what do you put on a CV if you have no work experience/qualifications?

[BattyBarmey]

Hello,

I'm trying to help my younger brother construct a CV but I really don't know where to start.

He got the odd GCSE at grade D (I don't know why they let him in to 6th form), failed his A-levels and then has done nothing for the past year.

He does no extracurricular activities and his main interest is playing videogames.

He really needs a job, but doesn't know what to go for. He says that he will not do any more training as it's a waste of time

We thought that a good starting point would be to write a CV but I don't even know how to structure it?

Any help would be much appreciated.

There are lots of websites that can help with CV building...just google.

The main advice I would give him tbh is that he needs to find something concrete he can add - he needs to find a past time, do any part time work initially,volunteer at a group...anything that will give him some experience.

name, address, contact details, and a personal statement.

To be honest, if you have absolutely no quals and absolutely no experience, a CV is pretty pointless.

Can I suggest he does some courses or voluntary work to build up his chances of getting a job?

He sounds like a loser already. Ditch the video games, go out and volunteer and train for something.
NO-ONE would give him a job with his current 'qualifications'
The biggest thing missing is AMBITION!

Sorry for the rant, but he sounds just like my little brother and he is almost 40yrs old and has NEVER held down a job as he likes playing video games
Given up on nagging him now, but he still expects me to bail him out when he needs more money.

Hi there

He can do a skills based cv, it's ideal for young people who haven't got much experience.

You basically put headings like 'Communication Skills', 'Teamworking' etc where you'd normally put each job title and then add bullet points to demonstrate these skills - which can be from any aspect of his life, like doing a school project, any sports or hobbies he has, even the video games stuff can go under a heading like 'IT skills'. The training he's done already can also go on.

Would be a really good idea for him to do a bit of voluntary work as well, not only to get him motivated but also to add something more concrete to his CV.

I have to say, I find those really offputting christmasmum it's always so obvious that the person has nothing to offer.

With the jobs market the way it is, I'd really strongly recommend getting some skills and experience, so that he does have something in his favour when jobsearching.

I agree, but it's tricky to get skills and experience without having at least a piece of paper to take in with you - bit chicken and egg I guess.

Try the Connexions website on CVs as they are all geared up to help young people.

Volunteering is easy with no experience or skills - it's all about gaining them. There are lots of good causes that need person hours dedicated to them!

In my experience, volunteering still requires a CV and interview process, even if a lot less formal than for a paid position (after all, they need to be making sure they're not wasting their time, effort and training on someone who is inappropriate and likely to vanish in a few days time).

I'd still recommend going for a skills based CV (though I appreciate they are trying to disguise the fact he has no experience to date), using that as a jumping off point and moving to a chronological format in a few months time.

And I write this as an ex graduate recruiter and current careers adviser :)

www.armyjobs.mod.uk

Best thing that will ever happen to him.

There are lots and lots of volunteering opportunities which require no previous experience. I know I work in the sector. An informal interview is sometimes required, as is a CRB check sometimes, depending on what you want to get into.

Alternatively, there are lots of interventions around for young people at present - including future jobs fund where no experience is required - this ends in April though.

seeyouokay anyone wanting to join the army should be prepared to die in service. I am totally against singposting young people towards the army just because it's an option.

The least privelidged young people often join the army as it's seen as the only option open to them. :(

Agree - skills based CV (saves the embarrassment of having feck all experience and qualifications) and get volunteering quick.

And the army.

I second Christmasmum's suggestions. Also, your brother would do well to use online career planning programs like Fast Tomato or Kudos.

They might help him pinpoint areas of interest in which he could look for employment/experience.

Seriously, check out if there is a provider of future jobs fund in his area. It's a jobs creation scheme, minimum wage, 25 hours per week which includes job search support, six months long and is made for young people who have struggled to get a job.

Thanks everyone,

We'll do a skills based CV. It's so frustrating - he doesn't want to do volunteer work as it won't pay anything. That and he's lazy.

He's too overweight to even contemplate the army.

I'll check out the 'future jobs fund' - thank you hairytriangle.

He has transport issues and likes to moan that everything is against him rather than get off his arse.

He did manage to get an interview for a part-time job in a sweet shop through word of mouth last week but his people skills let him down.

Do you all think that it would be possible to lie on his CV and say that he has fantastic people skills, when in reality he really doesn't, and then REALLY put alot of effort into coaching him for any interviews?

Improving his confidence?

How do you access the future jobs fund? Is that something he'd do through the jobcentre or would we contact a provider directly?

If he doesn't have fantastic people skills, then don't say that he does.

What is he good at? Did he hold any positions of responsibility at school?

What were his GCSE/A Level subjects, and could any of them help him get a job?

You should ask the jobcentre about FJF.

I've hesitated to write this, because i don't want to offend, but perhaps you're hindering rather than helping, if your brother really is like that?

...no hobbies apart from video games, no people skills, poor physical fitness, lack of ambition, no gcse or a-levels to speak of, no work experience, no volunteer work, no work references to offer... i'm sorry but your brother needs more help than pointing in the direction of vacancies + a sister who's bending over backward to help.

it might be more useful to spend the effort you're making on trying to instill a sense of passion for something, to give him a kick up the bum into wanting to do something for himself

i.e. if he's genuinely interested in video games, he should go after something relating to that rather than attempting to shoe horn him onto a CV (skill based or traditional, doesn't matter, the market is in an employer's favour nowadays).

what about talking to your brother and seeing where he wants to be in future? and try and tie it in with what he likes - working in a video games shop perhaps. maybe even getting some qualifications in IT training, or, if he wants to go further perhaps even something like computing programming or graphics design - taking the little seed of what genuinely interests him and helping him see what he could achieve in that area.

i'm not sure if i've written this clearly enough but i do think that by enabling him to continue, and possibly making him resent you later if he ends up in a job that bores him or he hates, when you've tried your best to help e.g. with making a CV for him... it's maybe doing more harm than good?