7 CV Mistakes Almost Every Kenyan Job Seeker Makes

A great CV gets you in the room. A bad one buries you in the inbox. Here are the top mistakes recruiters at Safaricom, Equity, KCB and the big NGOs flag every single week.

1. Listing duties instead of achievements

Recruiters scan for impact. Replace "Responsible for sales reports" with "Cut weekly sales reporting from 6 hours to 30 minutes by automating Excel pivots ÔÇö adopted by team of 8."

2. Overusing buzzwords

"Self-motivated team player with strong communication skills." Everyone says this. Show it instead ÔÇö with one line about a project where it was true.

3. Hiding metrics

The single highest-impact thing you can do today: add a number to every bullet. % growth, KES saved, hours reclaimed, customers served.

4. Putting education above experience (if you have 3+ years)

Fresh graduates lead with education. Everyone else leads with their most recent role.

5. References available on request

This line is space wasted. Recruiters will ask if they need them. Use that real estate for one more achievement.

6. The wall of text

If your CV is one paragraph per role, recruiters will skim and miss everything. Use 3-5 bullet points per role, each starting with a strong verb.

7. Forgetting the basics

Wrong dates. Inconsistent fonts. PDF named "cv-final-FINAL-v3.pdf". Recruiters notice ÔÇö and assume your work product looks the same.