STUDENT GUIDE

Your First CV After Graduation: What to Include, What to Cut

What actually belongs on your first CV after graduating — what to cut from your student-era CV, what to add, and how long it should actually be.

By Yoxon 4 min readUpdated August 11, 2026

The CV that got you through university applications or a part-time job during school isn't the CV that should follow you into a real job search. A few things that were fine to include as a student — your high school achievements, a long course list, a GPA that mattered more before you had anything else to show — start actively working against you once you have a degree in hand. The fix is a genuine edit, not a full rewrite: most of what belongs on a first post-graduation CV, you already have.

A few things that were fine to include as a student — your high school achievements, a long course list, a GPA that mattered more before you had anything else to show — start actively working against you once you have a degree in hand.

What to Cut, What to Add

Cut these now that you've graduated

High school achievements, awards, and activities — a completed degree supersedes them, and keeping them signals you don't have enough recent content to fill the space instead.
Your GPA, once you have real projects or work to show instead — a strong GPA can still be worth including if a specific employer or field expects it, but it stops being the strongest thing on the page the moment you have something more concrete.
A long list of every course taken — keep only the ones directly relevant to the specific role, named specifically rather than just "relevant coursework" as a vague header.
A generic objective statement ("seeking an entry-level position where I can grow and learn") — every recruiter has read this exact sentence hundreds of times, and it uses space a real, specific line about your actual focus could use instead.

Add these instead

Your capstone or thesis project, described the same way any other bullet is: what you built or researched, the specific methods or tools involved, and a real, honest outcome.
Any internship, part-time work, or freelance work from during school — these are now your Experience section, even if they were unrelated to your eventual target field; the goal is demonstrating reliability and real responsibility, not perfect topical relevance.
A short, specific line about what you're actually looking for, only if it adds real information a recruiter couldn't already infer — otherwise, skip it entirely rather than filling the space with a generic version.
Quantified detail wherever it's genuinely available, even from academic work — group size, project scope, a real measured result — the same standard as any other CV, not a lowered bar because it's your first one.

Key takeaway

“Once you have a degree, let it replace what came before it — keep the CV to one page and let recent, relevant content do the work.”

Yoxon generates a version of your CV tailored to each specific job description — the same underlying projects and coursework, reframed and reweighted for what each posting actually asks for.

Get Full Studio Access →

Common Questions

Should I keep my GPA on my CV after graduating?

Only if it's genuinely strong and the field or specific employer expects it (common in some academic, consulting, or finance recruiting pipelines) — once you have real projects or work experience to lead with, GPA stops being the strongest thing on the page and can move down or off entirely.

Is it okay to include a part-time job that has nothing to do with my target career?

Yes — any real work experience demonstrates reliability, time management, and responsibility, all of which matter regardless of topical relevance. Frame the bullets around transferable evidence (handled X, managed Y, resolved Z) rather than trying to force an artificial connection to your target field.

How long should a new-graduate CV be?

One page. At this stage there's rarely enough distinct, specific content to responsibly fill two, and stretching it to look more substantial reads as padding rather than substance.

Should I list my thesis or capstone project even if it's not directly related to the job I'm applying for?

Generally yes, briefly — it demonstrates a sustained, self-directed body of work, which is a real signal on its own even when the subject matter itself isn't a direct match. Keep the framing focused on the skills and process, not just the topic.

Do I need a different CV for every job I apply to right after graduating?

Not a different CV from scratch, but the same tailoring principle applies as at any career stage: the bullets and keyword emphasis should shift to match each specific job description, even if the underlying content (your degree, your projects, your part-time work) stays the same.

More guides

French CV CV GUIDE CV vs. Resume FORMAT GUIDE Photo, Age & Nationality FORMAT GUIDE US Resume CROSS-BORDER GUIDE UK CV CROSS-BORDER GUIDE Canadian Resume CROSS-BORDER GUIDE Arabic CV LANGUAGE GUIDE Salary Expectations APPLICATION GUIDE CV With No Experience STUDENT GUIDE University Projects on Your CV STUDENT GUIDE Internship CV STUDENT GUIDE Student CV (Morocco/France) STUDENT GUIDE