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How To Write A CV For Corporate Nigeria
At the Career Workshop organized by the Knowledge Exchange Center, we had the opportunity to converse with a lot of job seekers/ applicants from different regions in Nigeria on how to write a CV for the Nigerian labour market. At the end of the event, we found a lot of mistakes in resumes/CV.
We also observed that there are misconceptions about the concepts, requirements and information that should be included in a Curriculum Vitae/Resume. These and other issues are easily why most youths are unable to secure jobs in line with their areas of specialization. We shared most of our best moments conversing and advising talents on what to do to optimize their CV for better opportunities.
How To Proactively Construct Your CV For Better Opportunities
The remarkable and rather opaque truth is that a curriculum vitae and a resume are one and the same document used interchangeably. A CV/resume takes stock of your career journey from when you began your professional career to your current placement and includes other relevant information neatly documented to meet the requirements of the role applied. Being successful through the interview phase requires an understanding and demonstration of how your professional experience matches the current advertised role. This is why your CV should be designed in a way that the information on it matches the needs of the new position applied.
The standard page limit will often be between two and four pages. To meet the two to four pages resume requirements, we often advice candidates to be laser focused with information. In being laser focused, we mean only write on your CV/resume what matters and is in line with the job description from your professional and life history. For Instance, considering your work experience section, if you were applying for a sales position, and you have had 5 years of sales experience but spent intervals of your time in advertising and marketing, your edge would be to emphasize your sales responsibilities/tasks, objectives and achievements in sales for the sales role you would be applying for; as opposed to overwhelming your CV with information on how you did everything and are a master of all trade.
To ensure your CV/resume is well drafted, contains all information needed and easy on the eye for hiring managers in Nigeria to follow, here are a few things any hiring manager would love to see on your CV.
Important Information and Format For CV Writing
| CANDIDATE NAME, ADDRESS AND CONTACT DETAILS |    NASIRU ADEWALE UCHE  8 Ekanem Street, Ogba, Lagos State, Nasiru.Uche@gmail.com  07064920000 | ||||
| CURRENT JOB TITLE: | Head of Sales | DATE: 10th May, 2019 | |||
| PROFILE: The profile section should succinctly summarize your person, expertise, professional and educational qualifications covering your professional journey and achievements. | |||||
| NATIONALITY: | Â | CURRENT LOCATION: | Â | ||
| INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE | This is where you highlight industries you have worked in e.g FMCGs, Automobile etc. | AVAILABILITY: One Month | |||
| VISA STATUS: | N/A | VISA REQUIRED (to work in the country): | N/A | ||
| EMPLOYMENT TYPE | Permanent | EMPLOYMENT STATUS: | Full-Time | ||
| DESIRED SALARY: | Â Â Â NET | Managed Others: | Yes | ||
| QUALIFICATIONS | |||||
                                                                                  NASIRU ADEWALE UCHE
  SUB-PROFILE AND VISION
This is where you tell the hiring manager some more about your core features, attributes and what your job vision and expectations are. For example. Nasiru Adewale Uche is a smart, energetic, innovative and meticulous professional with sound managerial skills. He believes that his skills in distribution, marketing, sales, business development, customer-centric and client relationship for business can drive corporate growth as he has extensively demonstrated in the past. He is looking for a role within sales and distribution management or related functions in a growth focused, target driven and fast paced organization where he can offer immediate and strategic value.
  SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES
This is where you tell the talent acquisition manager about the skills and competencies you possess which is invaluable for the role you have applied for. E.g.
- I Possess great communication and persuasive skills
- I am a critical thinker and problem solver
- I am great at building strong customer relationships,
- I am excellent at presentation and conceptualization
  Â
  EDUCATION
List out your academic degrees and institution using bullet points
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   PROFESSIONAL WORK EXPERIENCE
Begin with your job role, followed by the time line and company name. If there are no space constraints, you may follow up with a brief information on the company and what they are into and about. This should be arranged in the format below
  Senior Account Manager (Southwest)
  September 2016 – Till Date
  Satellite Distributions Limited
 Satellite Distributions Limited (TD) commenced business in June 1996 as the pioneer Satellite distributor in Africa and currently represents Net pro, Intel Sat As the first manufacturer-accredited local distributor for the sub-region.
   Responsibilities and Achievements
- This is where you elaborate on your responsibilities and achievements at the firm. If you have received accolades and awards, you should highlight this as well.  Â
  FOOTERÂ
This is where you could include your contact details and social media handles. Bear in mind that a hiring manager interested in you will likely visit any of your handles. So ensure the information on your CV is consistent with the person you are online as these will have an impact on how you are perceived afterwards.Â
  | Nasiru Adewale Uche | 8 Ekanem Street, Ogba, Lagos State, Nigeria | Nasiru.Uche@gmail.com | 07064920000 | Facebook: Nasiru Uche | Instagram: NasiruU | Twitter: @NasiruUA | LinkedIn: Nasiru Uche
                                                                  REFERENCES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST
Conclusion
        In writing a CV or resume that is outstanding and designed to appeal to a recruiter, ensure that information on the resume is designed in line with the requirements of the job position in focus. Also ensure that information on your resume is brief, true, up to date, unique and succinct where applicable.
In an earlier blog post, we shared all the relevant information needed to secure a perfect high paying job in Lagos or any other location in Nigeria. You can access this article by following the emboldened link above. Transquisite Consulting is also interested in helping you design the best CV and resume that is sure to increase your chances at being chosen and called up for an interview. To access this service, click here, once on the page, fill and submit the short form and start a Whatsapp conversation with a consultant. For further information about CV or resume writing, please see Jobberman and Medium to gain some more insights on how to write a CV in Nigeria.
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