One of the most asked questions when it comes to CVs is how to write a CV, and in today's article, I'll take you through step by step on how you are supposed to come up with a professional CV. And because I can't really sit with you and help you write a CV, I'll share with you the main sections that your CV needs to have and the information that you need to include in those sections.
So, the first section that you need to have is your personal details, and here:
1. PERSONAL DETAILS
In this section, employers are interested with your:
- Name
- Postal address,
- Email, and
- Phone numbers.
And for the phone number, you can have your direct phone number and maybe for a relative, the better reason being if employers call you and don't get you for one reason or another, then employers can be able to call the alternative number.
Now, some of you are asking yourselves that we're in the digital era, why do I need a postal address?" I would say this is for formality; it really doesn't make a lot of a difference, but it's still important to have it there. But I don't see many employers in this day and age contacting you through a postal address.
And remember also when it comes to your email, let's be professional. Don't use those email addresses that you know that you got when you were 16, 17 years old. No, it should be an email address that communicates your level of professionalism.
Example: Do not use email such as
Now, after the personal details, the next section that you need to have in your CV is the career profile, or if you like, a career summary:
2. CAREER PROFILE/SUMMARY
And here, the more you make it specific to your profession, to your job, the better. So instead of saying,
"I am a hard-working and self-motivated accountant or HR professional,"
Why don't you say,
"I have over seven years of experience in accounting, and in those seven years of experience, I've been able to master account payables, bank reconciliation, petty cash management, etc."
So I see a lot of professionals making a mistake here because they just include some generic entries, you know, and it really doesn't help them much. It doesn't sell them to the outside world. So the more specific you are, the more you confine yourself to the job or your profession, the better.
After that, we go to the education and professional qualifications:
3. EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
And here, what I would advise you is just state them. You don't need to go into details breaking down the units that you studied for that degree. No, no, no. All we need to see is the degree, the class (did you get an upper second, lower, whatever grade you got), and then the institution and the year that you graduated. That's enough.
And we normally start with the highest qualification and then the lowest. So if you have a certificate, I would expect the certificate to be at the bottom, and then the master's degree or the PhD to be at the very top.
After that, we go to what I call the key skills and attributes. So these comes just below the education and professional qualifications:
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3. KEY SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES
And here you summarize the skills that you have. So if you have over five years of experience, what skills have you been able to gain over those five years of experience?
So for example, I as an HR professional, I would say
"I'm skilled in training, performance management, labor laws, employee relations, etc.
If it's an accountant and that's a profession that I'm very much familiar with I would list things to do with financial reporting, statutory returns, budgeting and costing; all those, those are the ones that I would indicate.
After that, then you go to work experience:
4. WORK EXPERIENCE-ACHIEVEMENTS
And here in work experience, you start with the most recent, so the most recent should be the one appearing first, and then where you began your career the internship this one should be the last one.
And for the work experience, for each company that you worked for, I would recommend you only put the most recent three companies. So if you work for six companies, you don't have to indicate each and every company and you go down breaking rules for each company that you work for. No, look at the most, the the ones that you need to break down are the first, the second, and the third most recent.
And then you provide for each company at least five key responsibilities on what you did, and then don't forget to have achievements for each role. Under each role, you have achievement, and this achievement there shouldn't be more than two. And I'll do another separate video on what you should indicate on the achievement, but for now, understand for each role you had, the last three have a maximum of two achievements.
Then for the other jobs that you've had, you just have them in entry format. So you can see, "I worked as an HR assistant at Corporate Staffing Services from the year 2011 to 2013." So there, I don't go breaking down what I did when I was at Corporate Staffing as an HR assistant.
So the key thing here is shorten your CV by indicating the most recent experience, and then for each experience, you make sure that you indicate the achievement.
After that, if you're experienced, then you indicate the trainings and the seminars that you've attended. And again, they should be in entry format:
5. TRAININGS/SEMINARS
Don't go breaking them down telling us what you learned. If you went for a leadership course, that's where to put it. If you attended a course here at Corporate Staffing, that's a master HR course, you put it there. If you're an accountant and you've now mastered QuickBooks, that's where to put it.
After the training and the seminars, the next section to take care of is membership:
6. MEMBERSHIP
So if you're a member of a professional body and most of us are required, for example I am a member of IHRM—if you're a lawyer you'll be a member of LSK, that's where we indicate it. And if you so wish, you can even indicate the number so that if the employer wants to verify the details, they'll know where to start.
After the membership, and now you're coming to the end, is where you indicate your interests and hobbies:
7. INTERESTS AND HOBBIES
Now interest and hobbies, they're really not a deal-breaker. If you've met all the requirements and your CV looks good and you don't have interest or hobbies, that does not mean that people are not going to invite you for an interview.
