How to Write a CV That Gets You Shortlisted (Free CV Builder Inside)

You apply for a job. You wait. Nothing happens. You apply for another. Same silence. After a while, you start to wonder if the problem is you.

Often, the problem is not you — it is your CV. Recruiters in Nigeria, like everywhere else, receive far more applications than they can read properly. Most CVs get a scan of a few seconds before a decision is made: keep, or discard. Your CV has to survive that scan. If it does not, nobody ever reads the rest.

The good news is that writing a shortlist-worthy CV is a skill, not a talent. Anyone can learn it.

What a Recruiter Actually Looks For

Before you write anything, understand the person on the other side. A recruiter is not reading your CV for pleasure. They are checking three things, fast:

1. Can this person do the job? Do they have the skills and experience the role needs?
2. Is this person serious? Is the CV clear, honest, and free of careless errors?
3. Is this person worth a call? Is there something here that makes them stand out from the other fifty applicants?

Every section of your CV should answer one of those three questions. Anything that does not can be cut.

The Structure That Works

A good CV follows a simple order. Do not get creative with the layout — clarity beats originality.

1. Your Name and Contact Details

Your full name, phone number, email address, and location (city is enough — you do not need your full home address). Use a professional email address. An address like "bigboy4life@gmail.com" tells the recruiter you are not taking the application seriously. If you have a LinkedIn profile, add the link.

2. A Short Professional Summary

Three or four lines at the top that say who you are, what you do, and what you bring. This is not an objective statement like "seeking a challenging role in a dynamic organisation" — that says nothing. Write something specific:

"Customer service officer with four years of experience handling complaints and retaining clients for a Lagos fintech company. Resolved over 200 customer cases a month and trained two new team members."

That tells the recruiter exactly what you do and what you are good at, in seconds.

3. Work Experience — Newest First

This is the most important section. List your jobs from the most recent backwards, with the job title, the company, the dates, and — this is the part most people get wrong — what you achieved, not just what you did.

Do not write duties. Write achievements.

• Instead of: "Responsible for social media."

• Write: "Grew the company's Instagram following from 800 to 4,500 in eight months and increased enquiries from social media by half."

• Instead of: "Handled customer complaints."

• Write: "Resolved customer complaints within 24 hours, and helped reduce repeat complaints by improving the onboarding messages new customers receive."

Use numbers wherever you honestly can — how many customers, how much money saved, how many people you trained, how fast you delivered. Numbers make your experience real. But never invent them. A recruiter who checks will find out, and the damage to your reputation is not worth it.

If you have little formal work experience, include internships, volunteer work, freelance jobs, and personal projects. A graduate who built a website for a family business has more to show than one who lists nothing.

4. Skills

A short list of the skills that matter for the job you are applying for. Be honest — only list skills you can actually demonstrate. Separate hard skills (Excel, graphic design, bookkeeping, driving) from soft skills (communication, teamwork, problem-solving), and put the ones from the job advert first.

5. Education

Your highest qualification first, with the institution and the year. If you are a recent graduate, education can come before work experience. If you have been working for years, it goes after. Include relevant courses and certifications, but only ones that matter for the role.

6. Optional Extras

Languages you speak, professional memberships, and interests — only if they are relevant or genuinely interesting.

Tailor Your CV to Every Job

This is the single most effective thing you can do, and the one most people skip. Do not send the same CV to every job.

Read the job advert carefully. Note the exact skills, tools, and experience it asks for. Then adjust your CV so those things are easy to find:

• Change your professional summary to match the role.
• Move the most relevant experience to the top of each job description.
• Use the same words the advert uses. If the advert says "customer retention," use "customer retention" — not "keeping customers happy." Many companies use software to scan CVs for keywords before a human ever sees them, and matching the advert's language helps you pass that scan.

Tailoring takes ten minutes per application. It is the difference between a CV that gets shortlisted and one that gets ignored.

Formatting: Keep It Clean

• Length: One page is ideal for early-career applicants; two pages is fine if you have several years of experience. More than two pages is almost always too long.
• Font: Use one clear font throughout, in a readable size. Do not use fancy fonts or colours.
• Layout: Plenty of white space, clear headings, and bullet points instead of long paragraphs. A recruiter should be able to scan the whole CV in under a minute.
• File type: Save it as a PDF, so it looks the same on every device. Name the file properly: "Adaeze-Okafor-CV.pdf", not "my cv final FINAL.pdf".
• Check it twice. Spelling and grammar errors are one of the fastest ways to get discarded.

Common CV Mistakes to Avoid

• Lying about experience or qualifications. It will be found out, and it ends your chances.
• A photo, unless the job asks for one. Most Nigerian employers do not need your photograph on a CV, and it can invite unfair judgement.
• Your full home address, date of birth, or state of origin. These are not needed and can expose you to bias.
• "References available on request." This wastes a line. Employers will ask if they want references.
• Hobbies that say nothing. Only include interests that show a skill or a real commitment.
• Long paragraphs. Nobody reads them. Use short bullets.

Build Your CV the Easy Way

Writing a CV from a blank page is hard, which is why many people keep putting it off. A good starting point helps: a clean layout, the right sections in the right order, and a professional result you can download and send.

Joetech's free CV & Resume Builder at joetech.name.ng/tools/cv-resume-builder does exactly that. You fill in your details — experience, skills, education — and it builds a neat, professional CV you can download as a PDF. Use it to get the structure right, then tailor the result to each job you apply for.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should my CV be one page or two?

One page is best if you are early in your career or have less than five years of experience. Two pages is acceptable if you have a longer work history with real achievements to show. The rule is simple: every line must earn its place. If a line does not help you get this job, remove it.

What if I have no work experience at all?

Focus on what you do have: education, projects, volunteer work, internships, freelance jobs, and skills. A final-year project, a small business you ran, or a community role all count. Describe them the same way you would describe a job — what you did, and what changed because of it. Employers hiring entry-level staff expect to train you; they want to see initiative and willingness to learn.

Should I include my salary expectations on my CV?

No. Salary is a conversation for the interview stage, after the employer has decided they want you. Putting a figure on your CV either prices you out of a good job or locks you into a low offer. Leave it off and discuss it when you are asked.

How often should I update my CV?

Every time you finish a project, learn a new skill, or take on new responsibility. A CV that is updated as you go is always ready when an opportunity appears.

Your CV Is Your First Interview

Before any employer meets you, they meet your CV. Make it clear, honest, and focused on what you can do for them. Tailor it to each job, keep it short, and let your real achievements speak.

If you want help presenting yourself professionally online — from a CV to a personal website or portfolio that shows your work — Explore our services and contact us. We will be glad to help.