Graduate CV example
Morgan Ellis is fictional, and so is Riverford University. The dissertation method on this page is a model for how to describe your own project: the question, the source, and the limit. Do not borrow Morgan’s bus diary.
A UK graduate CV can lead with education while you are applying for a first role. It still needs evidence outside the lecture theatre: a job, a society post with a task, or a project you can defend.
Full example CV
Fictional student, cafe and university. The dissertation is not a real study.
Morgan Ellis
Nottingham · 07700 900418 · morgan.ellis@example.com
Eligible to work in the UK · available now
Personal statement
Geography graduate looking for a first role in analysis or operations. My dissertation used a published bus timetable and a two-week diary, not a claim about a whole city. Alongside the degree I worked in a cafe, where the useful habit was writing down an order exactly as it was said.
Education
- BSc (Hons) Geography, Riverford University (fictional), 2026.
- Dissertation: compared the published last-bus times with a two-week diary of late lectures. The finding belongs to this made-up project. On your CV, describe your own question and what you actually did.
- Geography society treasurer, 2024–2025: kept the grant spreadsheet and brought the balance to each meeting.
- A levels in Geography, Maths and English, 2023.
Experience
Cafe assistant
Kettle Lane (fictional cafe) · October 2023 – present
- Take orders on weekend shifts, including alterations, and read them back when the queue is noisy.
- Close the till with a supervisor and note any void, rather than leaving it for the next person to discover.
- Trained two new Saturday starters on the allergy folder: where it lives, and when to ask instead of guessing.
Skills
- Spreadsheets and a clear table
- Reading a source and noting its limit
- Customer orders and allergy checks
- Writing a short explanation for a non-specialist
- Turning up for a published rota
Put education first, then prove it
For a first job, put the degree above the cafe. Name the subject, the result if you have it, and the year. If the result is not out, write “expected” and the year. Do not guess a grade.
A dissertation bullet is the question and what you did, not “researched an important topic”. Say the source: interviews you ran, a dataset you cleaned, a timetable you compared. Say what you did not do, if a reader might assume a bigger study.
A society role counts when you had a task. Treasurer means a spreadsheet and a meeting. “Member of the society” means you attended. Write the first, or leave it off.
Personal statement examples
Four to six lines. Name the kind of role, one proof from study or work, and when you can start. Cut a line that only says you are passionate and a good communicator.
Analysis or operations, as in the sample: the proof is a small study with a named method, plus a job where accuracy mattered.
A client-facing scheme: “Geography graduate, available now. I have explained a project to people outside the department, and I have worked weekend cafe shifts where an order had to be right the first time. I want a graduate scheme that mixes contact with customers and a proper induction.”
Skills that belong on a graduate CV
Take them from the work, not from a list of qualities.
- A spreadsheet you actually maintained
- Writing for a reader who does not know the subject
- A customer or reception shift with a concrete habit
- A deadline you met for a dissertation, a society event or a rota
- Tools named in the advert, if you have used them on a real file
- A language you would use at work, with an honest level
Common mistakes
- A personal profile that could sit on any graduate’s CV.
- Listing every module. Pick the ones that match this advert.
- A dissertation described as if it proved something about a whole industry.
- “Team player” from a group project with no statement of your part.
- Hiding a grade you think is low by leaving the year off. You can omit the grade and still give the year.
- A photo, date of birth, or the American name for a CV.
- Two pages of school prizes and no room for the degree.
Use it on your own CV
FAQ
Should a UK graduate CV start with education or experience?
Start with education if you are applying for a first role and the degree is the main evidence. Put a relevant job first if that job is closer to the advert than the degree is.
How do I describe a dissertation without overclaiming?
State the question, what you read or collected, and what you did with it. Do not turn a student project into a finding about a whole market or a whole city.
What if my only work is part-time in a cafe or shop?
Use it. A shift where accuracy, a rota or a customer mattered is evidence. Say what you did. Do not apologise for it, and do not dress it up as management.
Do I need a photo on a graduate CV in the UK?
No. Leave off a photo, your date of birth and your marital status. City, email, phone and the month you can start are the useful extras.
Free job-ready CV checklist
A one-page checklist for any role, plus a weekly jobs email. No name, and no account.