Graduate Job Starter Pack
Everything you need to start your graduate job search properly. Save this page or print it as a PDF using Ctrl+P (Cmd+P on Mac).
LinkedIn Profile Checklist
Tick each item off before you start applying. Recruiters check LinkedIn before they check your CV.
- Professional headshot (clear, well-lit, no distractions in the background)
- Custom headline that goes beyond your job title or degree
- About section written in first person, 150-250 words, ending with a clear next step
- Every experience entry has at least two bullet points with measurable impact
- Part-time work, volunteering, and society roles included as experience
- Skills section has at least 10 relevant skills listed
- Featured section used to pin your best work, article, or project
- Education section complete with relevant modules, projects, or achievements
- Profile URL customised (e.g. linkedin.com/in/yourname)
- Open to Work turned on (visible to recruiters only if preferred)
- At least one recommendation requested from a lecturer, manager, or colleague
- Connection count above 50 (aim for 500+ over time)
CV Checklist
A simple checklist to make sure your CV is ready before you send it anywhere.
- Name and contact details at the top (email, LinkedIn URL, location - no full address needed)
- No photo, no date of birth, no personal statement longer than 3 lines
- Two pages maximum - one page if less than 2 years of experience
- Reverse chronological order (most recent first)
- Every bullet point starts with a strong action verb
- At least one number or metric in each experience section
- Education section includes degree classification, relevant modules, and graduation year
- Skills section tailored to the role you are applying for
- No spelling or grammar errors - read it aloud or use Grammarly
- Saved as a PDF (not Word) when submitting applications
- File named professionally: FirstName-LastName-CV.pdf
- Consistent formatting throughout (same font, same spacing, same bullet style)
25 Strong CV Bullet Point Examples
Before and after examples showing how to reframe ordinary experience into compelling evidence of capability. Use these as a model for your own.
Before
Helped customers in the shop.
After
Served 80+ customers daily as a retail assistant, maintaining a consistently positive customer experience during peak trading periods.
Before
Was on the committee for the Marketing Society.
After
Elected Events Officer for Bath Marketing Society, planning and delivering 6 events across the academic year for 200+ members.
Before
Did social media for a small business.
After
Managed Instagram and TikTok for a local cafe, growing their combined following by 340% in 4 months through consistent content and engagement.
Before
Volunteered at a food bank.
After
Volunteered weekly at a local food bank for 8 months, supporting distribution to 150+ families per session and coordinating donations from local businesses.
Before
Completed a group project on consumer behaviour.
After
Led a 4-person team to research and present a 3,000-word consumer behaviour analysis, receiving a first-class grade and commendation for research depth.
Before
Did an internship at a marketing agency.
After
Interned at a digital marketing agency for 6 weeks, managing paid social campaigns with a combined daily budget of £2,000 and contributing to a 12% reduction in cost-per-click.
Before
Worked at a coffee shop.
After
Delivered high-volume customer service in a busy coffee shop, handling 200+ transactions per shift while training two new team members within my first 3 months.
Before
Organised events for a university society.
After
Organised the society's annual charity fundraiser, coordinating 20 volunteers, securing 4 local sponsors, and raising £1,200 for Mind.
Before
Helped with recruitment at my placement.
After
Supported the HR team in screening 60+ applications for a graduate scheme intake, shortlisting candidates and contributing to the interview scoring process.
Before
Did data entry and admin tasks.
After
Maintained and updated the company CRM database with 400+ client records, improving data accuracy and reducing duplicates by an estimated 30%.
Before
Worked in a bar.
After
Delivered fast-paced customer service in a high-footfall bar environment, managing orders, handling cash, and maintaining composure during busy weekend shifts.
Before
Led a module presentation.
After
Presented a 20-minute strategic analysis of a FTSE 100 company to a group of 30 students and two academics, receiving distinction-level feedback for clarity and insight.
Before
Took part in a hackathon.
After
Participated in a 24-hour startup hackathon, developing a validated problem statement, business model canvas, and pitch deck that placed second out of 14 teams.
Before
Did some tutoring.
After
Provided one-to-one tutoring in A-level Business to three students over 6 months, two of whom improved their predicted grades by one full grade.
Before
Managed our team's social media for a project.
After
Created and managed the team's LinkedIn content strategy for a live client brief, publishing 8 posts over 3 weeks and achieving 500+ impressions organically.
Before
Ran our student newsletter.
After
Edited and distributed a fortnightly student newsletter to 600+ subscribers, maintaining a 40%+ open rate through consistent editorial quality and subject line testing.
Before
Worked part-time during my degree.
After
Balanced 20 hours of part-time retail work per week alongside full-time study, consistently meeting academic deadlines and maintaining a 2:1 average.
Before
Used Excel in my placement.
After
Built and maintained weekly reporting dashboards in Excel for the sales team, consolidating data from 3 sources to support monthly forecasting reviews.
Before
Helped at a charity shop.
After
Volunteered at Oxfam for 12 months, sorting donations, pricing stock, and assisting customers - contributing to weekly sales targets consistently exceeded by the store.
Before
Did a dissertation on brand identity.
After
Completed a 10,000-word undergraduate dissertation on Gen Z brand identity perception, conducting 12 qualitative interviews and receiving a first-class grade.
Before
Created content for a small business.
After
Produced weekly blog and social content for a local business on a freelance basis, increasing their organic website traffic by 60% over a 3-month period.
Before
Worked in a team environment.
After
Collaborated cross-functionally with design and engineering teams during a 10-week placement, contributing to the on-time delivery of a product update used by 5,000+ users.
Before
Answered phones and emails at my internship.
After
Managed client communications as the first point of contact during a 6-week internship, handling 30+ daily enquiries and maintaining a response time of under 2 hours.
Before
Represented my university at an event.
After
Represented Bath Spa University at a national employability conference, networking with 40+ professionals and sharing insights with peers in a post-event debrief.
Before
Won an award at university.
After
Awarded the Vice Chancellor's Scholarship for academic excellence, recognising consistent first-class performance across the first and second year of my degree.
Graduate Application Tracker
Copy this table into a spreadsheet (Google Sheets or Excel) to track every application in one place. Use the status options below to keep it up to date.
| Company | Role | Date applied | Application status | Interview date | Outcome | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | Not yet applied | - | - | - |
| - | - | - | Not yet applied | - | - | - |
| - | - | - | Not yet applied | - | - | - |
| - | - | - | Not yet applied | - | - | - |
| - | - | - | Not yet applied | - | - | - |
Status options
Ready to put this into practice?
A Profile Polish review takes everything in this pack and applies it directly to your LinkedIn profile - with rewritten copy you can use immediately.
See Profile Polish from £9To save this pack, press Ctrl+P (or Cmd+P on Mac) and select “Save as PDF”.