A fictional person: the names, employers and numbers are invented.
Ethan Ward
Economics graduate · Data and commercial analysis
Nottingham, UKethan.ward@example.com
Summary
Economics graduate with first-class honours and a year as a commercial analyst at an energy supplier. Builds forecasts and dashboards that managers actually use: cut a demand forecast's error from 9% to 5% and replaced three manual reports with one Power BI view. Looking for a graduate role in pricing, strategy or commercial analysis.
Launched a student discount card that signed up 520 members and lifted term-time sales by 12%.
Opened and closed the shop alone on Sundays, including cash-up and banking.
Education
BSc Economics with Placement Year · University of Nottingham
2022 – 2026
First-class honours. Modules: econometrics, industrial economics, public finance.
Skills
Analysis
Excel (Power Query, pivot tables), Power BI, Stata, SQL (basic)
Business
demand forecasting, report writing, presenting to managers
Certificates
Bloomberg Market Concepts · Bloomberg2025
Microsoft Office Specialist: Excel Associate · Microsoft2024
Projects
Dissertation: price caps and supplier switching
2026
Analysed 12 years of regional switching data in Stata to test whether price caps slow household switching; marked 74%.
Languages
English — Native
German — Basic (A2)
Additional information
Treasurer, Economics Society (2025 – 2026): managed a £9,500 budget and grew sponsorship income by 40%.
Three summary options
Start from the one closest to where you are now.
Graduate scheme
Economics graduate with first-class honours and a full year as a commercial analyst. Turns messy data into clear recommendations for senior managers and wants a rotational graduate scheme that covers finance, strategy and operations.
Analyst role
Numerate economics graduate who built forecasting models and Power BI dashboards during a placement year, cutting forecast error from 9% to 5%. Strong in Excel and Stata, learning SQL, and ready for a junior data or pricing analyst role.
No placement year
Business graduate with a 2:1, three years of part-time retail work and a society treasurer role managing £9,500. Organised, good with numbers and calm with customers, looking for an entry-level operations or account coordinator role.
Keywords to include
Use the ones that are true for you, inside real sentences.
Data analysis
Excel
Financial modelling
Forecasting
Power BI
Report writing
Stakeholder management
Commercial awareness
Problem solving
Teamwork
What recruiters look for
Tips for this role, with the kind of numbers that count.
Put your degree result up front
Many graduate schemes screen on classification first. Show the degree, university, years and result on one line near the top, and add a dissertation mark if it is strong. If you are still waiting for results, write "predicted 2:1".
Write the placement like a job
A placement year is professional experience, so give it the same weight as any job: title, employer, years and three or four results. "Cut forecast error from 9% to 5%" tells a recruiter you have already delivered at work.
Show commercial awareness with numbers
Employers want graduates who understand how a business makes money. Link at least one bullet to revenue, cost or customers: accounts retained, sales lifted, hours saved. Even a part-time job can show this, like a discount card that lifted sales 12%.
Turn society roles into leadership
A committee role is evidence of leadership if you show the scale. Give the budget, the team size and one outcome, such as sponsorship up 40%. Keep it to one or two lines; it supports your degree and work, it does not replace them.
Match each scheme's competencies
Graduate employers publish the skills they assess, such as teamwork, problem solving or communication. Make sure each one appears in a bullet with proof, using their words where honest, so both the screening software and the assessor can find it.
Shrink school results to one line
After a degree, school grades need one line at most, for example A levels with grades. Only list GCSEs if a scheme sets minimum requirements, and use the space saved for your dissertation or placement.
Make this CV yours
Answer one question at a time; the assistant fills each section and never invents numbers.
Yes, in one short line, if they are solid or if the employer sets minimum UCAS points or grades. Many large graduate schemes still check them at the application stage. If they were weak and your degree result is strong, list the subjects without grades and let the degree speak.
What if I did not do a placement year?
Most graduates do not, and recruiters know it. Build your experience section from part-time work, internships, volunteering and society roles, each with a result. Add a project, such as your dissertation or a data analysis you did yourself, to show the skills a placement would have given you.
Should I list my university modules?
Only the three or four most relevant to the job, in one line under your degree. A list of every module takes space without proving much. For an analyst role, econometrics or statistics modules are worth naming; for a marketing role, consumer behaviour is.
