Present evidence clearly. Make every line earn its place.

1. Start with the decision your CV must support

• Choose a target role or closely related role family before writing.
• Study at least five relevant job descriptions and note repeated responsibilities, skills, tools and qualifications.
• Select evidence that helps an employer believe you can perform those responsibilities.
• Create a master CV containing everything, then produce a shorter tailored version for each serious application.
• Do not write for every possible employer at once. A document for everyone usually persuades no one.

2. Use a clear, conventional order

1. Name and professional contact details.
2. Short professional profile, when it adds useful direction.
3. Education and professional qualifications.
4. Experience, National Service, internships or relevant projects.
5. Leadership, volunteering and extracurricular evidence.
6. Technical skills, tools, languages and relevant certifications.
7. References only when requested, or a short availability statement if appropriate.

3. Make the first third immediately useful

• Use the name you use professionally and a reliable phone number.
• Use a professional email address and a complete LinkedIn URL if the profile is current.
• Add city and country. A full residential address is rarely necessary at application stage.
• Write a three-line profile that states your stage, direction, strongest evidence and target opportunity.
• Avoid unsupported adjectives such as hardworking, dynamic, excellent and passionate.
• Do not add age, religion, marital status, national ID details or a photograph unless a verified employer explicitly requires them.

4. Present education and qualifications precisely

• List institution, qualification, discipline and expected or completed date.
• State your classification, GPA or strong relevant grades only when they improve your case or are requested.
• Show current professional progress accurately, such as ICAG or CIMA papers completed, without implying full membership.
• Add relevant modules selectively when you have limited experience and the modules match the role.
• Include academic awards, scholarships and distinctions with enough context to show their significance.

5. Turn experience into evidence

• Use reverse chronological order within each section.
• Give the organisation, role, location and dates before the bullets.
• Begin each bullet with a strong verb, then state the work, scale or method, and result.
• Use numbers for volume, time, money, accuracy, people, frequency or improvement when truthful.
• Show decisions and contribution, not only what the team did.
• Use present tense for current work and past tense for completed work.
• Avoid repeating the same opening verb or copying the job description word for word.

6. Build evidence when you have little formal experience

• Use coursework, case studies, research, student leadership, volunteering, family-business support and personal projects.
• Describe the output, audience, method and result of a project, not only its topic.
• Build proof projects such as a budget model, market analysis, process map, dashboard, audit plan or campaign review.
• Show responsibility in student societies, church groups, community organisations or sports when it demonstrates relevant capability.
• Never invent employment, titles, software proficiency, results or references.

7. Make skills credible

• Separate tools, technical knowledge and languages where useful.
• Use specific descriptions such as Excel pivot tables, financial modelling, Power BI dashboards or Google Analytics reporting.
• Do not use unexplained star ratings, percentages or progress bars for proficiency.
• Support important skills with evidence elsewhere in the CV.
• Remove basic tools that do not distinguish you unless the role explicitly requires them.

8. Keep formatting readable and screening-friendly

• Use one readable column, conventional headings and consistent dates.
• Use a professional font, sensible margins and enough white space.
• Keep a student or early-career CV to one or two pages unless the employer requests otherwise.
• Avoid important information inside graphics, text boxes, headers, footers or decorative sidebars.
• Use the employer's terminology only where it truthfully matches your experience.
• Save as PDF unless another format is requested, then confirm that text can be selected and copied.
• Name the file professionally, for example Ama-Mensah-CV-Finance-Analyst.pdf.

9. Tailor without rewriting everything

• Identify the five to eight most important requirements in the vacancy.
• Move the most relevant evidence higher and strengthen the matching bullets.
• Adjust the profile, skills order and project selection.
• Remove evidence that consumes space without supporting the role.
• Check that every important term reflects a real capability you can explain in an interview.

1. Decide whether the opportunity deserves an application

• Confirm the role, employer, location, deadline, contract type and application route.
• Separate essential requirements from preferred ones.
• Assess whether you meet the core requirements and can provide evidence.
• Investigate the organisation, role content, development opportunity and practical costs.
• Do not reject yourself only because you lack every preferred item.

2. Build a requirement-to-evidence matrix

• Copy the most important requirement into the first column.
• Add one truthful example, result, project or qualification beside it.
• Identify gaps that need explanation, learning or removal from your claim.
• Use the matrix to tailor the CV, cover letter, application form and interview stories.
• Prioritise requirements that appear early, repeatedly or under essential criteria.

3. Write a useful cover letter

• Keep it to one page unless told otherwise.
• Open with the role and a specific reason for your interest.
• Use the middle paragraphs to prove two or three priority requirements.
• Connect evidence to the employer's work rather than repeating your CV.
• Close with fit, availability and a professional next step.
• Address a named person when reliably known. Do not guess titles or names.
• Remove generic praise that could be sent unchanged to another employer.

4. Complete application forms carefully

• Read every instruction before entering information.
• Keep dates, job titles and qualifications consistent with your CV and LinkedIn profile.
• Answer competency questions with concise evidence, not slogans.
• Draft longer answers outside the form, edit them, then paste.
• Respect word limits and answer every part of a multi-part question.
• Save confirmation pages, reference numbers and a copy of your answers.

5. Send a professional application email

• Use a useful subject line containing the role, reference and your name.
• Name the role in the opening sentence.
• Add one short sentence of relevant evidence.
• State exactly which documents are attached.
• Use professional filenames and open every attachment before sending.
• Check the recipient, spelling and time of sending.

6. Align your wider professional presence

• Update your LinkedIn headline, About section, experience and education.
• Make dates and claims consistent across the CV, forms and profile.
• Feature relevant projects, presentations, publications or portfolio work.
• Use a professional profile photograph on LinkedIn, but keep photographs off the CV unless requested.
• Review public posts and privacy settings from an employer's perspective.

7. Manage references responsibly

• Ask permission before naming someone.
• Choose people who can discuss your work, conduct and relevant strengths.
• Provide the vacancy, your CV and useful context before they are contacted.
• Confirm their correct name, title, organisation, email and phone number.
• Thank them and update them on the outcome.