Student Placement CV example

A student placement isn’t just making coffee for the boss. It is the perfect way to strengthen your transferable skills and gain some real-world experience.

But if you want to land your chosen placement, you need a CV that is going to convince the employer to give you a chance.

To help you create this, check out our student placement CV example below, complete with our comprehensive writing guide.

 

 

 

Student Placement CV example

Student Placement CV 1

 

This CV example demonstrates the type of info you should be including within your Student Placement CV, as well as how to format and layout the content in a way which looks professional and is easy for time-strapped recruiters to read.

This is the look and feel you should be aiming for, so remember to refer back to it throughout your CV writing process.

 

CV builder

 

Student Placement CV structure & formatting

First impressions count, so a sloppy, disorganised CV may cause your CV to be overlooked..

Instead, perfect the format and structure of your CV by working to a clear logical structure and applying some simple formatting tricks to ease readability.

Don’t underestimate the importance of this step; if your CV lacks readability, your written content won’t even be seen.

 

How to write a CV

 

How to format your CV

  • Length: If you want to hold the reader’s attention and ensure your CV isn’t yawn-worthy, it’s best to stick to two sides of A4 or less. This is more than enough room to highlight why you’re a good match for the role – anything more can quickly become tedious!
  • Readability: Make sure your CV is easy to read and looks professional by applying some simple formatting tricks. Bullet points are great for making large paragraphs more digestible, while formatting your headings with bold or coloured text will help the reader to find the information they need, with speed.
  • CV design: While it’s okay to add your own spin to your CV, avoid overdoing the design. If you go for something elaborate, you might end up frustrating recruiters who, above anything, value simplicity and clarity.
  • Photographs: Don’t add profile photos to your CV unless you work in an industry or region which prefers to see them. Most employers in the UK will not need to see one.

 

Quick tip: Creating a professional CV style can be difficult and time-consuming when using Microsoft Word or Google Docs. To create a winning CV quickly, try our quick-and-easy CV Builder and use one of their eye-catching professional CV templates.

 

CV formatting tips

 

 

CV structure

As you write your CV, work to the simple but effective structure below:

  • Name and contact details – Pop them at the top of your CV, so it’s easy for recruiters to contact you.
  • CV profile – Write a snappy overview of what makes you a good fit for the role; discussing your key experience, skills and accomplishments.
  • Core skills section – Add a short but snappy list of your relevant skills and knowledge.
  • Work experience – A list of your relevant work experience, starting with your current role.
  • Education – A summary of your relevant qualifications and professional/vocational training.
  • Hobbies and interests – An optional sections, which you could use to write a short description of any relevant hobbies or interests.

Now, let’s take a closer look at what you should include in each section of your CV.

 

CV Contact Details

Contact details

 

Make it easy for recruiters to get in touch, by heading your CV with your contact details.

There’s no need for excessive details – just list the basics:

  • Mobile number
  • Email address – Use a professional address with no nicknames.
  • Location – Just write your general location, such as ‘London’ or ‘Cardiff’ – there’s no need to put your full address.
  • LinkedIn profile or portfolio URL

 

Student Placement CV Profile

Your CV profile is the first thing recruiters will read – so your goal is to give them a reason to read onto the end of the document!

Create a short and snappy paragraph that showcases your key skills, relevant experience and impressive accomplishments.

Ultimately, it should prove to the reader that you’ve got what it takes to carry out the job.

 

CV profile

 

CV profile writing tips:

  • Make it short and sharp: Recruiters are busy, so to ensure your profile is actually read, it’s best to keep it short and snappy. 3-5 punchy lines makes for the perfect profile.
  • Tailor it: Not tailoring your profile (and the rest of your CV) to the role you’re applying for, is the worst CV mistake you could make. Before setting pen to paper, look over the job ad and make a note of the skills and experience required. Then, incorporate your findings throughout.
  • Don’t add an objective: Leave your career objectives or goals out of your profile. You only have limited space to work with, so they’re best suited to your cover letter.
  • Avoid generic phrases: If there’s one thing that’ll annoy a recruiter, it’s a clichè-packed CV. Focus on showcasing your hard skills, experience and the results you’ve gained in previous roles, which will impress recruiters far more.

 

Example CV profile for Student Placement

Driven and high performing BSc (hons) Psychology student with a broad academic understanding of psychological theory, alongside practical experience working within a psychological therapy environment. Confident communicator and strong team member, with both quantitative and qualitative research methods knowledge and experience including analysing and presenting data using SPSS and Excel. Seeking a yearlong internship at a leading psychological research institute to further develop and hone my existing psychological research skillset.

 

What to include in your Student Placement CV profile?

