Writing a good CV is another skill that needs to be learnt. The job market is full of too many smart and intelligent people making it harder or almost impossible for average people to find jobs in all sectors. There are basic things to look out for when writing a good CV such as spellings, punctuations, and grammar. Do not be like a candidate who totally omitted commas on his CV and wrote his interest as ‘loves cooking dogs and interesting people’.

Without much ado, after working 5 years as a Recruiter within the Oil & Gas sector and still counting, here are the top tips to use when writing a CV that will definitely land you interviews.


1. Gather Experience
Nothing will ever take the place of experience when it comes to job search. Many companies require that applicants have enough experience before they could be considered for a job, but how then do you get experience when you cannot find a job.
The ugly truth is that many companies in Africa do not have the time to train newbies. They are always looking for people who can hit the ground running in fact they often prefer multi-skilled people (people who can do more than one job). It is even far worse in a recession market as the struggle for companies to survive increases in a recession time like this, the only people they are most likely see now are people who can hit the ground running and save the company from going bankrupt.

You should look for a friend, family member, friend of a friend, etc., who is currently running a business so you can join and work with them as a freelancer. If you are a graduate, you better not lose opportunities to gain experience by turning down job opportunities simply because they do not pay well. Smart graduates jump at the slightest opportunity of gaining experience but not money. Search for many online resources and even use simulations to gain real life experience prior to getting a job.

2. Never Start Your Employment Experience with Intern

A sure way to get your CV trashed by a Recruiter is to have your first job experience staring at him as an NYSC teacher. Do not be deceived, when a company advertises for a graduate trainee position, it does not mean they will automatically consider all graduate CV’s rolling in. You need to speak the language of the industry on your CV. I will advise you put your NYSC experience at the bottom of your job experience and find other related things you have done to be at the top even if they are not paid jobs.

3. Use Keywords

Many job seekers still do not know that they should write their CV’s like SEO Managers when submitting their CV to a company online. Many companies use an enterprise software called ATS(Applicant Tracking System) to receive pool of CV’s from job seekers. This ATS would have been fed with keywords, if these keywords are not found on the CV you sent, the ATS will not shortlist your CV to be passed on to the hiring Manager except you are lucky to have the Recruiter review your CV manually. For instance, if a company advertises for a ‘Trainee Reservoir Engineer’ position, the keywords you will put on your CV will likely be Reservoir Engineering, Trainee, Reservoir software, Evaluation, Reservoir modeling, etc. Of course you will have to make sure the keywords fit in a sentence on your CV. Always use the language of the industry you target.

4. Sell Your Skills

Writing a CV is like writing a business plan. When writing a business plan, you talk about how your business can be profitable showing all the details to catch the interest of the potential investors. In CV writing, you are the product. Do not make the mistake of selling your features (I am a beautiful and intelligent graduate looking…). No one truly cares if you are beautiful for a technical position, and I have not seen a CV where someone wrote that he was dumb. Everyone always says they are smart at first. Sell your benefits (skills you have acquired). If you are applying for a ‘Trainee Geologist’ position, indicate some of the software you have learnt on your own such as petrel, Mbal, etc. The Hiring Manager knows you are not a specialist yet but demonstrating your awareness within your industry makes your CV stands out form other graduates who just sent a no experience and no skill CV.

5. Keep your Age Confidential

This might work against you sometimes when you put your age on your CV. For instance some companies have age limit before they can shortlist candidates for interviews. Countries like Algeria more than often will not offer you a job or Visa if you are close to 70. Your aim for sending a CV is to land you in an interview, so avoid everything that might decrease your chances of getting an interview invite. In the real sense of it, your age should not determine your competence on the job; we all deserve a chance to prove our competence.

6. Write a Professional Profile

It is old fashioned to have ‘objective’ on your CV. Instead, write a compelling profile such as ‘An excellent Business Development Officer with over 2years of experience in the Marine sector covering DP2 Vessel…’ This is the place to flaunt the software and other skills you know of.

7. Never include Your Photo (except You are applying for a Modeling or Showbiz positions)

Using a photo on your CV does not increase your chances of being shortlisted for an interview except if required for the position you are applying for. People might develop wrong or good opinion about you based on how you look. Your aim is to let your CV land you an interview so avoid anything that might prevent it from happening.

8. Send Your CV in Word format(Only send PDF when requested)

Many ATS software used by companies cannot read PDF files. Most CV’s uploaded in PDF will be rendered in error therefore jeopardizing your chances of getting shortlisted. By default, always endaevour to send your CV in Word format unless otherwise stated.

9. Avoid Designing or Using Excessive Tables On Your CV

Tables often make it impossible for some devices or software to read certain part of your CV. This might decrease your chances of getting shortlisted as important information satisfying the requirements of the job you are applying for might have been shielded by the tables. Many devices are not table friendly so job seekers are advised to avoid using excessive tables or designing their CV’s. This does no good to applicants at all.

10. Do not Write Your Grade Except You Made Upper Class

Except your grade is First Class, Second Class Upper, Distinction, and Upper Credit, you should never put any other grade lower than this on your CV. If you made Second Class Lower, simply write ‘Obafemi Awolowo University, BSc. In Petroleum Engineering’. Do not put grade except it is upper class.

If you stick with these tips and incorporates it into your CV writing skills, I believe you should be closer to getting your interviews lined up soon. I shall be writing a piece on what to do when you have gotten an interview invite. Many candidates have ruined golden opportunities during interviews due to ill preparation.

Feel free to ask questions through this thread on how best you can write your CV or if you simply want to have your CV re-written professionally, I suggest you send a mail to [email protected]

good points...well noted

Proving my competence,so why then hide my age?

Thanks for the tips..
Please how can we prepare for any interview and what are the likely questions ask. Thank you.