How to Write a CV for a 15 Year Old: 6 Full UK CVs

By Mustafa Tarabya, founder of CVBooster · Published 2026-10-07 · Updated 2026-10-07

9 min read

To write a CV for a 15 year old, put your contact details at the top, then a three line personal statement, then your school and predicted GCSEs, then anything that shows you are reliable: a paper round, babysitting, volunteering, a school role or a sports team. Keep it to one page. The constraint is that you have little or no paid work, so school and activities do the job a work history would. The National Careers Service says a CV "should include a section for your contact details, an introduction, your education history, your work history and references." Below is what goes in each section at 15, the hours you can offer, and six complete CVs. Written by Mustafa Tarabya, who hired for his own company, read every application himself and now writes CVBooster's guides.

Writing a CV at 15 feels like being asked for your work history when your longest commitment so far is a group chat. You have more than that, and the examples show where it is hiding.

What a 15 year old's CV includes, section by section

Use five sections in this order: contact details, personal statement, education, experience, skills and interests. References can be one line at the bottom.

• Contact details. Name, town, mobile number and an email address that sounds grown up. The National Careers Service adds: "You should not include your age, your date of birth, whether you're married or your nationality." Leave your age off; your school year tells an employer what they need.
• Personal statement. Two or three lines: your school year, what you are good at, the job you want and when you can work.
• Education. School name, town, years attended and your GCSE subjects with predicted grades if you know them.
• Experience. Paid work, volunteering, work experience week, and school or club roles, newest first.
• Skills and interests. Real skills such as cash handling, languages or first aid, and interests that show something, like a team you train with every week.

The hours you can offer at 15

Availability is often what gets a 15 year old the job, so be exact and stay inside the law. GOV.UK states: "Children can work part-time from the age of 14." Its restrictions page sets the term time limit: "During term time, children can only work a maximum of 12 hours a week." It adds a Saturday limit of "8 hours for 15 to 16-year-olds". Your council may also need to issue a work permit, so an employer will ask your school year and may need a form from your parent.

Write your availability as a short line in the personal statement, such as "available Saturdays and two weekday evenings until 7pm", which is the kind of detail a shop manager looks for first.

Tailor my CV to this job

A CV for a 15 year old with no work experience at all

No job yet is normal at 15. Use school roles, clubs, volunteering and helping at home or in a family business. The National Careers Service says: "If you're applying for your first job, you can focus on skills you've learned through projects, work experience or volunteering." Give every activity a number: how often, how many people, how long.

A CV for a work experience week

Many Year 10 students need a CV for a work experience placement. The shape is the same, but the personal statement says what you want to learn and why this employer, and the experience section can lean on school projects.

A CV for a sports or coaching job at 15

Leisure centres, football clubs and swimming schools often take teenage helpers. Put coaching badges and club roles front and centre, because they prove you can handle younger children and follow safety rules.

A CV for a 15 year old in a shop or retail job

Shops care about three things: reliability, honesty with money and how you speak to customers. Prove each one with something you have done, even if it was at school.

Mistakes on a first CV at 15

• Writing your age or date of birth at the top. Your school year is enough.
• An email address from when you were eleven. Make a new one with your name.
• A personal statement full of words like "hardworking" with nothing behind them. Give one fact instead.
• Offering hours the law does not allow, such as late evenings or full weekdays in term time.
• Going over one page. At 15, one clear page is plenty.

When you are ready for the next step, our CV examples with no work experience show older school leavers, and the guide to a CV personal statement with no experience has more opening lines. For a sixth form or college CV, see our CV example with no experience. CVBooster can lay the CV out for you: you need an account, the free plan lets you fill it in by hand, and the AI help and the finished file are Pro.

Tailor my CV to this job

Frequently asked questions

Can a 15 year old have a CV?

Yes. Many Saturday jobs, paper rounds and work experience placements ask for one. At 15 it is a one page document with your contact details, a short personal statement, your school and predicted GCSEs, any jobs or volunteering, and your skills and interests. It does not need to be long to be useful.

What do I put on a CV at 15 with no experience?

Put school roles, clubs, sports teams, volunteering, babysitting, dog walking and helping in a family business. Each one shows reliability or responsibility. Add a number to every line, such as how often you did it or how many people were involved, and say clearly which days and hours you can work.

Should I put my age on my CV?

No. The National Careers Service advises leaving out your age and date of birth. Your school year, such as Year 10 or Year 11, tells an employer what they need. If the job has an age rule, the employer will ask you directly, and your council work permit will record it.

How many hours can a 15 year old work in the UK?

According to GOV.UK, in term time a child can work up to 12 hours a week, with up to 2 hours on school days and Sundays and up to 8 hours on Saturdays for 15 and 16 year olds. In school holidays the limit for 15 to 16 year olds is 35 hours a week.

How long should a CV be for a 15 year old?

One page. You have a short history, and a clear single page is easier for a shop or café manager to read quickly. Use simple headings, short lines and a plain font, and keep the personal statement to two or three lines.

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