What should a 16 year old put on a CV?

Contact details, a two-line personal statement, education with GCSE subjects and grades (predicted if not yet sat), any experience such as work experience week, babysitting or family business help, skills and achievements like Duke of Edinburgh or sport, and two referees.

Can a 16 year old write a CV with no experience?

Yes. Employers hiring 16 year olds do not expect job history. Use school, volunteering, babysitting and family business help as experience and show reliability and manners.

Should a 16 year old put their date of birth on a CV?

No. Leave off your date of birth, a photo and your full address. The employer will ask for what they need on their own form.

Do I need GCSE results on my CV at 16?

List your subjects with predicted grades until you have results, then update the CV. Employers understand that Year 11 students are waiting for results.

Who can be a referee for a 16 year old?

A teacher or form tutor, a sports coach, a Scout or Cadet leader, a volunteer coordinator, or a family you babysit for. Ask before you list them.

CV for a 16 Year Old: What to Put on It (UK)

Short answer: a CV for a 16 year old fits on one page and has six parts: your contact details, a two-line personal statement that says what job you want and when you can work, your education with your GCSE subjects (predicted or achieved grades), any experience at all (babysitting, a paper round, helping in a family business, volunteering, work experience week), your skills and achievements (sport, music, Duke of Edinburgh, school roles), and two referees such as a teacher and a coach. Nobody expects a 16 year old to have job history. Employers hiring for a Saturday job want to know you are polite, reliable and available.

This guide is written for the UK, where most 16 year olds are looking for a weekend or holiday job in a shop, cafe, fast food outlet or leisure centre, but the shape works anywhere. It covers what to put on a CV as a 16 year old, what to leave out, and ends with a full example.

What to put on a CV as a 16 year old

Contact details

Your full name, your mobile number, an email address that is just your name (make a new one if your current one is a joke), and your town. Do not put your date of birth, a photo or your home address; the employer will ask for anything they need on their form.

Personal statement

Two or three lines. Say what you are looking for, when you can work, and two true things about you.

Year 11 student in Cardiff looking for a Saturday and school holiday job in a shop or cafe. Reliable, friendly and used to dealing with the public from two years helping at my parents' market stall. Available Saturdays, Sundays and all school holidays.

Education

Your school, the years, and your GCSE subjects. If you have not sat them yet, write "GCSEs (predicted): Maths 6, English 5, Science 5-5, ..." and update the CV when results come. List any Welsh Baccalaureate, BTEC or vocational course too. If you are going to college or an apprenticeship in September, say so: employers like to know your plans.

Experience (yes, you have some)

Use the heading Experience and include anything where you were trusted to do a job:

Work experience placement in Year 10 or 11: the company, the week, what you did.
Babysitting, dog walking, car washing, a paper round, tutoring younger pupils.
Helping in a family shop, cafe, stall or business.
Volunteering: a charity shop, a food bank, a sports club, a church or community event, a school open evening.

Write each as a line with dates and a short bullet: "Babysitting for two families, 2025 to present: looking after children aged 3 to 8, including meals and bedtime."

Skills and achievements

Six to eight, each one true: good with people, reliable and punctual, cash handling (if you have done it), teamwork from sport, Microsoft Office or Google Docs, a second language, first aid from Scouts or Cadets. Then achievements: Duke of Edinburgh Bronze or Silver, sports teams and captaincies, music grades, prefect or school council, any award. These show commitment, which is what a manager is really hiring.

Referees

Two people who know how you behave: a teacher, form tutor, coach, Scout leader or someone you babysit for. Ask them first. Write "References available on request" if you prefer; our guide to references on a CV explains both ways.

What to leave off a CV at 16

Primary school.
Your date of birth, National Insurance number or a photo.
Hobbies that say nothing ("socialising, music, films"). Keep ones that show a skill or commitment.
Anything untrue. A manager will ask about it at the interview.

CV example for a 16 year old

Ellie is fictional; the example shows the shape.

Ellie Morgan
Cardiff · 07xxx xxx xxx · ellie.morgan@email.com

Personal statement
Year 11 student looking for a Saturday and school holiday job in a shop or cafe. Reliable, friendly and used to serving the public from two years helping at my parents' market stall. Available weekends and all school holidays.

Education
Cardiff High School, 2021 to 2026
GCSEs (predicted, results August 2026): Maths 6, English Language 6, English Literature 5, Science 5-5, History 6, Spanish 5, Art 7, Welsh 5

Experience
Work experience, Boots, Cardiff Queen Street, July 2025 (one week)
· Restocked shelves, helped customers find products and tidied the store at closing.

Stall helper (family business), Cardiff Market, 2024 to present (Saturdays)
· Serve customers, weigh produce and give change.

Babysitting, two local families, 2025 to present
· Look after children aged 3 to 8, including meals and bedtime.

Skills
Customer service · Cash handling · Reliable and punctual · Teamwork · Google Docs and Sheets · Conversational Spanish

Achievements
Duke of Edinburgh Bronze (2025) · Under-16 netball team captain · Grade 4 piano · School council representative

Referees
Form tutor and netball coach, details on request.

Want help writing yours, one question at a time? Build your CV with the AI CV Agent.

Questions 16 year olds ask about CVs

How do I write a CV at 16 with no experience?

Put your personal statement and education first, then list work experience week, babysitting, family business help and volunteering as experience, and finish with skills, achievements and two referees. Managers hiring 16 year olds are reading for reliability and manners, not job history.

What jobs can a 16 year old do in the UK?

Once you have reached school leaving age you can work full time, but in England you must stay in some education or training until 18, so most 16 year olds work part time around college or an apprenticeship. Common jobs: shop assistant, cafe or fast food crew, waiting, kitchen porter, leisure centre assistant, and holiday camp helper. Some roles, such as serving alcohol or operating certain machinery, have age limits.

How long should a CV be for a 16 year old?

One page. Anything longer is padding, and a manager will not read it.

Should I hand my CV in or apply online?

Both work. Big chains use online forms, often with a CV upload. Local shops and cafes still like a printed CV handed in by you, dressed tidily, at a quiet time of day. Ask for the manager's name and follow up a week later.

Do I need a cover letter at 16?

Not for a Saturday job. A short note on the front page of an online application is enough. If an advert asks for one, our free cover letter generator writes it from your CV.

Make it on your phone

Pick a simple design from the CV templates, type each section, and preview the page before you download it. The AI CV Agent can suggest wording for your statement from what you tell it. For more on first CVs, read how to write a CV with no experience and, when you are at college, CV for a part-time job as a student.

That is a CV for a 16 year old: one page, your GCSEs, the experience you did not know counted, and two adults who will say you turn up.

CV for a 16 Year Old: What to Put on Your First CV (UK Guide and Example)