CV for Part Time Job (UK Student): Retail and Hospitality

If you need a CV for a part time job as a UK student, the bar is lower than you might fear, but it is specific. Shop and café managers are usually filling a rota, not hunting for a career history. They want to know three things quickly: when you can work, whether you can deal with customers, and whether you will turn up.

This guide shows you how to build a one-page retail or hospitality CV around an availability line, with a template you can copy today.

What a part-time retail or hospitality manager scans for

Most part-time applications are read by a store or shift manager, often between other tasks. Some larger chains use online application forms or an applicant tracking system, but many independent cafés and shops still take CVs by email or in person.

Either way, the reader is checking:

• Availability: Can you cover the shifts they are short on?
• Customer contact: Have you dealt with the public, even informally?
• Reliability: Evidence you show up, follow instructions and handle pressure.
• Location: Can you get to the shop for a 7am open or a late close?

A two-page CV with a long personal statement works against you here. Keep it to one page. For general UK conventions such as British spelling and section order, see our UK CV format guide.

The availability line: the most useful line on your CV

Put availability near the top, directly under your contact details or profile. It saves the manager a phone call and shows you have thought about how the job fits around your studies.

What to include

• Days and times you can work during term
• Maximum hours per week in term time
• Holiday availability (Christmas, Easter, summer) with rough dates
• Start date
• Any fixed limits, stated neutrally (no need to explain why)

Example availability lines

Weekend-focused student:

Availability: Saturdays and Sundays, any shift. Weekday evenings after 5pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Up to 16 hours a week in term time; full time from 15 June to 10 September and over Christmas. Can start immediately.

Student with a heavy timetable:

Availability: Friday evenings and Saturdays. Up to 12 hours a week during term. Available for extra shifts during reading week and university holidays.

International student on a Student visa:

Availability: Up to 20 hours a week during term time; full time during official university vacations. Weekday evenings and weekends.

Be honest about availability

Do not offer more hours or days than you can actually work to get a foot in the door. If you list "any weekday" and then turn down weekday shifts, the job tends to go wrong quickly. It is better to offer fewer, firm hours that you can cover reliably.

If your timetable changes each term, say so: "Term 2 timetable confirmed in January; I can update availability then."

Right to work: what UK students should know

Employers in the UK must check that you have the right to work before you start. You usually do not need to put this on a home student's CV, but it helps international applicants to state it clearly.

If you are on a Student visa, your work conditions (including weekly hour limits during term time) depend on your course level and are set out in your visa conditions. The GOV.UK page on what you can and cannot do on a Student visa explains the general rules, and employers can use the prove your right to work service to check status.

This is general information, not legal advice. Check your own visa conditions and official GOV.UK guidance, and ask your university's international student advice team if you are unsure. A simple CV line could read: "Right to work: Student visa, up to 20 hours a week in term time", but only use wording that matches your actual conditions.

UK student part-time CV template (one page)

Copy this structure and replace the details with your own.

Name Town, postcode area (e.g. Leeds, LS6) | Mobile | Professional email

Availability: [days, times, weekly hours, holidays, start date]

Profile (2-3 lines) First-year Business student at the University of Leeds looking for weekend retail work. Friendly with customers, comfortable on my feet for long shifts and used to working as part of a team through volunteering and sport.

Experience Role, Organisation, Location | Month Year – Month Year

• What you did, with a specific detail
• A responsibility involving customers, money or teamwork

Education University, course, expected graduation year School or college, A levels/BTEC/Highers (grades optional for retail roles)

Skills Customer service, cash handling, stock rotation, food hygiene awareness, languages (with level)

Interests (optional, 1 line)

References: Available on request

For more profile wording by career stage, see these personal statement examples for a UK CV.

What to leave out

• Photo, date of birth, marital status, nationality: not expected on UK CVs
• National Insurance number: give it after you are hired, not on a CV
• Full home address: town and postcode area is enough

Writing experience when you have very little

Retail and hospitality managers value everyday evidence. You can include anything that genuinely involved serving people, handling money, following procedures or working shifts.

