That there is high level of unemployment in Nigeria is no news to anybody, this unemployment makes the job market even more competitive, and as a result a lot of unemployed graduates are being exploited through different mediums.

What I’d like to focus on today is how to write or create a professional cv, there has been a lot of fuss recently on this issue of cv (curriculum vitae), how to write a cv, how not to write a cv etc.

I was surfing through some job sites recently and came across this professional cv writing services, what caught my attention was the amount they charged in helping people review or rewrite their cvs, and it’s funny to me because it’s the information you give to them, that’s what will be given back to you, the only difference is that some things might have been re arranged or some words changed.

Being someone who has once been on the unemployment line i know how 1000 naira can feel like 10,000 naira for someone who is unemployed and haven worked closely with the hr at my place of work and also haven reviewed a lot of cvs when hiring and being a professional cv writer myself I have decided to come forward with this information to help you write a professional cv

So let’s leave these long epistles and go straight to the point:

1) When writing a cv the most important thing is simplicity, keep things simple and neat at all times, from your arrangements to your choice of words.

2) Legibility: make sure your cv is legible avoid using fancy fonts, all you need are two good fonts, a regular font and a bold font.

So let’s dive right in

I will be breaking the cv writing into two sections

1) Experienced: people who have already built a career or have a lot of experience in a particular field

2) In experienced: basically this is for fresh graduates looking to start a career, or people with no experience

For people in the experienced category start your cv with:

1) Start your cv with your name as the header, followed by your job title then your contact info

2) Professional statement (keep it brief, simple and precise)

3) Your experience should follow in this format name of company, position held, duration of time spent there, followed by your achievements there, make them short and precise

4) Your achievements in general should follow (make them short and precise)

5) Awards, if any list them use bullets make them short and precise

6) Interest: your interests should be in line with the interests of the firm you are applying to

7) Hobbies, followed by referees

Note:

*Always use a bold font for your headings and a regular font for your sub headings

*The font size shouldn’t be more than 14 points at most for your headings and 12 points at most for the general content.

*Make sure your cv doesn’t exceed two pages (cut out all un-useful content) at most. Trust me hr managers don’t have time to read your long epistles, if possible put all your information in 1 page

*Avoid using too many ambiguous words, nobody has time to use a dictionary just to review your cv

*In all keep things simple


For people in the inexperienced category

1) Start with your name as the heading then contact information

2) Your personal statement, keep this short simple and interesting

3) Your personal info or bio – name, sex, D.O.B, state, nationality, languages spoken etc. (note its not a must to include all of this in your bio).

4) Education in this format – name of school, course of study, degree attained and the duration of time spent

5) Experience if any

6) Interests: should be in line with the interest of the firm you are applying to

7) Hobbies

Note:
*Always keep your cv neatly arranged and simple
Use simple and legible fonts

*Avoid typographical errors, remember your cv is your representative on paper

*Always look for things you know will catch the attention of your employer and embody it in your cv most preferably in your personal statement

*Your cv should be tailored to the specific job you are applying for, always look for the interests or requirements of your employer and embody it in your cv as one of your skills or qualifications

*Remember there is no particular format of writing a cv but always keep things neat, simple and legible


I hope this post has been useful to you and brings you a step closer to scoring your dream job, make sure to follow me as i will be dropping more interesting topics soon such as:

*How to write your cv to beat the ATS test

*How to write your cv to beat the 7 seconds test

*How to use keywords in your cv and much more

Of course i can’t put all the information i know about cv writing into writing without omitting a few things, if you need any help or have any questions as regards to your cv or you need your cv reviewed by a professional feel free to message me by email kchordz@gmail.com, I'll definitely get back to you

Follow this link to download a free professional cv sample

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=19XBjkx1bJFVqpwjPhogzmt7QO7E9qWkr

Itemising the point would have made it more interesting to read through

Yeah I tried itemizing it but it changed when it was posted