HOW TO WRITE A PROFESSIONAL CV

Do you want to know how to write a professional CV that gets you hired? Then, you need to pay attention to this blog post and patiently read it to the end.

As you are aware, your CV is your chance to make a first-time good impression on your potential employer and this is why it is important to have a professional CV that can get you the job.

So, how do you write a Professional CV?

Let’s get started.

What is a CV?

This is usually the first document any hiring manager will see or request to see before you are invited for an interview and when applying jobs. Your first priority is that your CV gets you that interview.

A curriculum vitae popularly known as CV is brief outline or account of your history; educational, professional experience, skills, knowledge and more. 

What should be in your CV?

1. Personal details
2. Personal profile
3. Work experience
4. Education
5. Training and Professional certifications (if any)
6. Skills and awards
7. Interests and abilities
8. References

Personal details

This section gives a brief about your personal data;

• Name
• Residential address (Area, City, and State are sufficient as CV is a public document) e. g. Ogba, Lagos.
• Contact details; Phone number, Email(with your surname and first name)
• Age (it is not required if the job vacancy has no age band)
• Nationality. E.g. Nigerian
• State of Origin (for government-related jobs)

Your personal data should be the first set of information on your CV and should be in legible fonts for easy capture by the HR/Recruiting Manager.

Pro Tips: 

• Never use an email that is not yours.
• Avoid stating your state of origin, or religion (except if specified in the job advertorial).
• Avoid unprofessional email addresses. Examples of this would be obiswag10@xyz.com or sexyprincess2015@xyz.com.
• Ensure the information provided are current and accurate.
• Keep it professional and simple

Personal profile

Your profile is also known as your personal or selling statement. This is a piece of writing usually not more than 2 or 3 lines that appears at the top of your CV and provides a summary of who you are, your skills, achievements, and your past experience. Don’t forget to keep your personal statement short, interesting, and a few sentences long.

E.g. 

I am proficient in accounting principles across multiple contexts and environments. My prior experience ranges from working in small to medium companies. I am adept at all functions of accounting, including balancing sheets, processing payments, managing accounts payable, and providing executive administrative support.

Work Experience

Start with your most recent job role. For each job role, it is important to state your role and achievements.
An example would be:

• Iceberg Communications Limited 
• April 2022 – Present or Jan. 2020 – Jun. 2021
• Job Title: Marketing Executive
• Iceberg Limited is Nigeria’s number-one marketplace for electrical home appliances.

Achievements:

• Individually increased the monthly revenue from N15 million to N25 million in 6 months.
• Worked with the marketing team to expand our product reach from Lagos to all 6 states of Western Nigeria within a year. 
• Won the ‘Salesman of the Year” award consecutively for November and December 2016.

This section can also contain your volunteering activities, internships, holiday jobs, and NYSC details (PPA, State, and Job function).

Education

Always start with the most recent educational qualification.

• E.g. University of Port Harcourt – 2012. B.A. History and International Relations.
• The Polytechnic Ibadan – 2011 Ordinary National Diploma (OND) Computer Science.
• Up – Town Secondary School – 2010. Secondary School Leaving Certificate- 2010

Training and Professional certifications (if any)

• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria ACCA, March 2022.

Skills

• Social Media Management
• Graphic Design
• Data Analytics
• Communication
• Numeracy Skills
• Organizational Skills
• Versed in three foreign languages – French, Portuguese and Chinese.

Awards

• Graduated with a first class grade of 4.56 and won the ‘Best Graduating Student’ award.

Interests and Abilities

Interest and abilities are very important aspects of your CV especially when you don’t have enough work experience. If your CV is lacking work experience, your interest and abilities will provide a way for you to show your prospective employer that you have interest and abilities that are related to the position that you are looking for.

E.g. Interests

• Reading
• Writing
• Photography

References

Except requested, the details of your referees are private and their contact details should not necessarily be exposed on your CV. 

The lesser the pages of a CV, the more concise it is and the greater the attention it receives.
As an employer, you would not want to be bothered by CVs that look like handouts. Therefore, be direct, clear and convincing.

Dos and Don’ts of CV Writing

• Ensure your CV is legible and in simple design.
• Use proper layouts, fonts, punctuations.
• Except requested, pictures are not mandatory. If required, use a professional picture.
• Don’t use several font types.

Writing a Professional CV should not be a hard job. If you want to learn how to write a resume with no job experience or you are a fresh graduate and you are wondering how to write a job-winning CV, then I believe that with the information provided in this article, you should be on your way to writing a winning CV.

Now that your CV is ready, what is the next step?

Watch out for our next post.