Guide · Kenya
CV format in Kenya: what to include and what to leave out
Most employers in Kenya expect a short, plain CV that is easy to scan. There is no single official format, but a few local habits are worth following. This guide covers them, and gives two examples: one for a recent graduate and one for someone with work experience.
The basics
Length: one or two pages
Recent graduates should fit on one page. With several years of experience, two pages is fine. Do not add pages to look more senior.
Order: newest first
List jobs and education starting with the most recent. Put the section the employer cares about most at the top: education if you are a graduate, work experience if you have some.
Contact details
Full name, a professional email address, your phone number with the country code (+254) and your town or county. Check that the number works on WhatsApp if employers may use it.
Education and KCSE
Write your degree or diploma, the institution and the years. If you are early in your career, add your KCSE with the year and your mean grade. If you have several years of experience, a short line is enough, or you can leave it out when you have a degree.
Degree class
If you have a good class of degree, such as First Class Honours or Second Class Upper, include it. If you do not, you can leave it out of the CV and answer when asked.
Leave out personal details
No photo, and no religion, tribe, marital status or date of birth. They do not help the employer judge your work. Give your ID number only if the advert asks for it.
Referees
Many employers in Kenya ask for referees. If the advert does, list two or three people with their name, job title, organisation, phone and email. Ask them first. If the advert does not ask, "Referees available on request" is enough.
File format
Send a PDF unless the employer asks for Word. Name the file with your name, for example Wanjiru-Kamau-CV.pdf, not CV-final-2.pdf.
Example: recent graduate with no experience
Without work history, use space for education, projects, volunteering and skills. The details below are made up. Replace them with your own true ones.
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Wanjiru Kamau · Nairobi · +254 700 000 000 · wanjiru.kamau@example.com
Profile
B.Com graduate (Second Class Upper) looking for a junior accounts or finance role. Completed an internship in a small firm's accounts office. Comfortable with Excel and basic bookkeeping.
Education
Bachelor of Commerce (Finance), University of Example, 2020 to 2024. Second Class Upper. KCSE 2019, mean grade B+.
Internship
Accounts intern, Example Traders Ltd, Nairobi, May to August 2023. Entered supplier invoices and helped match the monthly bank statement.
Activities
Treasurer, university business club, 2022 to 2023: kept the records of members' contributions and reported them each term.
Skills
Microsoft Excel (formulas, pivot tables), bookkeeping, report writing, English and Kiswahili (fluent).
Referees
Available on request.
Example: with work experience
With a few years of work, put experience first and keep education short. Use one or two lines per achievement, and only claims you can explain in an interview.
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Otieno Odhiambo · Kisumu · +254 700 000 001 · otieno.odhiambo@example.com
Profile
Sales officer with four years of experience in agricultural inputs. Manages a list of retail customers and reports weekly sales to the regional manager.
Experience
Sales Officer, Example Agrovet Ltd, Kisumu, 2021 to present. Visit and supply about 40 agrovet shops in the region. Keep a customer list with orders and unpaid invoices, and follow up on late payments. Trained two new sales staff in 2023.
Education
Diploma in Business Management, Example Technical Institute, 2018 to 2020. KCSE 2017.
Skills
Customer visits, order and invoice records, Microsoft Office, M-Pesa payments, Dholuo, Kiswahili and English.
Referees
Two referees: name, title, organisation, phone and email.
One CV is not enough
Many employers in Kenya receive applications by email or online form, and some use software that looks for the words in the job advert. If the advert says "bookkeeping" and your CV says "keeping accounts", the match is weaker. Read each advert, and use its words for the skills you really have.
Check your CV against a job, free
Paste your CV and a job advert into the free checker. You see which keywords you cover and which you miss, with no sign-up. If you want to edit your CV for that job, CVora suggests changes line by line, with the reason for each. You accept or reject every one, and nothing is invented.
Local habits change by employer and sector. When an advert gives its own instructions, follow them.