Graduate CV examples: how to write a graduate CV that gets you onto a scheme

Example CV

Example

Chloe Bennett

Graduate Data Analyst

chloe.bennett@example.com · 07700 900318 · Bristol

Summary

Economics graduate (BSc Hons, 2:1) from the University of Bristol, with a 12-month placement in a bank's pricing team. Built a weekly Excel and SQL report used by 30 branch managers and presented its findings to the regional director. Dissertation on rail fare changes and passenger numbers, using ten years of public data in Python. Applying to data and analytics graduate schemes starting in September 2027.

Experience

Data Entry Assistant (temporary)

Aug 2026 - Present

Avonmead Housing · Bristol · Temporary contract

• Cleaned and merged 4,000 tenancy records from two systems ahead of a database migration.
• Wrote an Excel checklist that cut duplicate records found in weekly audits from 60 to 5.

Pricing Analyst (placement year)

Sep 2024 - Aug 2025

Severn Mutual Bank · Bristol · 12-month industrial placement

• Built a weekly savings-rate report in Excel and SQL, used by 30 branch managers.
• Analysed 18 months of account data to test a loyalty bonus; the team adopted the recommendation.
• Presented findings to the regional director and a panel of six senior managers.

Bar Staff (part-time)

Oct 2025 - May 2026

The Harbourside Tap · Bristol · Part-time, final year

• Served up to 200 customers on Friday nights and trained four new starters on the till.

Education

BSc (Hons) Economics with Professional Placement, 2:1. Dissertation: rail fares and passenger numbers (72%)

Sep 2022 - Jun 2026

University of Bristol · Bristol

A-levels: Maths (A*), Economics (A), Geography (B)

Sep 2020 - Jun 2022

Stroud Valley College · Stroud

Skills

• Excel: Power Query and pivot tables
• SQL
• Python (pandas)
• Power BI
• Data cleaning
• Presenting to senior stakeholders

Languages

• English native speaker
• Spanish B2 · fluent

Interests

Treasurer, university netball club (2023 to 2024) · Volunteer maths tutor for Year 10 pupils

Chloe graduated in summer 2026 and is applying to analytics graduate schemes while working a temporary job. Her graduate CV fits on one page and puts the evidence a graduate recruiter screens for at the top: the degree and classification, the placement, and the tools the scheme lists.

What this graduate CV example does well:

• the job title is the role she is applying for (“Graduate Data Analyst”), not “Recent graduate”;
• the classification (2:1) and the dissertation mark sit next to the degree, where a screener looks first;
• the placement year is written like a job, with three results, not a list of duties;
• the part-time bar job stays, in one line: it shows reliability and training others;
• GCSEs are gone: with a degree and A-levels, they no longer earn their space.

This graduate CV template is a one-column design that application systems read reliably. You can switch to any of our CV templates without retyping anything.

Still studying and looking for a part-time job or a summer internship? Our student CV examples fit you better. From your final year onwards, when you apply for graduate roles, the CV changes:

1. Contact details: name, town or city, phone, email, LinkedIn. No photo or date of birth.
2. Job title and personal statement: the role you are applying for, and four sentences about you.
3. Education: your degree first, then A-levels or equivalent in one line.
4. Work experience: placements, internships, part-time and temporary jobs, most recent first.
5. Skills: tools and methods the advert names.
6. Activities and achievements: societies, sport, volunteering, prizes.
7. Languages and interests, briefly.

Education goes before experience while your degree is your strongest asset. After a year or two in work, swap them round. If your experience has nothing to do with the job, Prospects suggests a skills-based CV, which groups evidence by skill rather than by employer and is often useful to recent graduates.

On a graduate CV, the education section does the heavy lifting. Include:

• The exact degree: BA, BSc, BEng, MEng, LLB, with “(Hons)” and any placement or year abroad in the title.
• Your classification: First, 2:1, 2:2 or Third. If you are still in your final year, write it as predicted: “predicted 2:1”.
• Your dissertation or final project, with the mark if it is good, and one line on the method.
• Two to four relevant modules, only when they match the job.
• A-levels in one line (or Scottish Highers, BTECs, an IB), because some schemes still ask for them. Drop the list of GCSEs.
• Scholarships, prizes or a year abroad.

Don't round up. Employers can check your university, award, classification and dates through Hedd, the UK's official degree verification service. A 2:2 is not a dead end either: most Civil Service Fast Stream schemes accept a 2:2 or above, and many employers look at your experience as closely as the grade.

A placement year (also called a sandwich year or year in industry) is part of your degree, usually between the second and final year, and assessed by your university; Prospects notes that year-long placements are usually paid. An internship is usually done over the summer or after graduating. Both belong at the top of your experience, written like a job:

• the role, the employer, the town and the dates;
• the type: “12-month industrial placement”, “10-week summer internship”, “two-week vacation scheme”, “spring insight week”;
• three bullets that each start with a verb and end with a result.

Don't hide part-time jobs. A year behind a bar or in a supermarket while studying proves reliability, customer skills and time management. Keep them to one or two lines each, and focus on what an employer for your target role will value: training new staff, handling cash, dealing with complaints.

Prospects notes that some recruiters see graduate personal statements as wasted space, because so many are generic (“hardworking and organised”). Make yours specific: degree and classification, one piece of evidence, the role you want. Five examples by degree, with made-up details. More in our CV personal statement guide.

Copy the skills from the scheme description that you can prove, and put the proof in your experience or education. Name software precisely (“Excel: pivot tables”, “SPSS”, “AutoCAD”) and keep soft skills for your bullet points, where they come with evidence. Our guide to skills for a CV lists the most requested ones.

• Many schemes use their own application form, sometimes with an upload of your CV. Keep dates, grades and job titles identical in both.
• Read the eligibility first: degree classification, subject, right to work in the UK (on a Graduate visa, read our guide to the ILR changes before you choose a sponsor). Most Civil Service Fast Stream schemes, for example, are open to graduates with a 2:2 or above, and many to degree apprentices.
• Tailor the CV to each scheme: the job title, the personal statement and the order of your bullet points.
• Prepare for the next stages: online tests, video interviews and assessment centres. Practise your answers out loud with our mock interview.

• One to two A4 pages: one is enough for most graduates; two if you have a placement and several internships.
• One column, standard headings (“Education”, “Work experience”, “Skills”), so application systems file each part correctly.
• A clear font in size 11 or above, as the National Careers Service advises.
• PDF, named “Firstname-Lastname-CV.pdf”, unless the employer asks for Word.
• No photo, age, date of birth, marital status or nationality: they aren't expected on a UK CV.

Before you apply, run your graduate CV through the AI CV checker: it flags a missing job title, a statement that is too long, and the advert's keywords your CV doesn't use.

• “Recent graduate seeking opportunities” as the job title: name the role.
• No classification, or a vague “good degree”: recruiters read that as a hidden grade.
• Every module and every GCSE, pushing your placement to page two.
• Duties instead of results: “responsible for” instead of what changed because of you.
• One CV for every scheme, so the words of the advert are missing.
• Typos in the dissertation title: check names, dates and grades twice.

In the Kandiq CV builder, each degree has an “Honours” field for your classification, and a “Currently enrolled” box if you are still finishing. The CV checker reminds you to list a First or a 2:1 next to the degree. Paste the scheme's advert and the AI suggests a job title, bullet points and a personal statement from what you have written, without inventing figures.