How to Write a CV When You Have No Work Experience

"Experience required." It is the most frustrating phrase in job hunting, especially when you are trying to get your first job. But every employer knows that everyone starts somewhere, and many posts, from retail and contact centres to learnerships, internships and graduate programmes, are designed for people without formal work experience.

What those employers want to see is evidence that you are reliable, can learn, can communicate and will turn up and do the work. Your CV's job is to show that evidence, even if you have never had a payslip. This guide shows you how.

What goes on a first CV

A first CV usually has these sections, in this order:

1. Contact details. Your full name, phone number, professional email address and the town or suburb where you live.
2. Profile. Two or three sentences about who you are, what kind of work you want and your strongest qualities.
3. Education. Your matric and any post-school studies, with years and relevant subjects or results.
4. Experience. Part-time work, holiday jobs, volunteering, informal work and projects.
5. Skills. Practical skills such as computer programs, languages and a driver's licence.
6. Achievements and activities. Leadership roles, awards, sports, clubs and community involvement.
7. References. Two references, or "available on request".

Section by section

Contact details

Put these at the top, clearly. Use an email address with your name, such as "lerato.dlamini@...", not a nickname. Make sure your phone has airtime or data and that your voicemail works, because employers will call.

Do not put your ID number on a CV you upload to public job sites. If an employer needs it, they will ask on their application form. You also do not need to include your religion, marital status or a photo.

Profile

This is a short introduction at the top of your CV. Make it specific to the kind of work you are applying for. Compare these:

• Weak: "I am a hardworking, honest, dedicated person looking for any job."
• Strong: "Matriculant with mathematics and accounting, looking for an entry-level administration or cashier post. Experienced in handling cash and record-keeping through two years of helping run my family's spaza shop, and confident using Excel and email."

The strong version names the kind of job, gives real skills and proves them with an example.

Education

List your highest qualification first. Include the name of the school or institution, the qualification and the year. For matric, you can list relevant subjects and results if they are good, especially mathematics, accounting, physical science or languages. For post-school studies, list the qualification, the institution and the year completed or expected.

Experience without a job

This is where most first CVs fall short, because people think experience only means formal employment. It does not. Think about:

• Part-time and holiday work: packing shelves, waitering, car washing, promotions, tutoring, seasonal work.
• Informal work: selling goods, helping in a family business, doing hair or nails, fixing phones.
• Volunteering: at church, a community centre, a clinic, a school, a soup kitchen or an NGO.
• Responsibilities: class representative, prefect, sports captain, youth group leader, club treasurer.
• Projects: school or university projects, a business plan you developed, a website or app you built.

For each one, write the role, the place, the dates and two or three bullet points that describe what you did and what it shows. For example:

Volunteer, Ikageng Community Food Garden, Soweto (2025 to present)

• Help coordinate a team of eight volunteers on Saturday mornings.
• Keep records of produce donated to two local crèches.
• Trained new volunteers on planting and watering schedules.

That shows teamwork, record-keeping, reliability and training ability: exactly the qualities employers want.

Skills

Be specific and honest. "Computer literate" is vague; "Microsoft Word, Excel (basic formulas), email and online research" is useful. List the languages you speak and write. Mention a driver's licence with its code if you have one. If you have completed short courses, such as a first aid course or an online course, list them.

Achievements and activities

Awards, certificates, sports achievements and leadership roles all show something about you. Keep this section short and choose the items most relevant to work.

References

Choose people who know how you work: a teacher, lecturer, coach, volunteer coordinator or someone you did part-time work for. Ask their permission first and tell them what jobs you are applying for. Do not list family members.

A simple layout

Keep the design clean so it is easy to read on a phone or a computer, and easy for screening software to process.

• Use one clear font, such as Arial or Calibri, at 10 to 12 points.
• Use bold headings for each section.
• Use bullet points rather than long paragraphs.
• Avoid tables, text boxes, graphics and columns. Many online systems cannot read them. Our ATS-friendly CV guide explains why.
• Save it as a PDF named with your name, such as "Lerato-Dlamini-CV.pdf".

Common first-CV mistakes

1. Leaving out informal experience because it was not a "real job".
2. Writing a generic profile that could describe anyone.
3. Too much personal detail, such as ID number, religion, health and full home address.
4. Spelling and grammar errors. Read it slowly, out loud, and ask someone to check it.
5. Fancy templates with columns, icons and skill bars that screening systems cannot read.
6. Exaggerating or inventing qualifications or experience. Employers check, and it can cost you the job later.
7. An old phone number or email that you no longer check.

Where to use your first CV

Look for posts that are designed for people starting out:

• Retail and contact centre jobs, which often welcome first-time job seekers. See our retail jobs guide.
• Learnerships, which combine training with work and often pay an allowance. See our guides to learnerships and learnership allowances.
• Government internships for graduates and diploma holders.
• Graduate programmes if you have a degree or diploma. See our graduate programmes guide.
• Entry-level government posts, such as general workers, cleaners and clerks, which often ask for Grade 10 or Grade 12 and little or no experience.

When you apply, pair your CV with a short, specific cover letter if the employer accepts one. Our cover letter guide shows you how. Then search for entry-level posts on our homepage using words like "entry level", "learnership", "internship" or "general worker".

Questions people ask

This guide is written by OnboardingSA to help South African job seekers. Rules and forms change, so always follow the official advert and the employer's own instructions. Browse current jobs →