How to write a CV that gets you an interview

CV or resume — which one do employers here want?

In Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda, employers ask for a CV, and they mean a two-page document covering your work history, education and skills. The American distinction — a one-page 'resume' for industry, a long 'CV' for academia — does not apply. If an advert says resume, send the same document.

Length is the part people get wrong in both directions. One page is too short once you have real experience; five pages will not be read. Two pages is right for almost everyone. Three is defensible after fifteen years or in academic and medical roles where publications matter.

The order sections should appear in

Put the strongest thing first. For most people that is work experience; for a recent graduate it is education.

• Name and contact details — no photo unless asked, no date of birth, no marital status.
• Professional summary — three or four lines, written last.
• Work experience — most recent first, with achievements not duties.
• Education — most recent first, with grades where they help you.
• Skills — specific and verifiable, not adjectives.
• Certifications and training — anything current and relevant.
• Referees — two, with permission, or 'available on request'.

The summary: three lines that decide whether page two is read

Most summaries are interchangeable. "A hardworking and motivated individual seeking a challenging position in a reputable organisation" describes every applicant and distinguishes none. It is also the first thing a recruiter reads, so it is the first place they lose interest.

Write it last, once the rest of the CV exists, and make it specific: what you are, how long you have done it, and the one number that proves you are good at it.

Work experience: achievements, not job descriptions

The single biggest difference between a CV that gets called and one that does not is whether the bullets describe what the role involved or what you actually achieved in it. Anyone holding that job title had those duties. Only you had your results.

A usable formula: what you did, how you did it, and what changed as a result. The last part is the one people skip, and it is the one that persuades.

Writing a CV with little or no work experience

A first CV is not an empty CV. Employers hiring for entry-level roles know you have not worked; what they are looking for is evidence that you can be relied on and can learn.

• Industrial attachment, internship or field work — treat it as a real job, with real achievements.
• Your final-year project — what problem it solved, what tools you used, what the result was.
• Leadership and society roles — a treasurer who handled real money has handled real money.
• Volunteering — including unpaid work in a family business, which counts.
• Short courses and certificates — anything genuinely completed, with the date.

Put education above experience while this is true, and move it back down the moment you have two years behind you.

Getting past the software before you reach a person

Larger employers and most international NGOs run applications through screening software before a human sees them. It reads text, not design, and a CV built as a table, a multi-column layout or an image can arrive as gibberish or as nothing.

• Send a PDF unless the advert asks for Word.
• Use the words from the advert — if it says 'monitoring and evaluation', do not only write 'M&E'.
• Give sections plain headings: Work Experience, Education, Skills.
• Keep contact details in the body, never only in the header or footer.
• Avoid text inside images, icons carrying meaning, and unusual fonts.
• Name the file properly: `Amina-Mwakasege-CV.pdf`, not `cv final final2.pdf`.

Referees, photos and personal details

Two referees is the regional norm — ideally a former supervisor rather than a friend or a relative. Ask them first, every time. A referee taken by surprise is worse than no referee.

Leave out your photograph, date of birth, marital status, religion and national ID number unless the advert specifically requires them. Some government and NGO application forms do; an ordinary CV does not, and including them invites bias you gain nothing from.

The mistakes that cost people interviews

• One CV sent everywhere. Adjust the summary and the top three bullets for each advert.
• An unprofessional email address. Use your name. Nothing else.
• Unexplained gaps. A single line — studying, caring for family, running a business — closes the question.
• Spelling errors. Read it aloud, then have someone else read it. Both.
• Missing the deadline or ignoring the stated method. An employer who asked for the subject line to read a certain way is testing whether you follow instructions.
• Lying. Qualifications get verified, and the region is smaller than it looks.