Your first CV does not need a long work history. It needs to show a manager three things: you will turn up, you can talk to people, and you are free when they need you. Get those across on one tidy page and you are already ahead of most student applications.
This guide gives you a full student CV sample for part-time and holiday jobs that you can copy and adapt tonight. After the sample, we go section by section: what to write when you have little experience, how to show your availability, how to tailor the page for a shop, a café, a warehouse or a summer camp, and how to hand it in so someone actually reads it.
It is written for school pupils, sixth formers and university students, and for the parents who end up helping at the kitchen table.
Quick picks: student CV templates
| Product | Best for | Price | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slatewell ATS Resume Template | Entry-level layout with education first | $7.49 | View |
| Sloane Resume Template | A modern one-page CV for a first job | $4.49 | View |
| Alder Resume Template with Photo | Students sending lots of applications | $4.79 | View |
| Marlowe Resume Template | A calm, classic look for university students | $4.79 | View |
What a part-time employer is really looking for
A café manager hiring for Saturday shifts is not reading your CV for career highlights. They are trying to solve a rota problem. Someone left, the summer rush is coming, and they need a person who will show up at 8 am on a Saturday without fuss.
So they scan for four things, usually in this order:
- When you can work. Weekends, evenings, the full summer holiday, or just Christmas.
- How close you live. A town or area name is enough. Ten minutes away by bus beats forty.
- Signs of reliability. Good attendance, a regular club or sport, a volunteering role you kept for a year.
- How you deal with people. Any time you helped customers, children, visitors or teammates.
Everything on your CV should help answer one of those. If a line does not, it can probably go.
A full student CV sample you can copy
Here is a one-page sample for a 17-year-old applying for weekend and holiday work in retail or hospitality. Swap in your own details and keep the structure.
Amira Hassan
Leyton, East London | 07700 900123 | amira.hassan@email.com
Profile
Friendly and reliable sixth form student looking for weekend and holiday work in retail or hospitality. Experienced in handling cash at school events and helping younger pupils as a reading mentor. Available every Saturday and Sunday, plus full-time from 20 July to 3 September.
Availability
Term time: Saturdays and Sundays, any shift. Holidays: Monday to Saturday, full days.
Education
Leyton Sixth Form College, 2025 to present: A levels in Business, English and Psychology
Riverside Academy, 2020 to 2025: 8 GCSEs at grades 9 to 5, including English and Maths
Experience
- Cashier, school summer fair, June 2025: handled cash and card payments for a stall that took about 400 pounds in one afternoon.
- Reading mentor, Riverside Academy, 2023 to 2025: met two Year 7 pupils every Tuesday to help with reading, for two school years.
- Babysitting, 2023 to present: regular evening care for two neighbours’ children, aged 4 and 7.
Skills
Cash handling | Clear and polite with customers | Basic Excel and Google Sheets | Conversational Arabic
Interests
Netball team captain (weekly training for three years), baking for family events.
References
Available on request.
Notice how every line earns its place. The fair shows cash handling. The mentoring shows commitment over two years. The netball captaincy shows someone who turns up every week. None of it is a paid job, and it still reads like a person you could trust with a till.
A second sample: a university student home for the summer
University students usually have a little more to show, so the page shifts slightly. Here is the top half of a CV for a second-year student looking for twelve weeks of holiday work near home.
Callum Reid
Paisley, Renfrewshire | 07700 900456 | callum.reid@email.com
Profile
Second-year Geography student at the University of Stirling, home in Paisley from 2 June to 12 September and looking for full-time summer work. Two years of weekend bar work, a food hygiene certificate and a calm manner on busy nights.
Experience
- Bar and floor staff, The Old Mill, Stirling, October 2024 to present: serve up to 200 customers on a Saturday night, cash up the till at close and train new weekend staff.
- Student ambassador, University of Stirling, 2025: led campus tours for groups of 15 visiting families on six open days.
Two changes stand out. The dates at home sit right in the profile, so nobody has to hunt for them. And the experience now comes before education, because two years of real work tell an employer more than a degree subject does.
How to fill each section when you have little experience
Most students stare at the Experience heading and feel a small wave of panic. Take a breath. Employers hiring for part-time work know you are young. They are looking for evidence of effort, not a career.
Experience that counts
- Volunteering at a charity shop, food bank, church or animal shelter
- Babysitting, pet sitting, dog walking or tutoring younger children
- School roles: prefect, form rep, peer mentor, library helper, open day guide
- Running a stall at a fair, a bake sale or a car boot sale
- Work experience placements, even a single week
- Helping in a family business, with honest dates and duties
Write it like a job
Give each item a title, a place, dates and one line on what you did. Add a number where you can. Walked three dogs twice a week for 18 months sounds steady and responsible. Did some dog walking sounds like a one-off.
Keep the profile short
Two or three sentences: who you are, what work you want and when you are free. Skip phrases like hard-working team player unless you back them up with a line below.
If you would rather have the structure done for you, the Slatewell kit includes an entry-level layout that puts education and projects first, which suits students well.
Slatewell ATS Resume Template
Price: $7.49 | Best for: students and first-time job seekers
Slatewell comes with four single-column layouts, including an Entry-Level version that leads with Education and Projects, plus two cover letters, a references page and a thank-you letter. Files open in Word and Google Docs in US Letter and A4, using Cambria so there are no fonts to install. Open the Entry-Level layout and type your school, subjects and best two activities first.