Things that honestly count

• Babysitting or pet-sitting for neighbours
• Volunteering in a charity shop, food bank or church café
• Helping at a family business or market stall
• Running a stall at a school fair or Students' Union event
• Sports team captain, coaching juniors, or refereeing
• Duke of Edinburgh's Award or National Citizen Service
• Work experience placements from school

Before and after bullet points

Vague bullets tell the reader nothing. Add a concrete detail, but only one that is true.

Weak	Stronger (if true)
Volunteered at a charity shop	Served customers and used the till on Saturday shifts at a British Heart Foundation shop for 8 months
Helped at family restaurant	Took orders and cleared tables during busy Friday dinner service at my family's 30-cover restaurant
Good with customers	Answered questions from parents and pupils at a school open day, directing around 50 visitors
Team player	Played in the university netball first team, training twice a week alongside my studies

If you do not know a number, leave it out. "Busy Saturday shifts" is fine; an invented figure is not.

Retail vs hospitality: adjust the emphasis

For retail (supermarkets, clothing, high-street shops), emphasise:

• Till and cash handling
• Stock replenishment, tidying displays, deliveries
• Helping customers find products
• Seasonal peaks (Christmas, sales)

For hospitality (cafés, bars, restaurants, hotels), emphasise:

• Working fast during rush periods
• Food hygiene awareness or certificates you actually hold
• Taking orders accurately, handling complaints calmly
• Late or early shifts

If a job ad mentions specific skills, such as barista experience or a Level 2 Food Hygiene certificate, mention them only if you genuinely have them. If you do not, you can show willingness instead: "Keen to complete food hygiene training."

Full example: first-year student applying for café work

Amira Okafor Manchester, M14 | 07xxx xxxxxx | amira.okafor@email.com

Availability: Saturdays and Sundays, any shift; Wednesday afternoons from 1pm. Up to 15 hours a week in term; full time from mid-June to mid-September. Can start immediately.

Profile First-year Psychology student at the University of Manchester seeking part-time café work. Calm under pressure, friendly with the public and experienced in serving customers through volunteering.

Experience Volunteer, Oxfam shop, Manchester | Oct 2024 – present

• Serve customers and use the till on Saturday afternoon shifts
• Sort donations and refill shelves, following the shop's pricing guide

Café helper, St Mary's community coffee morning | 2022 – 2024

• Made hot drinks and served cakes to regulars every fortnight
• Handled cash and kept the serving area clean

Education University of Manchester, BSc Psychology, expected 2027 A levels: Psychology, Biology, English Literature

Skills Customer service, cash handling, basic food safety awareness, Yoruba (fluent)

References: Available on request

How to send it

Many shops still accept CVs handed in person. Go at a quiet time (mid-morning on a weekday, not Saturday lunch), ask for the manager by name if you can, and bring a printed copy.

For online applications, save as PDF unless the employer asks for Word, and name the file clearly, e.g. Amira-Okafor-CV.pdf. A short email of three or four lines is enough; our templates for what to write when sending a CV can help. If you would like help laying out the page, the QuickApplyPilot CV builder can format a one-page version from your details, but a simple word processor works just as well.

If you are not applying in the UK

Conventions vary, so adjust before reusing this CV elsewhere:

• US: Usually called a resume; availability is often handled in the application form rather than on the page.
• Canada and Australia: Similar one-page style for casual roles; Australian employers often say "casual" rather than "part-time". International students in both countries have work conditions set by their visa or permit, so check the official government immigration website.
• Nigeria: Part-time student roles are less often advertised formally; a short CV plus a polite application letter is common.

Quick checklist before you send

• One page, clear headings, British spelling
• Availability line near the top, with hours you can genuinely work
• Right-to-work wording matches your actual visa conditions (if relevant)
• Each bullet includes a real, specific detail
• No photo, date of birth or NI number
• Professional email address and correct phone number
• Tweaked for retail or hospitality as appropriate

A clear, honest one-page CV will not guarantee a call back, especially at busy times of year, but it makes the manager's decision easier, and that is all you can control.