  • Summary of experience: Recruiters will want to know what type of companies you’ve worked for, industries you have knowledge of, and the type of work you’ve carried out in the past, so give them a summary of this in your profile.
  • Relevant skills: Employers need to know what skills you can bring to their organisation, and ideally they want to see skills that match their job vacancy. So, research your target roles thoroughly and add the most important Student Placement skills to your profile.
  • Vital qualifications: Be sure to outline your relevant Student Placement qualifications, so that anyone reading the CV can instantly see you are qualified for the jobs you are applying to.

 

Quick tip: If you are finding it difficult to write an attention-grabbing CV profile, choose from hundreds of pre-written profiles across all industries, and add one to your CV with one click in our quick-and-easy CV Builder. All profiles are written by recruitment experts and easily tailored to suit your unique skillset.

 

Core skills section

Next, you should create a bullet pointed list of your core skills, formatted into 2-3 columns.

Here, you should focus on including the most important skills or knowledge listed in the job advertisement.

This will instantly prove that you’re an ideal candidate, even if a recruiter only has time to briefly scan your CV.

 

Core skills section CV

 

Vital skills for your Student Placement CV

Customer Service – highlighting experience of working with the public to resolve queries and encourage them to purchase products.

Event Organisation – highlighting experience of managing projects such as taking responsibility for organising and holding an event.

Silver D of E – highlighting achievements such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, which is often awarded for helping the community/environment, becoming fitter, developing new skills, planning, training for and completing an expedition.

Team Leader – evidencing experience of leading others to achieve a goal.

MS Office – evidencing use of key technologies and software programs which will be used in your future career.

 

Quick tip: Our quick-and-easy CV Builder has thousands of in-demand skills for all industries and professions, that can be added to your CV in seconds – This will save you time and ensure you get noticed by recruiters.

 

CV builder

 

Your work experience section

Now it’s time to get stuck into your work experience, which should make up the bulk of your CV.

Begin with your current (or most recent) job, and work your way backwards.

If you’ve got too much experience to fit onto two pages, prioritise space for your most recent and relevant roles.

 
Work experience
 

Structuring each role

Whilst writing your CV, it’s essential to look at it from the eyes of a recruiter.

If they’re met with giant blocks of text which are impossible to navigate, they might get frustrated and skip onto the next CV.

Instead, make use of the 3-step structure shown below, to give them a pleasant reading experience.

 
Role descriptions
 

Outline

Firstly, give the reader some context by creating a punchy summary of the job as a whole.

You should mention what the purpose or goal of your role was, what team you were part of and who you reported to.

 

Key responsibilities

Using easy-to-read bullet points, note down your day-to-day responsibilities in the role.

Make sure to showcase how you used your hard sector skills and knowledge.

 

Key achievements

Finish off by showcasing 1-3 key achievements made within the role.

This could be anything that had a positive effect on your company, clients or customers, such as saving time or money, receiving exemplary feedback or receiving an award.

 

Sample job description for Student Placement CV

Outline

Work as a waiter at a busy Pizza Express restaurant, serving food and beverages to up to 120 customers per shift in a friendly and efficient manner.

Key Responsibilities

  • Greet customers, advise on the menu and take food and drink orders
  • Clear, disinfect and prepare tables efficiently for the next customers
  • Handle cash and card transactions, issue refunds and collect tips
  • Deal with customer queries or complaints

 

Quick tip: Create impressive job descriptions easily in our quick-and-easy CV Builder by adding pre-written job phrases for every industry and career stage.

 

 

Education and qualifications section

Although there should be mentions of your highest and most relevant qualifications earlier on in your CV, save your exhaustive list of qualifications for the bottom.

If you’re an experienced candidate, simply include the qualifications that are highly relevant to Student Placement roles.

However, less experienced candidates can provide a more thorough list of qualifications, including A-Levels and GCSEs.

You can also dedicate more space to your degree, discussing relevant exams, assignments and modules in more detail, if your target employers consider them to be important.

 

Hobbies and interests

This section is entirely optional, so you’ll have to use your own judgement to figure out if it’s worth including.

If your hobbies and interests could make you appear more suitable for your dream job, then they are definitely worth adding.

Interests which are related to the industry, or hobbies like sports teams or volunteering, which display valuable transferable skills might be worth including.

 

CV builder

 

Writing your Student Placement CV

Creating a strong Student Placement CV requires a blend of punchy content, considered structure and format, and heavy tailoring.

By creating a punchy profile and core skills list, you’ll be able to hook recruiter’s attention and ensure your CV gets read.

Remember that research and relevance is the key to a good CV, so research your target roles before you start writing and pack your CV with relevant skills.

Best of luck with your next application!