Availability: the section students forget
This is the most useful section on a student CV, and it is the one most often missing. A manager with a gap on Sunday afternoons will read straight past three strong applications to find the one that says Available Sundays.
Be specific. Weekends is vague. Saturdays 9 am to 6 pm and Sundays from 11 am is something a manager can put on a rota. For holiday work, give real dates: 20 July to 3 September. If you have exams in May and June, say so honestly. Not available 12 May to 20 June due to exams shows you plan ahead, which is a good sign in itself.
For university students, say where you will be. Plenty of students apply for summer work back home. Home in Bristol from 15 June to 25 September tells a local employer you are not leaving in week three.
Tailoring your CV for different holiday jobs
One CV for every job is fine as a starting point. Ten minutes of tailoring makes it much stronger. Change the profile and reorder the experience so the most relevant item comes first.
Shops and supermarkets
Lead with anything involving customers or cash. Mention if you are comfortable on your feet for long shifts and happy to work the Christmas rush.
Cafés and restaurants
Speed, a calm manner and food hygiene. If you have helped at a busy event, cooked for a big family gathering or have a food hygiene certificate, put it near the top.
Warehouses and seasonal packing
Reliability and stamina. Sports training, early starts for a paper round or a Duke of Edinburgh expedition all show you can keep going.
Summer camps and childcare
Babysitting, coaching, mentoring and first aid. Give ages and numbers: Helped run a five-a-side club for 12 children aged 8 to 10.
A clean one-page design makes all of this easier to read. Sloane was built with new graduates and first-time job seekers in mind.
Sloane Resume Template
Price: $4.49 | Best for: a tidy one-page first CV
Sloane includes a 1-page resume with and without a photo, a 2-page version, a 3-page CV, an ATS resume, a cover letter and a references page, in Stone, Sage and Navy, in US Letter and A4. A slim left column holds education, skills and languages, so a short work history does not look thin. Use the no-photo 1-page version for most UK part-time jobs.
Handing it in so someone reads it
For local shops and cafés, walking in still works. Go mid-morning on a weekday, when it is quiet, not at lunchtime. Ask for the manager by name if you can find it, hand over a printed CV and say one sentence: Hi, I am looking for weekend work and wondered if you are hiring. Smile. Leave. That is it.
Print on plain white paper and carry copies in a folder so they stay flat. A creased CV pulled from a coat pocket undoes a lot of good work.
For larger chains, apply online and attach a PDF. Add a short cover note of four or five lines: the role, when you can work, and one reason you would be good at it. Our guide to writing a cover letter that matches your resume shows how to keep both pages looking like a set.
The follow-up call
A week after you drop off a CV, ring or pop back in. Keep it short: Hi, I left my CV last Tuesday for weekend work and wanted to check whether you are still looking for someone. Most students never follow up, so the ones who do get remembered. It feels awkward the first time. By the third shop it feels normal, and the small rush of pride when a manager says actually, can you come in Thursday is worth it.
If you are sending ten or more applications, keep a list of where you went and when, so you know who to call and on which day.
Alder Resume Template with Photo
Price: $4.79 | Best for: students applying to many places
Alder gives you 1, 2 and 3 page CVs with and without a photo, a one-column ATS version, a cover letter, references page and thank-you letter, in Mocha, Sage and Slate. The Excel Job Application Tracker holds up to 300 applications, colours each status and flags follow-up dates. Log every shop you visit on the day you visit it.
Mistakes that cost students the shift
- A silly email address. Make a plain one with your name. It takes five minutes.
- Two pages of padding. One page is right for a student. See our guide on how long a resume should be if you are unsure.
- Listing every GCSE grade in a long table. A single line with the number of passes and your English and Maths grades is plenty.
- No availability. The fastest way to be skipped.
- Typos. Read it aloud, then ask someone else to read it. Spellcheck will not catch form when you meant from.
- Naming referees without asking. Check with a teacher or club coach first. Our references page guide explains who to choose.
Frequently asked questions
How do I write a CV for my first part-time job with no experience?
Use school roles, volunteering, babysitting, clubs and sport as your experience. Give each a title, dates and one line on what you did, and add a clear availability section.
Should a 16-year-old put GCSEs on a CV?
Yes. List your school, the years and either predicted or achieved grades. A short summary line is enough, with English and Maths named.
Do I need a photo on a student CV in the UK?
No. Most UK employers do not expect one, and leaving it off keeps the focus on your skills and availability.
What hobbies should I put on a student CV?
Pick one or two that show commitment or teamwork, such as a sports team, a band or a regular volunteering role. Say how long you have done them.
Is it better to apply in person or online for holiday jobs?
For small local shops and cafés, in person often works best. For big chains, apply online, because managers are usually told to send people to the website.
When should I start applying for summer jobs?
Start in March or April. Many shops, cafés and camps fill their summer rotas by May, so an early CV lands while managers are still planning.
Your next step
Copy the sample above into a blank document tonight, swap in your own details and fill in the availability section first. If you want a ready layout, start with the entry-level page in the Slatewell ATS Resume Template and have it printed by the weekend.