FREE STUDENT CV TEMPLATE FOR WORD
Still studying and not sure what to put on your CV? This editable Word template shows how to use your education, volunteering, student activities and practical skills without trying to make limited work experience look bigger than it is.
Microsoft Word (.docx) • Editable • One page • No account required
Which Type of Student CV Do You Need?
A student applying for weekend retail work does not need exactly the same CV as a student applying for a year-long engineering placement. Before editing the template, decide what the employer actually needs to see.
Part-Time Job
For retail, hospitality, customer service and other part-time roles, make reliability, availability, communication and any customer-facing experience easy to find.
Internship
Your degree, relevant modules, academic projects, technical skills and evidence of interest in the industry may deserve more space than unrelated casual work.
Placement Year
Show how your course relates to the placement and include relevant projects, software, previous employment and responsibilities that demonstrate you can work in a professional environment.
No Previous Job
Do not invent employment. Use relevant evidence from education, volunteering, societies, projects and genuine responsibilities. If you have virtually no formal employment history, our no experience CV template explains this in more detail.
Student CV Template Preview
The preview below is taken from the same Word CV available to download on this page.
Template Details
File: Microsoft Word (.docx)
Length: One page
Photo: No
Example: Business Management student
Best for: Part-time and early-career applications
Account required: No
Why This Student CV Is Structured This Way
The example CV belongs to Sophie Walker, a Business Management student looking for part-time administrative or customer service work. The order of the sections reflects what she can genuinely offer rather than following a professional CV structure designed for someone with years of employment.
- Education appears near the top because Sophie is still studying and her current degree is one of the most relevant parts of her background.
- Availability has its own section because the example targets part-time work where working hours may matter to the employer.
- Volunteering is included as volunteering, rather than being disguised as paid employment.
- Skills are kept short and relate to the type of entry-level work Sophie is targeting.
- There is no long Work Experience section because the template does not need to pretend that Sophie has employment history she does not have.
If you use this template for an internship or placement instead, you may need to change the order. A relevant university project, technical skill or previous placement could become more important than availability.
What Should Go Near the Top of Your Student CV?
There is no single section order that suits every student. Put the strongest and most relevant evidence where the employer is likely to see it quickly.
If you have relevant part-time experience
A job involving customers, cash handling, administration or teamwork may deserve a prominent position when you are applying for similar work.
If you have never had a job
Education, a relevant project, volunteering or a genuine position of responsibility can come before any employment section. You do not need to create an empty heading simply because conventional CVs contain one.
If you are applying for an internship
Relevant modules, technical projects, software and course achievements may matter more than an unrelated weekend job. Give the employer evidence that connects your studies with the internship.
If you are applying for retail or hospitality work
Availability, customer interaction, reliability and evidence that you can work with other people may be more useful than a long description of academic modules.
Completed Student CV Example
The example below follows the same content used in the downloadable Word template.
Sophie Walker
Business Management Student
Leeds, UK
Student Profile
Business Management student with strong organisation, communication and Microsoft Office skills developed through university projects and volunteering. Experienced in supporting events, working as part of a team and meeting academic deadlines. Seeking a part-time administrative or customer service role alongside university studies.
Education
BA (Hons) Business Management
University of Leeds | Leeds, UK
2024–Present
A Levels
Roundhay School | Leeds, UK
2024
Availability
Available Monday and Wednesday afternoons, Friday evenings and weekends. Additional availability may be possible outside examination periods.
Volunteering
Event Support Volunteer
University of Leeds Careers Fair | 2026
- Prepared information packs, organised registration materials and directed visitors to the correct employer stands.
- Answered attendee questions and worked with other volunteers to help the event run smoothly.
Skills
Microsoft Word, Excel & PowerPoint • Teamwork & Communication • Organisation & Planning • Customer Service • Problem Solving • Time Management
Do You Need a Personal Profile on a Student CV?
Not necessarily. A short profile can be useful when it quickly explains what you are studying, what you can offer and what sort of opportunity you want. But it should earn the space it takes up.
Sophie’s profile works because it answers three questions quickly:
- What is she currently doing? — studying Business Management.
- What useful evidence does she have? — university projects and volunteering.
- What is she looking for? — part-time administrative or customer service work.
Avoid opening with a string of unsupported adjectives such as “hard-working, passionate, motivated and excellent team player”. If you cannot connect a claim to something you have actually done, it adds little value.
If space is tight and the rest of your CV already makes your direction obvious, a profile does not have to be included simply because a template contains one.
Never Had a Job? What Can Count as Relevant Experience?
For a student, useful experience does not have to begin with a payroll record. The important question is whether an activity gives you genuine evidence of a skill or responsibility relevant to the vacancy.
University or College Projects
Instead of writing only “group project”, explain your contribution:
Coordinated tasks for a four-person marketing project, combined research from the team and prepared the final PowerPoint presentation for assessment.
Student Societies and Clubs
A committee or event role can demonstrate organisation, communication or budgeting when you describe the actual responsibility:
Helped organise two society events, contacted speakers and maintained the attendee registration list.
Volunteering
Relevant volunteering can provide evidence of working with the public, following instructions, solving small problems or contributing to a team. Label it accurately as volunteering rather than making it look like paid employment.
Personal Projects
A portfolio, website, coding project, research project or creative piece can be useful for internships and specialist roles when it demonstrates a skill the employer is actually looking for.
Positions of Responsibility
Mentoring another student, representing your course, helping to organise an event or taking responsibility in a club may be relevant. Describe what you did and avoid turning every normal activity into artificial “work experience”.
