Lead with education, then include a projects section that showcases real work you have done: university assignments with measurable outcomes, personal projects, freelance or voluntary work, or contributions to student societies. Part-time work in any sector is relevant and should be included with brief bullet points about your actual responsibilities. Avoid leaving the experience section entirely empty; if it is genuinely empty, rename it "Projects and Activities" and fill it with what you have. One well-described project with a real outcome is more persuasive than three lines of generic skills claims.
Yes, almost always. Graduate recruiters at large employers, including graduate schemes at accounting firms, banks, law firms, and technology companies, see hundreds of applications. A student with 1 to 3 years of combined university, part-time, and internship experience should not need more than one A4 page to present it clearly. If you find yourself going to a second page, you are either including irrelevant content or over-explaining. Cut to the most relevant and strongest points. The discipline of fitting onto one page is itself a skill employers value.
For most graduate roles, a clean, well-structured single-column format with education at the top is the most effective. Avoid two-column sidebar layouts, which can confuse ATS systems. Use clear section headings (Education, Experience, Projects, Skills) rather than creative alternatives. The visual style should be professional and readable; subtle color accents are fine, but the design should never distract from the content. This template is specifically built for students, with education leading and a clear project section to fill the experience gap.
Include them if you are in your first 2 years after graduation or if your A-level grades are notably strong and the employer is known to screen on them (some investment banks and law firms still filter by A-level results at graduate level). After 2 to 3 years post-graduation, school results are rarely relevant and can safely be removed to make space for professional experience. If you include them, list subject and grade; do not list school name or GCSE results unless specifically requested.
Yes, if it is relevant to the role or demonstrates a skill the role requires. "Dissertation: Machine learning approaches to clinical trial dropout prediction (grade: Distinction)" is a strong entry for a data science or healthcare role. "Dissertation: The impact of social media on teenage body image" is not worth including on a finance or engineering CV. The test is: does this topic tell the hiring manager something about your capability that is relevant to the role they are filling? If yes, include it. If not, leave it out and use the space for something more relevant.