You’ve just received another job alert on email and think that you’d be an ideal fit for the role.

Before you send your CV, here are a few things to look at:

• Content

Ensure that you have included necessary information in your CV such as:

• Contacts – your email address, mobile number and LinkedIn profile link
• Academic and professional qualifications
  • Begin with your highest academic qualification i.e. degree programme with current grade if ongoing or honours if you’ve graduated.
  • Include your high school qualification – KCSE mean grade or GCSE, Maths and English grades, as some recruiters use this information while shortlisting candidates.
  • Professional qualifications can appear right before the academic qualifications.
• Work experience
  • begin with the latest organization and include the period between which you worked in the various organizations
• Achievements, extracurricular activities and computer skills
  • List your achievements and extracurricular activities to showcase your capabilities to a potential employer.
  • Computer skills should include accounting packages for accounting students and programming languages for those interested in software development.
• Referees

List 3 referees who can vouch for you academically, professionally and character wise. If you require a referee reach out to your lecturers, mentor or internship supervisor and request their assistance.

• Format
  • Use one font type and size throughout the CV – we recommend Times New Roman or Cambria headings, font size 11.5 – 12.
  • Black font color and no photo (reserve this for your LinkedIn profile)
  • Use bullets to format lists within the CV
• Grammar

Use spellcheck to avoid grammatical mistakes [in MS Word go to REVIEW at the top of the page and use the Spelling and Grammar tool].

• Things to leave out

Details that may compromise your security like house or court number, your ID or passport number. Always keep in mind that you are sharing your CV through different platforms and therefore the need to safeguard yourself from identity theft.

We hope that you have a better idea on what to include on your CV and feel free to share your CV for review through careerservices@strathmore.edu

All the best in your job search!

 

This article was written by Ivy Muthoni, Manager, Career Development Services.

 

What’s your story? We’d like to hear it. Contact us via communications@strathmore.edu.