Summary:
In this article, we’ll show you the key elements that recruiters look for in CVs as well as practical tips and secrets on how to write a CV in South Africa that gets noticed.
If you want to make your next job application flawlessly stand out and outshine the competition, the first step is to craft a compelling CV.
You’re reading this article because you’re ready to learn everything you need to create one, so let’s dive in.
It All Begins With Your Decision To Be The Star In The Crowd
James Innes once said, “You need to help the recruiters as much as possible since they see sifting through CVs as a chore.”
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To stand out as the best person among the rest and increase your chances of landing more interviews, you must start thinking like a prospective employer, not just a job seeker.
With recruiters spending mere seconds reviewing each application, a super good CV (and cover letter) is the ticket you need to grab their attention and show your unique value proposition. The good news is that you’re about to learn the correct way to create this kind of effective CV.
I’ll walk you through everything you need to know to position yourself as the star. By the end of this guide, you’ll be equipped with CV writing expertise that opens doors to interview opportunities and new job offers.
How to Write a CV in South Africa Effectively
1. Ask yourself, ‘Why is this position vacant?’ So, investigate further into the reason for the job opening. How? Whenever feasible, reach out to the advertiser or relevant personnel on LinkedIn.
2. Consider too, ‘How can I tailor my CV to convincingly show that I am the ideal candidate to address their specific needs?’
3. Improve your CV’s chances of passing ATS filters by putting important job keywords in your summary, work experience, and skills sections. This will help your CV match what companies want when they sort through candidates.
4. Promote yourself effectively across these basic CV sections:
• Contact Information and Headline: Establish your professional persona.
• Summary: Summarise your extensive experience and standout accomplishments.
• Work Experience: Provide evidence of your previous achievements and effectiveness in similar positions.
• Skills: Include applicable ‘soft skills’, technical skills, and software proficiencies.
• Education: Showcase your educational background and professional qualifications.
• Other: (Optional) Add any other relevant sections such as honors, certifications, interests, and professional affiliations or any others that can boost your candidature.
I’ve gone into more detail about each of these in the section: Writing Your CV (The Core Sections).
By thoroughly understanding these details and following my expert advice closely, your CV will become much harder for recruiters and employers to overlook.
Key Takeaways
Use a reverse-chronological format and keep your resume to one or two pages.
Skip personal details like your age, current salary, gender, political affiliation, religion, or marital status — they’re unnecessary. Unless the job advertiser had stated that they needed those details.
Start with a compelling professional statement that captures what would make you uniquely valuable for the organisation if they were to hire you.
Tailor each section of your CV to fit the specific job you’re applying for, so it feels targeted.
Keep the layout clean and simple — avoid headshots and fancy graphics that might distract from your content.
Understanding the Job Market in South Africa
South Africa has a highly competitive job market with a comparatively high unemployment rate.
The job market is looking for skilled and experienced individuals for employment.
Understanding the job market will help you tailor your CV (Curriculum Vitae) and cover letters to meet the requirements of potential employers.
Choosing Your Right CV Template
A good CV template should be clear, concise, scannable, and easy to read.
Choose a template that is relevant to your industry and job application.
Avoid using too much formatting or graphics that can distract from the content.
Modern CV Templates
Characteristics of Modern CV Templates
Combines traditional content with
Modern design elements such as clean lines
Bullets
Strategic use of colour(s)
CVJury App Modern CV Template Examples
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Industries
A modern CV template is useful in many different types of jobs, but it’s especially good for jobs in marketing, technology, and creative fields where people like things to look modern and still be professional.
Creative CV Templates
Characteristics of Creative CV Templates
Use unique layouts
Vibrant colours
Creative fonts
Industries
This template is popular in jobs like design, advertising, IT, entertainment, and art, where being creative and unique is super important. It’s also great for fashion and publishing jobs, where how things look makes a big difference.
CVJury App Creative CV Template Examples
Traditional or Conservative CV Templates
Characteristics of Traditional or Conservative CV Templates
Classic layout
Often black-and-white colour scheme
Standard fonts (e.g., Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman)
Industries
This template is favoured in jobs like accounting & finance, law, government, healthcare, etc. These jobs like things to be formal and traditional. It’s also well-suited for the education and banking sectors, where a more classic approach is appreciated.
CVJury App Traditional CV Template Examples:
Senior or Premium CV Templates
Design Characteristics of Senior or Premium CV Templates
Features contemporary designs with bright colours
Various fonts to make your resume stand out
Crafted to highlight your top qualities, leadership, career achievements
Tailored for Specific Sectors
Ideal for managers in design, tech, advertising, arts, entertainment, and others. These CVs showcase your creativity, innovative ideas, and leadership.
CVJury App Premium CV Template Examples
Writing Your CV (The Core Sections)
The most critical CV sections include Contact Details, Summary or Career Objective, Educational Background, Work Experience, and Skills.
These essentials help employers easily see your qualifications and decide if you’re right for the job, so make sure each part helps them decide you’re the right person for the job.
Contact Details
This section of your CV is super critical because it makes it easy for the recruiter to contact you for an interview.
Include the following in your contact details:
official name
mobile phone number
professional email address
LinkedIn profile link
Pro Tip
Avoid adding your age, marital status, complete address, or religion as these may lead to potential (hidden) biases. They are also personal information, and often unnecessary.
Summary or Career Objectives
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You put this item at the top of your CV, underneath the header.
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Your summary or career objectives is a (brief) summation that highlights who you are and the goal you aim to achieve. It’s meant to answer the question in the mind of every recruiter: Are you the ideal person for this role?
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Showcase your skills, experience, and career goals in a compelling way that grabs attention.