However, the interest and hobby section, it does add some marks. So for example, if you indicate, let's say you're a sales professional and you know sales, they're supposed to interact with people, and you indicate that you participate in this community activity and you are either a reader or you're a treasurer or something like that, it does give someone stuff to look at you differently as opposed to someone who doesn't have the interest and hobbies.
If you're an accountant and it also shows that you act as a treasurer for a community-based organization, someone can really see, "Wow, this person is really keen and serious about their accounting profession." So it's not a deal-breaker like I said, but if you have some interest and hobbies that relate to your job, please do indicate them. So don't be the type that indicates swimming, reading books, networking, no no no.
The last section is referees:
8. REFEREES
And referees, it's always better to indicate the HR and your former boss. HR, because HR is the custodian of the document, the official document, so HR is the one who knows when you are hired, who you are reporting to, if you have disciplinary issues, and all that. So even if you meet the HR, any serious employer who's doing background checks, they always write to the HR of the company where you came from.
Now the reason why you should indicate your former boss is because these are the people who know the quality of your work and they can stand for you; they can represent you; they know you better. Okay, so HR has the record, but the person who knows the day-to-day affairs of your work, how you able to deliver, is your immediate manager.
So the same, if I'm looking to indicate referees for myself, I would indicate only three of them. So I would indicate my boss here at Corporate Staffing Services and my HR here at Corporate Staffing Services, then I choose someone else, maybe a past employer; so those are enough.
So there you have it. Coming up with a CV need not be a complicated affair. Only you need to make sure that you take care of each section. And if you try to come up with your CV but you're stuck, we do offer CV writing service where you can send your current CV format the way it is. You send it in MS Word to the email address that's on your screen, and the team here at Corporate Staffing Services, they'll be able to review your CV for free and tell you, "Is your career profile okay? How is your work experience? Are you presenting yourself the right way?"
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Example of the CV
1. PERSONAL DETAILS
Full name: Jean Claude Niyonzima
Phone Number: +250 7860346789
Alternate Telephone: +250 726034789
Email Address: jeanniyonzima@gmail.com
Address: Kigali, Rwanda
2. CAREER PROFILE/SUMMARY
An enthusiastic and committed Education practitioner with experience in education, content creation and digital skills training. Experienced in classroom management, lesson planning, assessment of learners and the use of technology in education. Eager to help learners to grow as learners and to build learning environments which are engaging. A desire to share my teaching skills, communication and creative abilities in a professional educational environment.
3. EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
Bachelor of Education (English and Kiswahili) University of Havard, College of Education from 2024-2027
Advanced Level Certificate (A2 Diploma in Education)
ES Nzomve from 2020-2023
Ordinary Level Certificate
E.S TUZA from 2016-2019
Primary Leaving Certificate
G.S Rubona Primary School from 2010-2016
4. KEY SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES
- The classroom is well managed and students are engaged.
- Planning of lessons and teaching of curriculum.
- English and Kiswahili language instruction
- Educational content development
- The assessment and evaluation of learners.
- Digital literacy and computer applications
- Microsoft Office proficiency
- The abilities to perform research and academic writing.
- Communicating and working with a team
- Problem-solving and creativity
5. WORK EXPERIENCE
- Teaching Assistant
- E.S Bitenga Secondary School from January 2026 – February 2026
Key Responsibilities:
- Helped teachers plan and teach classes.
- Improved classroom discipline and management.
- Developed teaching resources and activities.
- Supported students that struggled with school assignments.
- Joined in with students' work assessment and marking.
Achievements:
- Enhanced learners' participation by using interactive teaching approaches.
- Created innovative learning tools to supplement classroom lessons.
- Povided individualised learning support.
6. TRAININGS AND SEMINARS
- Digital Literacy and ICT Skills Training 2025
- Implementing safe, effective teaching and classroom management techniques in the 2026 curriculum.Safe and effective teaching and classroom management strategies in the 2026 curriculum.
- Microsoft Office Applications Training 2025
7. MEMBERSHIP
- Member, Regional Education Authority of Rwanda (REAR)
- Nationally Certified Teacher, Music
8. INTERESTS AND HOBBIES
- Educational research and innovation
- Reading professional development materials
- Technology and digital learning
- Community volunteering
- Creating learning resources
9. REFEREES
1. Dr. Emmanuel Habimana
Lecturer at University of Havard - College of Education
Phone: +167887687967
Email: emmanuel.habimana@example.com
2. Mrs. Claudine Mukamana
G.S Bitenga Secondary School is headed by the School Director.
Phone: +250 7290897876
Email: claudine.mukamana@example.com)
3. Mr. Patrick Uwizeye
Program Coordinator Digital Umuganda
Phone: +250 7389878654
Email: patrick.uwizeye@example.com)
And then if you still would want assistance, the team can go ahead and write the CV for you at a small cost. So thank you very much for reading. On a weekly basis, we do have articles such as this where we advise you on your career, how you can be able to make your career better, whether it is your CV or interviews. So I look forward to seeing you next time.
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