A Level Student CV Example & Writing Guide

Studying and sitting your A Levels is a lot of work, but a great way to set yourself up for future success. Although you’re likely busy learning and retaining information, you may be interested in a job alongside your A Level work. This can add to your overall career qualifications and make you a more compelling candidate in the future. 

It’s important, however, to stand out with a competitive CV. But how does someone write an A Level student CV? 

CV guide for an A Level CV

Learn more about crafting an excellent CV with Resume.io. Our guides and CV examples include over 65 professions, and with our CV builder it’s simpler than ever to create a CV for A Level students or anyone else. 

This CV guide and corresponding A Level student cv example will cover the following:

• How to write an A Level student CV
• Choosing the right CV format for A Levels
• How to add your contact information
• Using summaries
• Adding your  experience
• Listing education and relevant experience
• Picking the right CV design/layout
• What the A Level finisher job market looks like and what salary you can expect

How to write an A Level CV

The very first step in writing your A Level CV is gathering knowledge about which sections to include. Make sure your CV contains the following elements:

• The CV header
• The CV summary (aka profile or personal statement)
• The employment history section
• The CV skills section
• The education section

Students still completing their education may find that applying for jobs seems difficult and confusing, and it’s definitely a process that takes time and effort. Writing your CV is a major part of the process. A hiring manager wants to see that you’re a committed, driven individual who is focused on their studies while also hoping to learn new skills. Your CV should convey this through the following formula: 

• Put the focus on achievements, not just a list of duties. For example, anyone can share that they are studying A Levels, but do you have grade predictions or past grades to include?
• Tailor your CV to each employer, adjusting your style and tone to theirs.
• Use a CV template that’s simple and pleasant; don’t go overboard with too many design aspects.
• Optimise your CV for relevant keywords from the job posting so you have the best chance of impressing recruiters, hiring managers, and any CV scanning software they may use.

Choosing the right CV format for A Levels

Your CV should clearly and plainly lay out your experience, whether that includes previous professional work or just your educational background. 

If you have prior work experience, you will likely find success with a CV written in reverse chronological order. This means you’ll display both your work history and educational history by starting with the most recent and working backwards.

Another option, which can be handy if you don’t have any work history, is to use a skills-based CV format. This puts your skills front and centre, and can also be a way to put more of a focus on your education. 

You can also marry the two into a combination format, taking aspects from both types.

In any case, there are plenty of CV templates in our CV builder, so select one that suits you and check out the CV examples using each format as well. 

When it comes to design, your A Level CV should be as easy as possible to read and understand. We recommend starting with a simple layout.

Include your contact information

Your CV header is simply the top part of your CV, where you display your contact information and name in a professional manner. It seems basic, but it’s actually a quite important part of your CV and should include: 

• Full name & title. List your first and last name and the title of the role you are pursuing.
• Professional email address. Use a clean format like [email protected] — not a quirky or unprofessional email address. If you don’t yet have a professional-sourcing email address, create one now.
• Phone number. List a number where you can easily be reached. Make sure your voicemail box is not full and that your outgoing greeting is professional.
• Location. List only your city and country, not your street address or postcode — this is both outdated and unsafe.
• LinkedIn. Most social media profiles should not be included on your CV, but if you happen to have a LinkedIn profile, feel free to add it. It shows ambition and an interest in entering the professional world.

Don’t include:

• Date of birth: This isn’t necessary and could potentially lead to age discrimination.
• Personal details: Your marital status, passport number, etc. have no use on a CV.

Make use of a summary

Your CV’s summary section, also sometimes referred to as a profile or personal statement, is where you can display your talents to the hiring team in narrative form. 

However, this isn’t like a school essay — it should be short and concise, no more than 2-4 sentences. Fill your summary with action verbs that show your drive and motivation. 

Don’t just summarise what’s already on your CV. Your A Level student CV summary should encompass the overarching themes of your background. What makes you unique? What have you accomplished that others may not have? 

For example, your summary could read, “Motivated A Level student with 1 year of experience in customer service. Earned the highest customer satisfaction rating in the shop, and took on training for new hires.” 

You can find adaptable example CV summaries for A Level students below: 

Outline your work experience

If you’re writing your CV in reverse chronological format, you’ll place your most recent work position at the top of this section and work your way back. Remember that even if it wasn’t paid work, you can include things like charity work, club leadership, and side jobs. 

Underneath each employer and job title heading, describe your accomplishments in the role. Be as concise as possible and use bullet point statements. Avoid pronouns like “I.” Share specifics where you can.

