How to Write a CV in Nigeria (2026 Guide + Free Template)

Most Nigerian CVs fail for boring reasons: they’re four pages long, they open with a generic “career objective”, they list duties instead of results, and they still carry personal details no employer needs. Recruiters screening hundreds of applications for one graduate trainee role give each CV seconds, not minutes. This guide shows you how to write one that survives those seconds.

CV or résumé — what Nigerian employers mean

In Nigeria, “CV” is the everyday word for the document you send with a job application. Unlike the long academic CVs used for lecturing posts and research grants, a job-hunting CV should be short and focused: one page if you’re a fresh graduate or have under three years’ experience, and two pages at most for most experienced professionals.

The sections every CV needs

1. Name and contact details

Your full name, a phone number you actually answer (and WhatsApp, if different), a professional email address, your city and state, and a LinkedIn or portfolio link. That’s it.

A professional email looks like firstname.lastname@gmail.com. If yours is still a nickname from secondary school, create a new one today — it takes two minutes and recruiters notice.

2. A short profile (not an “objective”)

Two or three lines that say who you are, what you’re good at, and what you bring to this employer. Compare:

“To obtain a challenging position in a reputable organisation where I can utilise my skills and grow…”

“Accounting graduate (Second Class Upper) with 18 months’ experience in payroll and reconciliations at a Lagos FMCG distributor. Confident with Excel, Sage and month-end close.”

The first could be anyone. The second gets read.

3. Work experience — written as results

List your most recent role first: job title, organisation, city, and dates (month and year). Under each, write three to five bullet points that start with an action verb and, wherever possible, include a number.

• Weak: “Responsible for the company’s social media pages.”
• Strong: “Grew the brand’s Instagram from 2,300 to 11,000 followers in eight months with a weekly content calendar.”

Internships, SIWES/IT placements, your NYSC place of primary assignment, freelance projects and volunteer work all count as experience — especially early in your career. (Corps members: see our NYSC CV guide.)

4. Education

Degree, course, institution and graduation year, most recent first. Many graduate programmes screen by class of degree, so include it — “B.Sc. Economics, Second Class Upper” — when it helps you or when the advert asks for it. Once you have a degree or diploma, you don’t need your primary or secondary school.

5. NYSC status

Nigerian employers routinely ask graduates for their NYSC status, so state it plainly: “NYSC: Completed, March 2026”, “Currently serving (passing out: February 2027)”, or “Exempted”. Leaving it out makes recruiters wonder.

6. Skills

Six to ten skills that match the job advert, in plain words: “Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, XLOOKUP)”, “Customer service”, “Canva”, “Python”. Skip “hardworking” and “team player” — show those qualities in your experience bullets instead.

7. Certifications, awards and links

Professional certificates (ICAN, CIPM, a recognised online course), relevant awards, and links to work samples. A link to real work is the single fastest way to stand out from a pile of near-identical CVs.

8. Referees

Many Nigerian employers still ask for two or three referees. You can write “References available on request” to save space, but have the names, job titles, phone numbers and emails ready — and warn your referees before you list them.

What to leave out

Older Nigerian CV templates ask for things modern employers don’t need on a CV. Unless the advert or application form specifically asks for them, leave out:

• Date of birth, age, marital status and religion
• State of origin and local government area
• Your full home address (city and state are enough)
• A photo (add one only if the employer asks)
• “Hobbies: reading, travelling, making friends”

Every line you remove makes the important lines easier to find.

Make it readable by people and software

Many large employers and recruitment firms use applicant tracking systems (ATS) that scan CVs before a human sees them. To stay readable:

• Use standard headings — “Experience”, “Education”, “Skills”.
• Keep a simple single-column layout; avoid text boxes, tables and text inside images.
• Use the same words as the job advert where they’re true for you. If it says “stakeholder management”, don’t only write “dealing with partners”.
• Send a PDF unless the employer asks for Word, and name it properly: Chiamaka-Okeke-CV.pdf, not CV final final (2).pdf.

A simple CV template you can copy

FULL NAME
Job title you’re targeting · City, State
Phone/WhatsApp · professional email · portfolio or LinkedIn link

PROFILE
2–3 lines: who you are, your strongest skills, what you offer this employer.

EXPERIENCE
Job Title — Organisation, City            Month Year – Month Year
• Action verb + what you did + result (with a number if possible)
• …

EDUCATION
Degree, Course (Class of degree) — Institution        Year

NYSC
Completed / Currently serving / Exempted — Month Year

SKILLS
Skill · Skill · Skill · Skill · Skill · Skill

CERTIFICATIONS & LINKS
Certificate — Issuer, Year
Portfolio: isabi.com.ng/yourname

Common mistakes that get CVs rejected

1. One CV for every job. Adjust your profile and top bullets for each application — ten minutes per job is worth it.
2. Typos and inconsistent dates. Read it aloud, then ask a friend to check it.
3. Too long. If a recruiter has to scroll through three pages to find your last job, they won’t.
4. Duties, not results. Every bullet should answer “so what?”
5. No proof. Claims are cheap; links to real work are not.

Make your CV in minutes — free

You don’t need a laptop or a paid template. With the iSabi free CV maker, you paste your old CV (or just describe your work), check what it fills in, choose one of three clean, ATS-friendly designs and download a PDF from your phone. Your CV also carries a QR code linking to a free online portfolio, so employers can see your work in one scan.

Create your free CV now →