What to add to my CV

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What can I do to add to my university CV? I can only find jobs in retail and I don't do sports or music (cuz I suck). I still have 2 years to work on something though (i haven't started 6th form yet). I'm doing all science and maths but I haven't chosen a career. I've looked online for work experience or volenteering opportunities but again they're all in retail (I don't live in a big city). What should I do?

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

22

Original post by Lazypillow

What can I do to add to my university CV? I can only find jobs in retail and I don't do sports or music (cuz I suck). I still have 2 years to work on something though (i haven't started 6th form yet). I'm doing all science and maths but I haven't chosen a career. I've looked online for work experience or volenteering opportunities but again they're all in retail (I don't live in a big city). What should I do?

This is confusing. What do you mean by university CV? Are you putting together a CV for work or are you planning to do things for your personal statement? If you are putting together for a CV, then I would just do things relevant for the job, where possible. If you are doing something for the personal statement, it would depend on the specific subject that you want to do (this isn't like the US and Canadian education system where you need to be Valedictorian, captain of your school sports team, volunteer to help the poor, grade 10 piano, whilst working full time hours, all at the same time sort of thing - that's not what the universities are looking for).

As far as I am concerned, there is no such thing as a university CV.

If you can be specific about the degree that you want to do or what sort of job that you want (either whilst you're studying or after uni), then we can help a lot more.
Whilst it's great that you're opting for STEM subjects at A Level/IB (I'm biased though), it doesn't necessarily mean you get a free pass to not choose anything. It does mean that you get to change your mind and still minimise the impact on your uni application.

Reply 2

D4C

6

Original post by Lazypillow

What can I do to add to my university CV? I can only find jobs in retail and I don't do sports or music (cuz I suck). I still have 2 years to work on something though (i haven't started 6th form yet). I'm doing all science and maths but I haven't chosen a career. I've looked online for work experience or volenteering opportunities but again they're all in retail (I don't live in a big city). What should I do?

Since you haven't started 6th form, I would say don't worry.

At this stage, build your CV/experiences with extracurricular activities. Try leading a team to a common goal or objective, do charity work that is quantifiable. Essentially, you want to build a list of things that can showcase your skills to employers in the future (when applying for jobs post uni or for apprentices after 6th form). Recall how you made a difference and your experiences (this can be useful to refer to when in interviewing for entry-level roles and you have minimal experience).

As for ideas of how to figure out where to aim for a career, start big. Look at the industries that you can possibly get in (Finance, Tech, Sciences, Research, Teaching etc.) and then narrow it down to the various roles that are appealing. Speak to people who are in these roles and find out what it entails. You will get rejected a lot but power through it, a while ago I networked on LinkedIn and got ghosted by plenty of people but the one who replied literally was the head of the department I applied to for the country (Big4 Accounting firm).

Don't stress too much however. Keep an eye focused on your future but don't forget to enjoy the years you have now. Plenty of graduate schemes don't require much aside from good grades in the right subjects, what they really look for is your individual characteristics and if you align with their values.

Reply 3

learniq

2

Original post by Lazypillow

What can I do to add to my university CV? I can only find jobs in retail and I don't do sports or music (cuz I suck). I still have 2 years to work on something though (i haven't started 6th form yet). I'm doing all science and maths but I haven't chosen a career. I've looked online for work experience or volenteering opportunities but again they're all in retail (I don't live in a big city). What should I do?

I totally understand the struggle of wanting to beef up your university CV, especially when you're don't have many extracurriculars. Since you’ve got plenty of time, try looking into online courses or certifications in areas related to your interests in science and maths, MOOCs are still good to add. Have you checked for volunteering opportunities at your schools, like a school councillor or prefect, or even at your local library? I think Idea Store still do accept volunteers for their summer reading challenge, it helped me out. Every little bit helps, and showing initiative in any form will look great on your CV! I got more help from the Profs website, if you wanna check it out.

(edited 7 months ago)

What to add to my CV

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