Make your bullets as detailed and impactful as possible. For instance, you might start with statements like:

• "Helped customers.”
• “Earned high marks.”
• “Led clubs at school.”

While these bullet points aren’t inherently bad, and they do show what you’ve worked on, they are also vague enough to apply to most A Level students. 

Watch what happens when you take a results-based approach and inject the statements with specificity and detail: 

• "Served 50 customers per day in charity shop, earning high customer satisfaction ratings.”
• "Achieved high marks on A Levels, including Business (A), English (A), and Mathematics (B).”
• "Led school’s Theatre Club and served as Head of Business Society.”

Take a look at the A Level employment history CV sample below:

How to write an A Level CV with no experience 

If you’ve been so focused on your A Levels that you haven’t had time for a job, there’s no reason to worry! Instead, rely on your transferable skills.

First, your studies are already going to be included on your CV, and what better way to show your drive, motivation, and hunger for knowledge? If you have little or no work history, consider moving your education section to the top of your CV, above your work history. 

If you’ve completed any charity work, that counts as work experience. Also include any leadership positions you’ve held for school clubs or sport. 

Even work you’ve done on your own, like childminding or odd jobs, can count as experience. Think about the important skills you gained and how they may transfer to this new job, even if you lack direct experience. 

Generally, we don’t recommend featuring personal hobbies or interests on your CV, but if you are light on experience and have especially relevant hobbies, you can add them here. 

Include the relevant key skills that make you a great A Level student worker

An A Level CV should include a mix of hard skills and soft skills to show the full range of your knowledge and experience. 

Hard skills are those that can be objectively demonstrated and measured. Think of expertise with specific software programs or the ability to operate a cash register. 

On the other hand, soft skills relate more to how you work — for example, organisational skills, high attention to detail, or excellent teamwork.

Our CV builder offers numerous skills you can select, or you have the option to provide your own. 

Here’s what the skills box looks like in our CV template for A Level students: 

While this section is where you’ll list your skills plainly, it’s not the only place to list them at all. It’s a better idea to include them throughout your CV, especially if you can show them in action by including examples of how and when you used these skills. 

For example, when writing your summary and work history sections, you could highlight:

• Customer service experience by describing the volume of customers you supported and any details about customer happiness
• Business knowledge by sharing your marks (or anticipated marks) on business-related A Levels or other related courses you’ve taken
• Software skills by mentioning projects you’ve completed or work you’ve done using Microsoft Word or Excel.

For guidance about which skills to include, review the job posting. 

Detail your education & relevant certifications

As an A Level student, your CV’s education section is of utmost importance. Whether your A Levels are finished or in progress, they should be the focus here. 

Of course, it can make sense to include earlier education as well, but do not go so far back that you include primary school. 

In addition to your experience in school, there are other accomplishments to include as well. For example: 

• Training and certifications. In addition to your formal schooling, have you gone through any training, webinars, or certificate programs? Even something like first aid training may be valuable.
• Internships or traineeships. Work you’ve done alongside your education is impressive and shows strong time management skills.
• Professional development. Are you part of any student organisations or honour societies? Those should be added here.

Pick the right CV layout and design for an A Level CV

The most important part of your A Level student CV is the content itself, but the design matters as well. After all, hiring managers will be visually reviewing your CV when deciding whether or not to consider you for their job. 

That’s why it’s important to use a layout and design that draw attention, but aren’t going to take focus away from the content. 

Our recommendation is to use a streamlined, simple design with a modern font. While a pop of colour is fine and can add a punch, avoid more than one colour on your CV. If you need inspiration, you can take a look at our CV templates and let us take care of the formatting for you. 

A Level text-only CV example

A Level student job market and outlook

According to a LinkedIn survey, there’s been a 90% increase in the number of job postings in the UK that don’t require a degree. 

So what does that mean for A Level students? While a university degree may or may not be required for your future profession, education still matters, and A Levels will set you on the right path. 

What type of salary you can expect as an A Level student

There’s no specific salary or wage for A Level students, as it depends on the type of job they land and the work they do. 

According to an article by Forbes, individuals in the UK aged 18 to 21 earn an average annual salary of £22,932 (one can assume that includes a mix of those who have and have not completed A Levels). Chances are high that workers under age 18 earn less than this average as they are still gaining experience. 

Key takeaways for building an A Level student CV

Sitting for A Levels takes dedication, commitment, and intelligence, so you should feel proud of what you’re accomplishing! Let that fuel you as you create your A Level student CV. Incorporate your extensive education, your high marks, and any work experience you have (whether for pay or volunteer). 

Our online CV builder is a great place to start. We help you pull everything together and create