A CV for national service and fresh graduates
Updated 1 November 2026
If you have just graduated or completed National Service, you may feel you have nothing to put on a CV. You have more than you think. This guide shows how to turn your studies, projects, service and volunteering into a CV an employer takes seriously.
Put National Service on your CV as work experience
National Service is real work. List it like a job: your role, the institution where you served, the dates, and two to four lines on your duties. For example: “Teaching Assistant, Kumasi Girls Senior High School, Oct 2024 to Sep 2025. Taught Core Mathematics to Form 1 classes and marked class assessments.”
What goes first when you have little experience
- A short summary that names your degree, your field and the kind of role you want.
- Education, near the top, with your programme, institution and years.
- National Service and any internship, attachment or part-time work.
- Projects, dissertations or research that match the job.
- Leadership roles, clubs and volunteering that show responsibility.
- Skills such as Microsoft Excel, writing, languages or specialist software.
Show what you did, honestly
Describe your duties in plain words and match them to the job you want. Do not claim a title or a result you did not have. A true, clear line about helping with a task is worth more than an inflated one that falls apart in an interview.
Keep it to one or two pages
One page is fine for a fresh graduate. Two pages is the limit. Use the space for the most relevant things and leave out school activities that do not help the application.
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Build my CVCommon questions
Can I list National Service as experience?
Yes. List the role, the institution, the dates and your duties, the same way you would list a job.
What if I have no work experience at all?
Lead with education, projects, volunteering and skills, and say clearly what kind of role you are looking for.
Should I include my SHS results?
Only if the advert asks, or if you have no university results to show. Most employers care more about your degree.