Your CV has one job: get you an interview. Recruiters scan quickly, so the most important information needs to be easy to find and clearly linked to the role.
The structure that works
- 1
Contact details
Name, phone, professional email and town. Skip your ID number, marital status and full home address.
- 2
Professional summary
Three or four lines on who you are, your key skills and what you offer.
- 3
Work experience
Most recent first. Job title, employer, dates, then achievement bullet points.
- 4
Education
Highest qualification first, with institution and year.
- 5
Skills
Relevant technical and soft skills — for example Excel, customer service, Kiswahili.
- 6
Referees
Two or three, or “available on request” if space is tight.
Write achievements, not duties
Instead of “Responsible for handling customers”, write “Served 60+ customers daily and resolved complaints, improving repeat visits.” Numbers, results and action verbs make your experience real.
No formal experience? Use attachments, volunteering, school leadership roles and projects.
Formatting tips
- Two pages is enough for most people; one page for fresh graduates
- Use a clean font and consistent headings
- Avoid photos, tables and graphics that confuse applicant tracking systems
- Save as PDF unless the employer requests Word
- Name the file professionally: “Jane-Wanjiku-CV.pdf”
Mistakes that cost interviews
- Spelling errors and inconsistent dates
- Sending the same CV to every job
- An unprofessional email address
- Listing every certificate since primary school
