Best CV Format For The Kenyan Job Market

By Joan Igamba

Wondering what a Kenyan CV format should look like?

There being a hundred or maybe a thousand other candidates who are applying for the same jobs as you, you need your CV to stand out from the pool.

Remember your CV should give the recruiter the best impression of you even before they meet you for an interview.

The CV should also be in the simplest format that allows the recruiter to go through in the least time possible.

So How Should a Kenyan CV Format Look Like?

1. Contact Information

Whichever CV layout format you choose make sure your contact information is included. I have seen very many job seekers with very good CVs but unfortunately they forget to include their contact which means that even if they were qualified for the job the recruiter cannot contact them.

The contact details should include your official name, your full time mobile number and your email address. Remember to keep your email address professional.

2. Personal Profile

Your CV should include the personal profile section, which comes second after the contact details. This section seeks to introduce you to the recruiter.

The personal profile section should include a summary of your skills, experience and the expertise you possess in your particular industry. Remember to keep this brief and precise, four to six sentences will be sufficient.

3. Education section on a Kenyan CV

Your qualifications are important when applying for jobs and this information is sensitive to the employer as any other information you give on your CV.

When formatting your CV education section, make sure to start with the most recent certification as you narrow down to the last one. At this point your primary school education is not relevant so you can do away with it.

When formatting the education section on your CV, include your certification followed by the institution and lastly the year you cleared. Use bullets as they make it easy to read.

4. Key Skills and competencies

“6 out of every 10 CVs I receive for review lack the Skills and competencies section,” Says Brenda Mielizu a CV writing professional at Corporate Staffing Services.

She says that when you properly format your CV, this section will bring out individual professional strengths that are related to the job you are applying for.

“While coming up with this section study the job that you are applying for and try to match up the skills you possess that are key to the job and bring that out on the CV.” She advises job seekers.

5. Work experience

I like referring this to this section as the ‘heart’ of a CV.

Employers’ key interest is with your past and current work experience as this simply tells them whether you have the capability to handle the vacancy they want to fill in their organization.

While formatting this section, summarize your roles and make sure that you start with the most relevant duties and responsibilities and you narrow down to the very small roles.

Remember just like in the education section, when listing you work experience, start with the most recent position to the last one. If you have worked in more than six different positions you can summarize roles of the last two positions so that only four positions are covered in details which gives your CV a good length.

6. Referees

This should be the last section of your CV. It includes details of professionals you have previously worked with that act as your referees. Their information should include their official name, the positions they hold, the companies they work for and their contact details which include the phone numbers and the email address.

A point of advice to job seekers, the format of your CV plays a big role in first impressions. So, before including anyone as your referee make sure that you contact them to make them aware that you used them in your CV as your work referees.

In Conclusion,

The above given sections are the most common in a Kenyan CV format, but note that other sections can be added depending on the industry or field you are in.  For example, you will find that scholars will need to include a publication section or someone who is registered with various professional bodies will need to create a professional affiliation section so as to include the details.

Is your Cv getting you interviews? Contact our CV writing department for a free professional CV review today. email your CV to cvwriting@corporatestaffing.co.ke, email subject, Review My CV.