How to write a good CV in Nigeria

First of all, what is a CV? Well, CV stands for curriculum vitae, which is latin for “course of life” It is a written summary of your life, listing your academic achievements and work experience. In most cases, it is pretty much the same thing as a resume, and is used as a way to screen job applicants before the interview stage.

A good CV should be only 1 page, at the max especially at the very early stages of your career where you don’t have that much work experience or publications. Please don’t bore the person that is reading it, get to the point before you lose their interest 

The purpose is of a CV is not to get you the job. The purpose is to get you to the interview stage. So avoid adding in personal details that can potentially disqualify you even before you have even had a chance to wow them at the interview. Examples of such details are things like your age, Marital status, state of origin or even your picture. As for hobbies,  you can mention 2 to 3 especially if the hobbies are directly related to the job ( animation – Creating video games on a CV for tech job)  But don’t go overboard, biko. Remember to keep it professional, simple and sweet (kissing sound)

Step 1

Start off with your contact information displayed prominently (animation) at the top of the page. I don’t need to tell you to make sure that it is correct with no typos. Your email address should be professional sounding and ideally it should be based on your name; See eh? It is far better to open a new email address sef than to use something that will disgrace your ancestors;  . Also ensure you check the box regularly especially if its a new one to avoid missing important emails from the recruiters

Step 2

So, After your contact details, your CV should have a highlights section. This is a section consists of 1 sentence that mentions your title, years of experience and area of expertise. After that, list your core skills in bulletpoints. Keep the focus on the hard skills and the order of the bulletpoints should match the order of skills listed in the job description.

Step 3

You are now ready for the main body of the CV. This sections lists your qualifications and work

experience in more detail. It should start with the most recent experience first. If you are just out of school and don’t have any work experience, start off with your academic qualifications especially if it is directly relevant to the job you are applying for.  If you are still in school, it is ok to list the degree you are working towards, just put the date as your expected graduation date> Remember to include your thesis or project topics as well. You worked hard on it and gained both hard and soft skills while working on it,  so showcase it.

Step 4

Always, always tailor the CV to the position you are applying for,  using the job description ad as a guide. Remember that key words are used to short list CV’s electronically and otherwise so sprinkle some of the words that were in the posting e.g. if they say that they are  looking for someone that can “maintain pricing schedules” you can use that exact phrase to describe your relevant experience instead of using something else like “kept track of costs”. 

Step 5 

You need to quantify your achievements and cite specific examples. Dont just say “Oversaw project” but show show many people were in the team, how much costs were saved or how much sales grew, if you don’t have numbers available, talk about the impact you had.

Step 6

Use simple, action words. Remember that the person initially screening your resume might not be someone from your field. It will most likely be an HR person who might not be too familiar with technical jargon so use simple language but action words like “managed”, “optimized”, “increased”, “accomplished”, “led”, “developed” 

In addition to technical skills, key things that should pop out of your resume are your problem solving abilities, your teamwork skills, your leadership and Your creativity. 

Hype and showcase yourself but I beg you, don’t lie. Be confident in who you are and what you have to offer

Step 7

Dont forget to include unpaid work, volunteer positions, internships etc. If you are head of the Ushering team in church, mention it. There are a lot of transferable skills like Presentation Skills, Computer Skills, Time Management, Leadership,Communication  skills and Problem solving that can be gained from such areas.

Leave out references at this stage. References are usually only called after the interview but DO have them available on a separate sheet of paper incase they are asked for

Step 8

Make sure you proof read several times and have friends proof read as well to catch errors you might have missed.  Your cv is a demonstration of your communication skills. So if you have said you are a good communicator, your CV had better show it. Grammatical errors are a big no-no.

For templates of the perfect CV and Cover letter, follow the link below for an excellent reference document complied by Harvard University;

https://ocs.fas.harvard.edu/files/ocs/files/undergrad_resumes_and_cover_letters.pdf?m=1598037165