literacy skills. Part-time work and voluntary roles have gained me needed experience. Looking forward to growing and building these skills and experience full-time.

 

Educational Background
Highlight your educational background from the highest and most recent rank. Once you gain more work experience this section will come right after the work experience section.

Example:

  • St Joseph’s High School, Pietermaritzburg, Sept 2006 – June 2013
    English, Xhosa, Maths, Biology, Science, Accounting and PC Studies.

 

Work Experience
Include part-time and voluntary work that you have done in the past, roles, skills, and experience acquired. This will show that you are a hard working individual and how the experience built up your skills like customer service and time management. Begin with your most recent role first.

Example: 

Volunteer, Hope Centre for Kids Children’s Home, June 2015 – present

Duties and Responsibilities:

  • Welcoming and serving visitors on arrival
  • Receiving, storing and keeping donated items
  • Assisted with sorting and distribution of donated items like shoes and clothes

The shop assistant, CellMania, June 2011 – May 2015

Duties and Responsibilities:

  • Customer Service
  • Stocktaking
  • Record Keeping

 

Additional skills
Include achievements that are applicable to the job you are applying for and do it in a positive light.

Example:

  • Admin: Control of switchboard, record keeping, diary management
  • Customer Service: Hospitality and Accommodation
  • IT skills: Capable use of Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Basic HTML)

 

Interests and Hobbies
In this section include interests that are relevant to the job you are looking for.

Example:

  • Captain of neighborhood hockey team (exhibits authority)
  • Volunteering at the BET award show as an usher (shows duty and service)

 

References
This section should be put in if requested by the company. Avoid putting names and contacts of referees on the school leavers CV unless asked to do so. Seek consent from your referees before giving out their details to a potential employer.

Continue reading

Our Top CV Tips + CV Template

Venturing out into today’s job market, where there are fewer jobs and more competition, you want to make sure the odds are in your favour. To do this you need a top-notch updated CV that’s thorough and showcases your skills in under 30-60 seconds.

How to write a great Cover Letter (including a Template)

Out there it is survival of the fittest. Your cover letter introduces you to the interviewer. It’s likely that, in 30 seconds or less, they would have decided whether or not to interview you.

Your ultimate career survival guide

Essential CV tips, writing cover letters, job search tools, interview guidelines, career resources and more.