Top Tips On Professional CV Writing in Kenya

Whenever we advertise jobs at Corporate Staffing Services we direct job applicants to our emails addresses. Job search has gone digital and rarely will we ask for a hard copy application.

You will be shocked to learn that some jobs attract more than 2,000 applicants! Jobs such as administration, customer service, accounting and generally any arts based course including sales and marketing, HR, and IT attract a huge number of interested candidates..

Technical courses attract fewer applicants but even then we are talking of more than 500 applicants per job and I believe most are qualified..

This scenario is replicated whether you are talking of another recruitment agency or company hiring directly. It gets worse when it’s a well known company.

How many CV’s do you think Safaricom or Equity bank gets? A top manager who works for a parastatal confided that they got over 80,000 applicants for a graduate management program and the vacancies were 115!

In these days of keen job competition, the way you present yourself to potential employers is a job. For every job application you make there are thousands other candidates who just might be as qualified as you or even more qualified. Therefore, providing employers with a substandard CV increases your chances of losing the job or getting your CV into the trash bin.

The idea here is to keep it simple yet outstanding. Your CV should help distinguish you from another candidate who in this case is your competitor. Ensure that you include all the relevant information and it’s not too distracting with an easy to read format.

Make sure that your CV is neat and streamlined. Use bullet points rather than long paragraphs and remove pronouns to simplify your statements; bolding, underlining and other effects should be kept at a minimum.

Use catchy phrases that relate with the field you are interested in, for instance if you are an IT professional, ensure you mention your interest with the latest technological trends and display your wit for the industry by using technological terminologies.

Be honest about your experience and sell yourself by paying special attention to the experience, strengths and skills that best match the requirements and responsibilities for the job in question.

Avoid words that job-seekers tend to overuse, that is, outstanding, effective, strong, exceptional, good, excellent, driven, motivated, seasoned and energetic. Instead, use words that reflect real accomplishments to get the reader’s attention i.e. created, increased, reduced, improved, developed, researched, accomplished, won, on time and under budget.

Don’t be vague about your experience. Quantify as much as you can, for instance rather than simply saying that you increased sales, state the exact amount by which you increased sales.

Drafting an eye-catching CV doesn’t have to be nerve-racking. You can now use these professionally accredited ideas to craft an engaging document that will convey your strengths in an informative and compelling way.

Tailor your CV for each position you apply for, and don’t shy away from direct language that aggressively highlights your abilities.

Melody Mwendwa is a Client Service Personnel with a specialty in CV writing. For questions regarding professional CV’s and Cover Letters, get in touch with her at melody@corporatestaffing.co.ke

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