You get your first job with no experience by showing evidence of reliability instead: school projects, volunteering, caring for family, sports teams and side hustles all count. Apply where experience genuinely is not required, write a one-page CV built around what you have done, and ask in person at local businesses.
What counts as experience when you have none
Employers hiring for entry-level roles are not really asking for previous jobs. They are asking: will this person turn up, follow instructions and stick at it? You can prove all three without ever having been employed:
- School or college projects — group work, organising an event, running a stall at a school fair.
- Volunteering — charity shops, community events, sports clubs. Even a few weeks counts.
- Caring responsibilities — looking after a sibling or relative shows maturity and time management.
- Sports teams and clubs — commitment over a season is exactly the signal employers want.
- Side hustles — selling online, tutoring younger students, dog walking, car washing. Earning your own money is the strongest evidence of all.
Where to actually look
Skip the jobs that say "1–2 years experience" — at entry level that line is often boilerplate, but your time is better spent elsewhere:
- Local independents — cafés, shops, takeaways and trades often hire by someone walking in and asking. Bring a printed CV.
- Seasonal employers — retail at Christmas, hospitality in summer, events and festivals. They hire in volume and train from scratch.
- Apprenticeships — designed for people with no experience by definition, and you earn while you train.
- Job boards filtered for entry level — Shine's opportunities board lists live roles that are open to first-time applicants.
Writing the application
A first CV should be one page: your name and contact details, two or three lines about you, your education, and a section called "Experience" that lists the things above with dates. "Walked dogs for three neighbours every weekend for a year" is a real entry — treat it like one.
Our guide to writing your first CV with no experience walks through it line by line, and Shine's free CV builder turns your answers into a finished CV, with an optional AI polish if you want the wording sharpened.
What to expect on pay
If you are under 18, the minimum wage is £8.00 an hour from April 2026; at 18 to 20 it is £10.85, and from 21 it is £12.71. Apprentices under 19, or in their first year, are guaranteed at least £8.00 an hour, and many employers pay more. You will not pay income tax until you earn over £12,570 a year, so most part-time first jobs are effectively tax-free.
The one-week plan
- Day 1: list everything you have done that could count as experience.
- Day 2: build your one-page CV.
- Day 3: apply to five entry-level roles online.
- Day 4: walk into five local businesses and ask if they are hiring.
- Day 5: follow up on anything from earlier in the week.
Most first jobs come from the second or third round of this, not the first. Our guide to jobs with no experience has more on which sectors hire beginners fastest.