How to tailor your CV for vac work and internships
Updated
For vac work and internships, lead with what you can already do: the software, lab, coding or analysis skills the ad names, and the projects or jobs where you used them. Employers offering vac work expect students, so coursework, group projects, tutoring and part-time jobs all count when they're true and relevant. Tailor the order and wording to each ad, and keep the CV to one or two pages.
Find the skills the ad names
Vac work and internship ads describe the work you'd do: analysing data, testing samples, writing code, helping on site, answering customer queries. Go through the ad and mark every task and tool it mentions. Each one is a skill your CV needs to show.
Note the practical details too: the length of the placement, where it is, and who can apply. If an ad is only open to certain degrees or years of study, check that before you spend time on the application.
Put a skills line near the top, with proof
Students often list skills as single words: Excel, Python, teamwork. A recruiter can't tell from that whether you've really used them. Tie each relevant skill to where you used it, for example Python: analysed lab results for a second-year design project.
Put the skills the ad names first, and leave out ones that don't help this application. A shorter list of skills you can prove is stronger than a long list you can't.
Treat projects and coursework as experience
If you haven't had a job in your field yet, your degree is your experience. Group design projects, lab work, a research project, a hackathon or a website you built for a society all show what you can do.
- Give each one or two lines: what you did, the tools or methods you used, and what came of it.
- Say what your part was in group work, not only what the group did.
- Name a module with its mark if it's directly relevant to the ad, such as statistics or programming.
Show you can work with people
A placement means joining a team for a few weeks. Part-time jobs, tutoring, residence committees, volunteering and sport show that you turn up, take instructions and work with others. A weekend job in retail or a restaurant belongs on your CV: it shows reliability and that you can deal with customers.
Say when and where you can work
Vac work runs in the university holidays, and holiday dates differ between universities. Say when you're available, for example in your profile: Available for vac work from the end of November to mid-January. If the placement is in another city, say whether you can relocate for it.
If your degree requires vac work before you can graduate, as some engineering and science degrees do, you can mention that in your cover letter.
Keep it to one or two pages and send a PDF
First- and second-year students rarely need more than one page, and two is the most any student needs. Save it as a PDF named with your name and the company, such as Lerato-Dube-CV-Baobab.pdf, so it's easy to find. Applying for a bursary as well? The bursary CV guide covers what funders look for.
Worked example: Lerato and the Baobab vac work
FictionalLerato Dube and Baobab Logistics are made up for this guide. The example shows the method, not a real placement or a real student.
Six to eight weeks for STEM students. You'll do data analysis in Excel, help solve operations problems and work on team projects with our planners.
The ad against Lerato's CV
- Met
STEM student
BSc Eng (Chemical), 3rd year
- Met
Data analysis in Excel
Lab data analysis in Excel and Python
- Met
Operations problems
Six weeks with the operations team at a water treatment plant
- Gap
Team projects
None on her CV yet
How her CV changes for this ad
Lerato's CV says
Skills (last section): Lab data analysis in Excel and Python. Report writing.
Tailored for Baobab
Data analysis in Excel and Python for lab results
Moved to the top, because it's the first task the ad names.
Lerato's CV says
Vac work, municipal water treatment plant, 2025. Six weeks with the plant operations team.
Tailored for Baobab
Six weeks with the operations team at a municipal water treatment plant (2025)
Reworded to lead with the operations team she worked in. Same facts, in the ad's words.
Lerato's CV says
Treasurer, Engineering Students' Council, 2024 to now. Managed a R180 000 budget across 14 societies.
Tailored for Baobab
Managed a R180 000 budget as Engineering Students' Council treasurer
Kept, but lower down: it shows responsibility, while this ad cares most about analysis.
Sample result
76/100 sample match score
Three of the four requirements are met. The gap is team projects.
The fix for that gap is to check, not to invent. If Lerato did a group design project in her course, she adds it to her CV, with her part in it, and tailors again. If she didn't, the gap stays and the rest of her CV does the work.
Questions students ask
What's the difference between vac work and an internship?
Vac work is a short placement during the university holidays, often a few weeks, and some degrees require it before you can graduate. An internship usually runs longer and is often aimed at final-year students or recent graduates. The CV advice is the same for both: lead with the skills the ad names.
I have no work experience. What do I put on my CV?
Coursework projects, lab work, tutoring, society roles, volunteering and part-time jobs. Say what you did and the tools you used. Vac work is meant for students, so employers don't expect a long work history.
Should I list my marks on a vac work CV?
Yes. Give your degree, year of study and current average. If a module is directly relevant to the ad, such as statistics or programming, you can name it with its mark.
When should I apply for vac work?
Earlier than you might expect. Many companies open applications months before the holidays and close them before exams start. Check each company's careers page for its dates and set yourself a reminder.