Guide · Nigeria
CV format in Nigeria: what to include and what to leave out
Most employers in Nigeria 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 fresh graduate and one for someone with work experience.
The basics
Length: one or two pages
Fresh 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 (+234) and your city or state. Check that the phone number works on WhatsApp if employers may use it.
NYSC status
If you studied in Nigeria, say where you are with National Youth Service Corps in one line: completed, currently serving, or not yet started. Add the year and your place of primary assignment if you have finished.
Degree and class
Write the degree, the university and the years. If you have a good class of degree, such as 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, state of origin, marital status or date of birth. They do not help the employer judge your work, and some employers see them as a reason not to read further.
References
A line saying "References available on request" is enough. Keep two people ready who agreed to be contacted.
File format
Send a PDF unless the employer asks for Word. Name the file with your name, for example Ada-Okafor-CV.pdf, not CV-final-2.pdf.
Example: fresh 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.
Header
Ada Okafor · Lagos · +234 800 000 0000 · ada.okafor@example.com
Profile
B.Sc. Accounting graduate (Second Class Upper) looking for a junior accounts role. Completed a final-year project on cash-flow records for small shops. Comfortable with Excel and basic bookkeeping.
Education
B.Sc. Accounting, University of Example, 2019 to 2023. Second Class Upper. Final-year project: cash-flow records for small retail businesses.
NYSC
Completed 2024. Primary assignment: school bursary office, Example State.
Experience and activities
Volunteer treasurer, student accounting society, 2022 to 2023: kept the records for monthly dues and prepared a yearly summary for members.
Skills
Microsoft Excel (formulas, pivot tables), bookkeeping, report writing, English (fluent).
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.
Header
Chika Eze · Abuja · +234 800 000 0001 · chika.eze@example.com
Profile
Customer support officer with four years of experience in a telecom call centre. Handles complaints from first call to resolution and trains new agents.
Experience
Customer Support Officer, Example Telecom, Abuja, 2021 to present. Resolve billing and network complaints by phone and chat. Wrote a short guide for common billing questions that new agents now use. Trained six new agents in 2023.
Education
B.Sc. Mass Communication, University of Example, 2016 to 2020. NYSC completed 2021.
Skills
Complaint handling, CRM tools, call quality notes, Microsoft Office, Hausa and English.
One CV is not enough
Many employers in Nigeria use online forms or email filters that look 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.