The First Step is the Hardest

Career progression can seem like a fantastical idea. It’s described as something straightforward, moving from job to job, like stepping from rung to rung on a ladder – climbing higher in pay, lifestyle, location, and opportunity.

But how do you get your first foot onto that ladder? That’s the issue so many young people are facing today, with 25% being young NEETs (not in education, employment, or training).

You research the company and role description, tailor your CV and cover letter, then send them off. However, you’re one of a million graduates each year – all competing for fewer than 10,000 jobs. You need to stand out.

Why Your CV Gets Overlooked

Everyone else who applied is qualified – your grades alone won’t set you apart, and all the other candidates will also likely have similar experience – so for an admin job an employer may expect experience with time management, for example. Recruiters spend 6 to 8 seconds on each CV, before they decide whether to look further.

How To Make Your CV Stand Out

So how do you make yourself stand out? The trick is to paint a word picture, and be specific. Many students won’t have much experience – so you need to be resourceful to truly sell yourself to the recruiter. Another applicant for the same admin role might write: “I am a motivated and hard-working individual with communication skills.” But you’re going to be specific instead, and paint your word picture. So, you may write that “When our group project fell behind schedule, I proactively reorganised the workload into a shared Notion board and checked in with my colleagues, ensuring we submitted the project two days early.”

CV Examples for Common Experiences

Worked a part-time retail job? Don’t just write “customer service experience.” Try: “When a customer’s order was lost during a busy Saturday shift, I tracked it down with the warehouse team and arranged a same-day replacement, turning a complaint into a five-star review and positive customer experience.”

Lead a sports team? Skip “leadership skills” and write: “After losing our first three matches, I introduced weekly video reviews with our players, which enabled us to turn our performance around and qualify for XYZ.”

Run a small side hustle or creative project? Instead of just calling yourself “entrepreneurial,” try: “I grew my Ecom store/Instagram page from zero to X sales by using A/B testing and XYZ certification to increase conversion by ABC.”

You Have More CV-Worthy Experience Than You Think

If you’re worrying, thinking you don’t have any experience – trust me, you do. Your experience doesn’t have to come from a formal job; it just needs to be able to demonstrate your motivation and your passion. Have you been part of a society, sports team, or a volunteering or part-time role? How about a university project where you took initiative, or even a personal project? A small business, your creative pursuits, or just helping neighbours/friends?

You already have the experience you need, you just need to be able to evidence it.

Standing out isn’t about having done more than everyone else, it’s about being able to explain what you did better than everyone else. Start with one example, write it as a word picture, and build from there.

What’s a moment from your own experience that you could turn into a word picture? Drop it in the comments – I’d love to see what you come up with!