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INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
LEADERSHIP & PRODUCTIVITY, NIGERIA

IMLPNIGERIA

TIPS FOR MAKING YOUR CV STANDS OUT

 INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
LEADERSHIP & PRODUCTIVITY, NIGERIA

IMLPNIGERIA

INTRODUCTION

• If you don’t have reliable connections or networks to help you get a

job with ease, you must learn how to write a winning CV.
• If you want employer to see you as a hirable professional, then your
CV should look professional.
• Whatever job sector you are targeting, your CV speaks volumes for
you. This means that the look of your CV would determine if an
employer would dial your number or not.
• There is no perfect way to write a CV, but there are methods to
make it stand out and attractive.
• Here are some few ways to go about that.
 INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
LEADERSHIP & PRODUCTIVITY, NIGERIA

IMLPNIGERIA

1. NAMES You do not need to write Curriculum Vitae

at the start of your CV - instead use your
name as the header. Ensure that you use
up-to-date contact details. Your email
address should be professional: No
sexylucy@yahoo.com or
desperatedan@email.com

Osibande Hammer (GLMP)

170, Kaduna Street, Crystal Estate Mile 2 Lagos.
e-mail: osibandehammer@yahoo.com (Tel) +2348 344 567 890
 INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
LEADERSHIP & PRODUCTIVITY, NIGERIA

IMLPNIGERIA

Your Personal Profile Section allows the

reader to understand your background. It 2. PERSONAL PROFILE
needs to say “this is who I am. You need
not to go detail here.

Name(s) :
Sex:
Date of Birth:
State of Origin:
Religion:
Marital Status:
 INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
LEADERSHIP & PRODUCTIVITY, NIGERIA

IMLPNIGERIA

Your Objective should answer the “What

do I have to Offer Question” The moment 3. CAREER OBJECTIVE
you can attract the hiring officer’s
attention, you are just a step closer from
getting the job. You should ensure that it is
no more than 2 or 3 lines and is tailored
towards the job you are applying for

Personable professional whose strengths include the ability to build

rapport with a diverse workforce in multicultural settings.
 INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
LEADERSHIP & PRODUCTIVITY, NIGERIA

IMLPNIGERIA

4. EDUCATION
• Give Attention to Your Educational Qualifications
Since it has been proven that the average maximum
time to hold the attention of any hiring officer is 7
seconds, you should make the most out of it.
• It is one of the most important things in your CV.
What you studied, any educational qualification that
gives you an edge, and achievements should be paid
attention to.

2011-2013 University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Ibadan (Bsc Micro Biology) Graduated Second
Class (Upper Division)
2002-2004 Army Day Secondary School, Sani Abacha Barracks, Abuja. Senior
Secondary Certificate Examination (S.S.C.E)
1994-2000 Adeleye Primary School Lagod State . First School Leaving Certificate (FSLC)

This section of your CV allows you to

demonstrate to an employer that you have
the theoretical knowledge required to do
the job.
 INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
LEADERSHIP & PRODUCTIVITY, NIGERIA

IMLPNIGERIA

List out valuable work experiences Aside from your

educational qualification, work experience can also be said
to be the most important aspect of your CV. You should
include any previous job you’ve handled in the past, your
accomplishments on the job, and how it affected your
previous firm positively. Hint: This should be written in
5. WORK EXPERIENCES number and percentage form. In constructing the
information, you may wish to consider the STAR approach.
Situation, Task, Action , Result

1. 2015 Till Date: Royal Energy Report Project: As part of Value and Cost Studies module, worked
as part of a team to analyse the theoretical energy consumption of a real building. My role was to
analyse the information obtained and consider how to increase the building efficiency. The result help
us to make substantial gains on energy consumption and were commended by the module assessor

2. 2012 to 2015 Dan Investment PLC As part of my 3rd year Industrial Training. I had to prepare an
investment appraisal report for the redevelopment of a new site and recommended how the site should
be redeveloped and had to assess the market value of the site.
 INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
LEADERSHIP & PRODUCTIVITY, NIGERIA

IMLPNIGERIA

6. PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS OR TRAININGS

For those without work experience, you
should focus more on professional
Trainings or qualification. This section
should be done in a way that will catch
the recruiters’ attention the most.

2015: Institute of Management Leadership and Productivity

Development
Qualification: Graduate Leadership and Management Professional
(GLMP) Cum Employability Skill and Job Readiness
Training Focus
• Leadership Beyond the Norm
• Enterprise Development
• Business Integrity and Organizational
Culture
• Business Communication
• Manpower and Talent Management
• Marketing Strategy
• Research and Creativity
• Corporate Management
 INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
LEADERSHIP & PRODUCTIVITY, NIGERIA

IMLPNIGERIA

7. RELEVANT SKILLs ACQUIRED There should be a specific section designed to list

out the skills you have in your possession. The fact
is that recruiters don’t always need the regular skills
being listed out by almost every job-seeker. Skills
like; - Attention to detail - Analytic Reasoning, etc.
should be minimally used. Just be sure to include
skills that make you stand out, and also relevant to
the job you are applying for.
Ensure you provide evidence of these skills through
your education, professional training, work and
• Interpersonal social activities.
• Leadership
• Communication
• Networking
• Creativity/ problem-solving
• Teamwork competence
• Work-ethics
 INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
LEADERSHIP & PRODUCTIVITY, NIGERIA

IMLPNIGERIA

OTHER TIPS

1. STICK TO A PARTICULAR THEME FONT

Such as Arial or New Times Roman

Format. - Don’t highlight any part
of your resume with colours and
other fonts - Use only font sizes of
11 or a maximum of 12.
 INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
LEADERSHIP & PRODUCTIVITY, NIGERIA

IMLPNIGERIA

2 TESTIMONIALS

The truth is who will believe all the numbers and

percentages that you have outlined, without any
form of proof? The best way to solidify your
claim is to provide evidence from either a former
boss or someone you have worked with before. If
you can’t provide a testimonial, your CV might
still look good all the same.
 INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
LEADERSHIP & PRODUCTIVITY, NIGERIA

IMLPNIGERIA

3 STANDARD SEQUENCE

• Create a Proper Sequence on Your CV Since you

have finally listed out the qualities that portray
you as the best candidate, it is now important to
make sure that your details follow a standard
sequence.
• After the Skill set summary (Objectives), you
should follow it up with your educational
qualifications, your work experience, core
competencies, Professional qualifications,
Seminars attended and Research works done.
 INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
LEADERSHIP & PRODUCTIVITY, NIGERIA

IMLPNIGERIA

4 GRAMMATICAL CHECK

• Endeavor to read out your write-up aloud and correct

necessary errors.
• Recheck for Grammatical Errors. Nothing kills a CV
more than grammatical errors.
• How can you have good eyes for details, and you
can’t detect simple grammatical errors?
• Be careful not to forget that your CV is an extension
of you.
• Any rushed work without proofreading will not tell
a good story about you.
 INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
LEADERSHIP & PRODUCTIVITY, NIGERIA

IMLPNIGERIA

5 MAINTAIN A POSITIVE ONLINE PROFILE

• Maintain a Great Online Profile Most employers do a

background check on several employees to be hired – in
most cases, top level jobs.
• It is necessary you maintain an online profile that is in line
with your career objectives. Nothing incriminating should
be seen of your online profile– Chat