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Tailor your summary or career objectives to the job you are applying for.
5 Alternative Formats to Present Your CV Summary
Pro tip:
Use a career objective if you’re a fresh graduate or switching careers to highlight transferable skills. Opt for a summary if you’re a professional with relevant experience and want to showcase key achievements.
Educational Background
Employers are especially interested in your education history and relevant training.
List your qualifications and certifications and any relevant knowledge you gained from your education.
Be sure to include the name of your institution, your qualification, and graduation year.
Work Experience
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List your previous job experience with their date in reverse chronological order (from the most recent workplace).
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For each position, include 3-5 bullets focusing on your strengths and value.
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Employers want to see proof that you can deliver results, not just a rundown of your responsibilities.
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To stand out, ensure each bullet highlights key skills and achievements that show you’re the person for the position.
7 Different Formats to Present Your CV Work Experience:
Pro Tip:
To make a positive impression, your CV work experience should be more accomplishments and result-centred than responsibility-based.
Skills
In CV writing, the skills section plays a role in capturing the attention of the recruiter.
Ensure any skills added are well tailored to the particular position you’re pursuing.
Think about the technical, software, and transferable skills that will help you shine and add them.
If you’re not originally from South Africa, use this opportunity to showcase any unique ability and perspectives you bring to the table.
Additional Sections to Include (Optional)
Certifications and awards applicable to the job.
Related projects or volunteer work.
Relevant skills or training related to the job.
Accomplishment Highlights or Achievement Highlights
Career Highlights or Career Overview
Experience Highlights
Honours
Interests
Languages
Professional Associations or Professional Affiliations or Association Memberships
Public Speaking
Publications
Software
5 Most Common CV Mistakes to Avoid According to Recruiters
1. Listing every employment you’ve ever had
Don’t try to cram your entire work experience into your CV. Focus on the last 10–12 years and only include experience that’s related to the job you’re applying for.
Here’s how to do that:
Find 2–3 job descriptions for your target role. Identify the common responsibilities and match them to your own experience.
For each bullet point under your work experience, briefly explain the tasks you carried out, how you did them, and the resulting accomplishments.
Organise your CV so your most relevant experience stands out. For example, if the job emphasises project management ability, make sure your experience managing projects is one of the first things the recruiter sees.
2. Listing Responsibilities without Achievements
It’s not enough to simply list what you were responsible for—show what you achieved. Take note of the following questions for example: Did you oversee a marketing campaign?
How much did you increase engagement or sales during that campaign? Did you manage product development? What innovations or features did you introduce, and how did they impact user satisfaction or company growth?
As a useful format for your CV bullets, follow this:
“Accomplished X, using (or by or through) doing Y, that resulted in Z”
Note: ‘Accomplished’ is just one example. You can use other strong active verb words like it.
‘By doing’ can be said in different ways, like:
- through
- using
- by means of
- via
- with the help of
- employing
- with
- through the use of
- by way of
- through implementing
- implementing
- exploiting
- taking advantage of
Note: ‘Resulted in’ can be said in many ways too, like:
- leading to
- causing
- making
- creating
- resulting in
- bringing about
- ending in
- helping
- turning into
- delivering
- coming out as
- starting
- building
- causing
See two examples and applications of the above guideline:
- Saved the company $500,000 annually through the identification and rectification of discrepancies in vendor billing, leading to improved vendor relations.
- Increased financial forecast accuracy by 15% using advanced analytical tools and methodologies, supporting better-informed business decision-making.
3. Using Overused Buzzwords
Avoid cliché terms like “team player,” “proactive,” or “dependable.” They don’t say much and take up valuable space.
Instead, give specific examples that highlight your strengths. For instance, talk about a time you streamlined a process, saving the company valuable time or resources.
4. Making Your CV Too Short
Generally speaking, don’t squeeze everything onto one page just for the sake of it. You might end up leaving out important details. A two-page CV is perfectly fine, especially if you’ve got a lot of significant experience to share.
5. Not Providing Context for Lesser-Known Companies
If you’ve worked for a company that’s not widely known, provide a bit of background about it.
Mention the industry or any well-known clients you worked with to give recruiters more context and help your work experience stand out.
For other CV mistakes you should not be making in 2025, check here.
Tips for Writing a Good CV
Use a clear and concise writing style.
Use bullet points to break up large blocks of text.
Tailor your CV to the job you are applying for.
Use keywords from the job description to help your CV pass through applicant tracking systems (ATS).
Finalising Your CV
Edit and proofread your CV for spelling and grammar errors.
Ask a friend or mentor to review your CV.
Save your CV in a PDF format to ensure it looks the same on all devices.
Preparing for an Interview
Research the company and the job you are applying for.
Practise answering common interview questions.
Prepare any materials you may need for the interview, such as a copy of your CV, a 30-60-90-day plan, and references.
Over to You: Congratulations!
Now that we’ve walked you through all the steps of CV writing in South Africa, you must keep in mind that a killer CV is your strongest weapon in the competition.
Craft it right, and you’re steps ahead of others. Have something uninspiring, and your application is trashed in seconds.
This is a good time to put all you’ve learned so far into action. Choose the right CV format, focus on your achievements, highlight your pertinent technical, software, and transferable skills, and tailor your resume for each job.
Wenze kahle! Well done!!
Further References
- Wendy S. Enelow and Louise M. Kursmark (2000). Expert Resumes & LinkedIn Profiles for Managers and Executives. Emerald Career Publishing, USA.
- How to write a resume like a pro.
- Stop using the phrase ‘soft skills‘ ’ says millionaire bestselling author—here’s what to do instead.
