Do I need a CV for a degree apprenticeship?

Many larger employers use an online form instead, while smaller employers more often ask for a CV. Write one either way. Working out what your evidence is makes every form question, interview and assessment centre easier, and some employers ask for a CV later in the process.

Should I build a general CV or a tailored one?

Start with a general CV, then tailor it for each role you apply to. Tailoring changes three things: the opening statement names the employer and the programme, the most relevant project goes first, and the skills line leans towards what the listing asks for.

Will it make things up?

It is told not to. It works only from your CV, your profile and your answers, and where a useful detail is missing it leaves a [placeholder] for you to fill in rather than inventing one. Check every line anyway. You may be asked about any of it at interview.

What does it use from my profile?

Starting from scratch, it uses your contact details, qualifications, work experience, activities, certifications and bio. Starting from a CV you already have, the CV is the source, and your profile only fills in contact details the CV is missing.

A CV you upload is saved to your profile, the same as uploading it on your Documents page, and replaces any CV already there. A pasted CV, your answers to the questions and a pasted job description are used for that draft and then discarded. The finished CV isn't saved either, so download it before you close the editor.

Degree apprenticeship CV builder

A first draft of a one-page CV, built from what you already have, for you to rewrite in your own words. It handles the structure and turns duties into outcomes where your details support it. The specific detail that makes a CV stand out still has to come from you.

✦ Try it

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How it works

Say where you're starting. If you have a CV, it uses the one on your profile, or one you upload or paste. If you're starting from scratch, it uses your profile and a few questions about your projects, skills and what you're aiming for.
Choose a role, if you want to. Leave it general, or tailor it to an application on your board or a job description you paste in.
It writes the CV. One page, education first, with each entry written as what you did and what came of it.
You edit the draft. The CV opens in an editor, and you can download it as a PDF or a text file.

What the CV needs to do

An apprenticeship CV is not a graduate CV with the experience taken out. The employer already knows you are at the start of your career. What they screen for is whether you meet the entry requirements and can be specific about things you have actually done. That is why the builder puts education first and writes entries as outcomes rather than duties.

The reasoning behind that structure, with weak and strong example entries, is in what a degree apprenticeship CV should look like.

Before you send it

Replace every [placeholder]. The builder leaves one wherever it doesn't have the detail.
Check every claim is true, and that every grade and date is right.
Make sure your GCSE Maths and English grades are easy to find.
Keep it to one page. Cut padding rather than shrinking the text.
For a tailored CV, check the qualities the listing names are evidenced somewhere on the page.
Name the file with your name and the role, not cv-final-v3.

What it can't do

It only knows what is in your CV, your profile and your answers. A thin profile and short answers get a CV full of placeholders. The download is plain text on the page, so if you want a designed layout, paste the text into a document template.

Once the CV is done, the cover letter writer works from the same profile, and how to get a degree apprenticeship covers the whole application process.

Degree apprenticeship CV builder

How it works

What the CV needs to do

Before you send it

What it can't do

Common questions

Read next

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