How to write a CV as a first-year with no experience

Contact information. Name, phone number, email, LinkedIn URL, GitHub URL. Use a professional email, not sweetangel254@gmail.com. If you do not have LinkedIn or GitHub yet, set them up first.

Skills. List specific technical skills: programming languages (Python, JavaScript, Java), tools (Git, VS Code, Figma), and software you can use well (Excel, Google Sheets, WordPress). Only list skills you can demonstrate if asked. Do not list "Microsoft Word" unless the role requires it.

Projects. This is your experience section when you have no paid work. Describe each project in one or two lines: what it does, what you built it with, and a link if it is live. "GPA Calculator: a web app built with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript that calculates GPA using the university grading scale. github.com/yourname/gpa-calc." One solid project is better than five vague descriptions.

Education. Your university, course, year of study, and expected graduation date. Add GPA only if it is strong (3.5 and above, or equivalent).

Activities. Club memberships, leadership roles, hackathons attended, volunteer work. These show initiative and teamwork. "Member, Google Developer Student Club" or "Volunteer, GDSC Hackathon 2026" are valid lines.

Objective statement. "To obtain a challenging position where I can utilise my skills..." Nobody reads these. They take up space and say nothing. Remove it.

Personal details. Date of birth, marital status, religion, national ID number. These are not relevant and in some contexts can lead to bias. Leave them out.

Primary and secondary school. Once you are in university, your high school only matters if you won a notable award. The school name and KCSE grade can go. Employers hiring interns care about what you can do now.

Hobbies. "Reading, travelling, and socialising" adds nothing. If a hobby is relevant (e.g., "Contributing to open-source projects on GitHub"), include it. If it is generic, skip it.

References. Do not list references on the CV. Write "Available on request" if you feel you must, but even that is optional. Save the space for projects and skills.

One page. As a first-year, you do not need more. Recruiters spend six to ten seconds on a CV scan. Everything important must be visible at a glance.

Clean layout. Use a simple template with clear section headings. No colours, no graphics, no photo (unless specifically requested). Google Docs and Canva both have clean CV templates. Pick the simplest one.

Consistent formatting. If one job title is bold, all job titles are bold. If one date is right-aligned, all dates are right-aligned. Inconsistency looks careless.

PDF format. Always save and send your CV as a PDF. PDFs look the same on every device. Word documents sometimes break formatting. Name the file "FirstName-LastName-CV.pdf," not "CV final (2).docx."

No typos. Read it three times. Ask a friend to read it. A typo on a one-page document tells the reader you do not pay attention to detail.

If your CV is empty, the problem is not the CV. The problem is that you have not built anything yet. Fix the source, not the document.

Build one project this month. The project guide covers how. Even a simple tool adds a real line to your CV.

Join one club or organisation. Tech clubs give you activities, events, and leadership opportunities that fill the CV naturally.

Start a GitHub profile. Push your first repo and add it to your CV as a link. A GitHub URL is more convincing than any list of skills.

Take one online course and finish it. A completed course with a certificate (freeCodeCamp, CS50, Google IT Support) is a CV line that proves you can commit to learning outside the classroom.

After one semester of doing these things, your CV will not feel empty. It will feel honest and specific, which is exactly what a first-year CV should be.