Trainee CV example

How to write a CV for a trainee

As a trainee, it’s unlikely you’ve written a CV many times before. So, you’ll probably have lots of questions about what to include and how to include it. Don’t guess and hope for the best.

In the following sections, we’ll cover how to write a CV for a trainee, including:

• Adding contact details to your trainee CV
• Trainee CV personal statement
• Getting work experience right on your trainee CV
• Great skills to add to your trainee CV
• Trainee CV education

What contact details should I include in my trainee CV?

One of the most important aspects of a trainee is to add in all of your relevant contact details. Your CV is not much use if the hiring manager reading can’t get in touch with you. This is why it is vital to quickly add all of your details so they’re noticeable on the page.

You’ll want to first add your name, followed by your address so that they know where you’re based. Then finish it with some direct channels of communication such as your phone number and email address.

It’s important that the number you include is your own and that it’s a number you will actively be checking. It can be seen as unprofessional to have somebody else answer the call on your behalf.

As for your email address, you’ll want to use a professional address – so don’t use your personal one with a confusing or inappropriate name. A good rule of thumb is to simply create an email address with your name.

Example of contact section for trainee CV

Trainee CV personal statement

A strong, impactful personal statement is a key part of any trainee CV. It introduces your passion, commitment and suitability for the role at hand. Also known as your professional summary, this section should be made very specific to the job you’re applying for.

In just 2-3 sentences, you’ll need to summarise your best attributes and skills, along with your background or specific experience that has prepared you. However, you can also send an accompanying cover letter if there’s anything you would like to go into more detail about.

Focus on choosing your best traits that fit the particular job you’re applying for in order to properly design your application. For instance, emphasise your strong mathematics abilities if you’re seeking for a trainee position that requires numerical skills.

An effective tactic is to carefully go over the job description to find the precise needs and preferences outlined by the company or program. By doing so, you can identify the traits and characteristics that most closely meet their expectations.

You won’t have that much space to do all of this, so you should break it down into three or four simple sections. First, give a general overview of you as a candidate. Secondly, move on to explaining a little about your educational background – highlighting any impressive achievements. Finally, spend a sentence or two outlining your key skills. The skills sentences are where you can respond directly to the job advertisement.

Now let’s delve into some examples of what an effective personal statement looks like…

Example of personal statement for trainee CV

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Getting work experience right on a trainee CV

If you’re seeking a trainee experience, there’s a good chance you won’t have work experience. But not to worry! This is to be expected, especially when applying for an entry-level role. What an employer is going to be interested in is any of the relevant experience that you may possess.

As such, it’s important to note as much of this as you can. This could include volunteer positions or even other jobs that you might not think are relevant. You’ll want to always tailor the experience you list to the job in question. Let’s say, for example, that you have experience in team leading because of your summer camp job you did one year – this is a fantastic example of transferable experience that you can highlight in your CV.

This is how you can list your work experience simply and efficiently:

• Date – make sure to include the start and end date for each piece of experience.
• Job details – highlight all the relevant information including the title, company you worked for, and the location.
• Responsibilities – here you can highlight all of the most important things you gained from this experience. 3-6 is usually the standard number to include.

Example of work experience for a trainee CV

Great skills to add to your trainee CV

From graduates to chefs, every trainee requires a number of key CV skills on their CV.

It’s a good idea to highlight any special skills you have. Let’s say you have computer skills that you have gained outside of education. This is a fantastic opportunity to highlight them. If there are any specific programs that the job role will use daily, you should explain that you’re already experienced.

For example, perhaps you’re looking for a graphic design role and you are already a wizard at photoshop. This would be the time to promptly explain that you have experience in this area. Similarly, let’s say you’re applying for a role that requires excellent writing skills. Here is your chance to highlight how your education and extra-curricular activities have prepared you with experience writing.

The two lists below will give you a better idea of what recruiters are looking for as must-haves and desirables:

Trainee CV education

Since you’re unlikely to have an extensive work experience history to draw on, the education part of your CV is doubly important. In many ways, you can think of it as the foundation for all of the additional content you add to your CV. Because of this, you need to make sure your educational history is comprehensive and well written.

That said, you should still keep your academic information relevant and concise. There’s no need to dig into each GCSE you studied unless they’re required for the job at hand. For example, a Maths GCSE for a trainee accounting position.

Example of education for a trainee CV