Staring at a mostly blank "Work Experience" section is one of the more discouraging parts of writing a first CV — but recruiters hiring for entry-level roles know exactly what they're looking at, and a thin work history isn't the disqualifier it feels like.
Reframe what counts as experience
Group projects, part-time or informal work, volunteering, and even significant personal projects all demonstrate real skills — teamwork, responsibility, problem-solving — that employers are actually screening for. List them with the same structure you'd use for a formal job: what you did, and what came of it.
Lead with education and skills instead of experience
When work history is thin, put your education section first, followed by a clearly organized skills section. This isn't hiding a weakness — it's putting your strongest material at the top, which is standard practice for any CV.
Quantify wherever you genuinely can
"Organized a university event for 200 attendees" says far more than "helped with events." Numbers make even informal experience sound concrete and credible, and most first-time applicants have more of them available than they initially think.
A short, honest summary helps more than people expect
Two or three sentences at the top explaining what you're looking for and what you bring gives a recruiter context before they even reach your (short) experience section — it frames everything that follows.
Don't pad with irrelevant filler
Listing unrelated hobbies or generic soft skills without evidence ("hardworking, team player") tends to read as filler rather than substance. It's better to have a shorter CV that's entirely genuine than a longer one padded with vague claims.