Looking for your first job can feel overwhelming, especially if you don’t have much work experience yet. But everyone begins somewhere, and what employers really want to see is your potential, motivation, willingness to work hard, and how well you get on with others.
Your CV is one of the best places to highlight these strengths. If you’re a student or recent graduate, including your soft skills alongside your academic achievements helps employers understand who you are and what you can bring to their organisation.
Make sure you also add your digital badge to your CV to showcase your Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Digital badges are available to all Award holders with an eDofE account. So even if your account has been archived you can still download and share your digital badge.
Read our top tips on how to write the perfect CV using the skills you learned from your DofE Award.
1. Start with your contact details
Make sure employers can easily contact you if they want to invite you to an interview. You should include your name, phone number, email address and a link to your professional profile, like LinkedIn. Avoid adding personal details like your age, date of birth, marital status or nationality.
2. Add a clear and confident personal profile
Your personal profile sits at the top of your CV, below the contact details, and sets the tone. This is the first thing employers will see so make sure it’s short, punchy and tailored. Aim for 3-4 lines that include:
- Who you are (profession or key strength)
- What you bring (your skills or approach)
- What you’re looking for
Here’s an example:
“A motivated and creative English graduate with a strong interest in marketing and digital storytelling. I’m passionate about accessible, user-focused content. I’m eager to build my skills in marketing strategy and bring fresh, innovative thinking to a forward-looking organisation.”
3. Write about your experience
Your employment history isn’t just a list of tasks; it’s evidence of your impact.
Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to describe achievements. Each bullet should show the value you added.
Instead of “I ran the school newspaper”
Try “I led a full refresh of the school newspaper’s content across 20+ articles, improving readability, accessibility and boosting student engagement by 25%.”
Top tips:
- Start each bullet with a strong verb: delivered, coordinated, led, streamlined, analysed
- Back up your achievements with numbers wherever possible
- Focus on outcomes, not just responsibilities.
4. Tailor your CV to the job description
One CV doesn’t fit all. Employers scan for relevance, so tailor each CV to the role you’re applying for. In the job description, look for keywords like:
“stakeholder engagement”, “project management”, “content design”, “data analysis”, or whatever is specific to the role. Then:
- Use similar language to the job advert
- Reorder your skills and achievements so the most relevant appear first
- Highlight matching experience clearly and confidently.
This shows employers that you understand the role and meet the requirements.
5. Highlight your soft skills
Soft skills are important in all elements of life, from building strong friendships to managing personal finances. However, they’re especially important in the world of work.
Employers hugely value candidates who can demonstrate that they have these skills that make them ‘work-ready’, this is the perfect opportunity to showcase all the skills you learned from your DofE Award!
These are some of the soft skills you gain through your DofE that can be incorporated into your CV:
- Communicating with others
- Working in a team
- Taking the lead when required
- Managing your time effectively
- Showing initiative
- Taking responsibility
- Being resilient
- Keeping focused and positive
- Problem-solving, decision making and dealing with the consequences.
6. Keep the design simple and professional
You don’t need a flashy design to make your CV stand out, being clear and concise is much more effective. Try these formatting tips:
- Keep your CV to two pages max
- Stick to one or two clean fonts
- Use clear headings and plenty of white space
- Keep bullet points consistent in style and length
- Save and send your CV as a PDF (unless the employer requests Word).
Avoid clutter, colours that reduce readability, or overdesigned templates that distract from the content.
It’s usually best practice not to include a headshot on your CV as this can introduce unconscious bias related to age, gender, ethnicity or appearance, and may distract recruiters from evaluating your skills and experience.
7. Using AI
It’s no surprise that AI is becoming more popular, and can be a useful tool, especially when writing your CV. If you’re using AI in your CV or application, make sure you use it responsibly and you should always consider the value it adds. Employers want to see you showcase your unique knowledge and skills, so make sure you lead with your own authentic voice. Some employers explicitly outline guidelines or restrictions on generative AI use in applications or online assessments so make sure you check these before submitting your application.
Jessica Jensen, CMO of LinkedIn, spoke about AI on the Uncensored CMO podcast:
“AI literacy and capacity are becoming table stakes. However, in this wonderful world of AI explosion, the value and importance of human creativity, judgement, strategic thinking, clear writing, clear communication and the ability to collaborate with other human beings is growing. So, things that we used to call ‘soft skills’ are now becoming requirements and when people come to me and ask ‘what should my daughter do’ – I say use AI tools and hone up on your writing skills, negotiation, collaboration and strategy – those are skills that AI can’t replace. AI will force us to over-index on our human skills and talents, and the value for those who do them well will increase exponentially.”