Don’t Just List Skills — Show Where They Came From
“Communication”, “teamwork” and “organisation” appear on thousands of CVs. A student CV becomes more convincing when those words are connected to something you have actually done.
Instead of Just Writing
- Communication
- Organisation
- Excel
- Teamwork
- Customer service
Look for Evidence Like
- Delivered a group presentation and answered questions.
- Balanced coursework deadlines with volunteering commitments.
- Used formulas and charts to analyse data for a university assignment.
- Completed a four-person project with shared deadlines.
- Answered visitor enquiries while volunteering at an event.
You do not need a paragraph beside every skill in the skills section. The evidence can appear elsewhere in your CV. The aim is to make sure the claim is supported somewhere.
Tailor Your Student CV to the Job
You do not need to rebuild your CV from scratch for every application. You should, however, change the emphasis when different employers are looking for different things.
Example: Part-Time Customer Service Job
If the vacancy repeatedly mentions customer service, teamwork, reliability and flexible hours, useful evidence might include:
- answering visitor questions while volunteering;
- working with other volunteers during a busy event;
- your actual evening or weekend availability;
- previous customer-facing work, if you have any.
Example: Business Internship
If the internship asks for Excel, analysis, presentations and research, the same student could instead give greater prominence to:
- relevant Business Management modules;
- Excel-based coursework;
- a university research or analysis project;
- group presentations and written reports.
Use the wording in the vacancy to understand what matters, but only include skills and experience you genuinely have.
Should You Put Your Availability on a Student CV?
Availability is particularly useful when the job itself depends on shifts, evenings or weekend work. That is why it appears in the downloadable example on this page.
Consider including it for:
- retail roles;
- cafés and restaurants;
- hospitality;
- weekend work;
- evening and shift-based jobs.
It may be unnecessary for:
- many professional internships;
- structured placement programmes;
- roles where working hours are already fixed and discussed elsewhere in the application.
Keep it simple and specific. For example:
Available Monday and Wednesday afternoons, Friday evenings and weekends. Additional availability may be possible outside examination periods.
Common Student CV Mistakes
- Sending exactly the same CV everywhere. A weekend retail job and a degree-related internship may require different emphasis.
- Listing skills without evidence. “Teamwork” means more when another section shows where you worked successfully with other people.
- Listing every university module. Include modules when they help the employer understand your suitability for that particular role.
- Inventing or exaggerating work experience. Projects, volunteering and responsibilities can be useful without being presented as paid jobs.
- Using an unsuitable email address. Use a simple address that you are comfortable putting on a professional application.
- Adding irrelevant hobbies simply to fill space. Include interests when they add useful information about skills, achievements or relevant involvement.
- Sending a file called Document1.docx. Rename the final file clearly, for example Sophie-Walker-CV.docx.
- Ignoring the requested file format. If an employer asks for PDF rather than DOCX, follow the application instructions.
Student CV, Graduate CV or No Experience CV?
Use this student CV template if you are currently studying and applying for part-time work, an internship, placement or another early opportunity.
If you have finished university and are now targeting graduate jobs or schemes, see the graduate CV template for Word.
If your main problem is that you have no formal work history at all, regardless of whether you are currently studying, see the CV template for applicants with no experience.
How to Edit This Student CV in Microsoft Word
- Download the DOCX file using the button below.
- Replace Sophie Walker’s contact details with your own.
- Rewrite the profile for the type of job, internship or placement you want.
- Update your current education and remove qualifications that do not add useful information.
- Replace the example volunteering with your own employment, volunteering, projects or activities.
- Keep or remove the availability section depending on the vacancy.
- Change the skills so they reflect skills you actually have and the employer is looking for.
- Check spelling, dates, spacing and contact details before sending the document.
- Rename the file professionally and save a PDF copy if the employer requests one.
For Word-specific help, see our guide to editing a CV template in Microsoft Word.
Download the Student CV Template for Word
Download the same editable one-page Word CV shown in the preview and replace the example information with your own education, experience, activities and skills.
Microsoft Word (.docx) • One page • Editable • No account required
Student CV FAQs
Do I need a personal profile on a student CV?
No. A concise profile can help when it explains what you are studying, what relevant evidence you have and what type of opportunity you want. If it only repeats generic qualities or takes space away from stronger evidence, you can leave it out.
What can I put on my CV if I have never had a job?
Consider relevant university or school projects, volunteering, societies, personal projects and genuine positions of responsibility. Describe what you actually did and which useful skills the activity demonstrates rather than presenting unpaid activity as employment.
Should I include predicted grades?
If you are still working towards a qualification and a predicted grade is relevant to the application, it can be included clearly as predicted rather than presented as a completed result. Follow any specific instructions in the vacancy or application form.
Can I use the same CV for a part-time job and an internship?
You can use the same underlying document, but the emphasis should usually change. A part-time customer service role may care more about availability, reliability and interaction with people, while an internship may place greater weight on your degree, projects and technical skills.
Should I put my availability on my student CV?
It can be useful for part-time, evening, weekend and shift-based jobs. For many professional internships and placements it is unnecessary unless working hours or start dates are important to the application.
Other Word CV Templates
No Experience CV Template
For applicants whose main challenge is having little or no formal employment history.
Graduate CV Template
For university leavers moving from education into graduate and entry-level professional roles.
One-Page CV Template
A concise Word layout when your most relevant information fits comfortably on one page.