Graduate Resume Guide: Stop Saying “Just a Uni Project”

Searching graduate resume, first CV with no experience, or how to write a student resume? The usual advice is either empty (“list soft skills”) or dangerous (“inflate everything”).

Here’s the real graduate problem: you did real work, and then called it “just.”

• “It was just a group project”
• “I only helped with the society Instagram”
• “It was just an internship / part-time / volunteering”

That word deletes you before a recruiter finishes the bullet.

Kai exists for this. Haiyaa’s product today is a conversational AI resume builder. For grads, her job is simple: strip the “just,” name what you owned, put it in a real resume, without inventing a career.

Start free: Talk to Kai → · Pricing →

Why “no experience” is usually a framing error

Most graduates aren’t empty. They’re underselling early work:

Hiring managers don’t need you to sound like a VP. They need evidence you can do the next job without lying.

Same disease as experienced undersellers, just earlier in the career.

What a strong graduate resume actually needs

1. A clear target: role family, not “open to anything”
2. 3–5 bullets that prove ownership: what you did, for whom, under what constraints
3. Honest tools and coursework: only what you can discuss
4. No fake seniority: “spearheaded cross-functional synergies” reads as AI fluff

Skip the motivational summary. Lead with evidence.

How to rewrite “just a uni project”

Ask yourself (or let Kai ask you):

1. What was the goal?
2. What did you own vs the group?
3. What were the constraints (time, tools, users, exam, budget)?
4. What changed because of your work?
5. What would you defend in an interview tomorrow?

Before: “Worked on a group project for a mobile app.”
After: “Built the onboarding flow for a student budgeting app (React Native); tested with 8 classmates and cut first-session drop-offs in our demo.”

Same project. Visible graduate.

Before: “Helped run the marketing society.”
After: “Scheduled and posted weekly content for a 400-member society; grew event RSVPs from ~20 to ~60 over one term.”

If you don’t have a number, say the mechanism: cadence, audience, tools, handoff. Specifics beat adjectives.

Internships, part-time, and “small” jobs

Don’t hide retail, hospitality, tutoring, or warehouse work at the bottom like shame. Translate them:

• Shift reliability under pressure
• Customer recovery when something breaks
• Training new starters
• Handling cash, stock, or queues

That’s operations language. It works for ops, support, junior PM-adjacent, care, and sales roles. Career changers use the same map later; see transferable skills.

What not to do

• Keyword stuffing a JD you don’t understand
• Inventing tools, GPAs, or user counts
• Pasting ChatGPT polish you can’t explain
• Listing every module instead of 2–3 relevant ones

A thin honest resume beats a thick fake one. Always.

How Kai helps graduates (live today)

1. You talk, voice or text. No 40-field form.
2. She pushes when you minimise.
3. You get a structured resume in the editor.
4. Export PDF, share a public profile, or go Pro when you’re applying to real JDs and need tailored versions + cover letters.

Companion features (journal, interviews, tracker) are on the roadmap, not claimed as live. You don’t need them to ship your first honest CV this week.

FAQ

I only have uni projects. Is that enough?
Often yes, if you describe ownership and outcomes. One crisp project beats ten vague modules.

Should I invent metrics to look more senior?
No. Defendable specifics win. Fake KPIs lose in interview.

Is Haiyaa only for seniors?
No. Graduates are a core ICP. Stripping “just” is the point.

Can I try without paying?
Yes. Start free. Pay for a clean PDF (£4) or Pro tailor (£9/mo) when volume hurts.

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Bottom line: Stop volunteering the word that deletes you.
Talk to Kai → and let your first resume sound like the work you already did.