How to write a CV for the Zambian job market

6 min read

Most CVs are rejected in under a minute. The reader is usually scanning for three things: can you do the job, have you done something like it before, and can they reach you. Everything below is about making those three answers impossible to miss.

Lead with a summary that names the job

The first four lines decide whether the rest gets read. Use them for a short summary that states what you do, roughly how long you have done it, and what you are applying for. A summary that could be pasted onto any application is wasted space.

Rewrite this section for each role. It is the single highest-return edit you can make, and it takes two minutes.

Write achievements, not duties

A duty describes the job you held. An achievement describes what changed because you held it. Employers already know what a sales representative does — they want to know how you performed as one.

Where you can attach a number, do. Where you genuinely cannot, describe the outcome plainly rather than inventing a figure; a fabricated metric is one follow-up question away from ending the interview.

Instead of "responsible for stock control", try "cut stock discrepancies by introducing a weekly count".
Instead of "handled customer queries", try "resolved customer queries for a branch of roughly 400 walk-ins a week".

Keep the structure boring

Reverse-chronological order, clear headings, one consistent date format. Recruiters scan dozens of these; a familiar shape is read faster than a creative one. Save the design effort for a portfolio if your field expects one.

Two pages is a reasonable ceiling for most applicants. If you have fifteen years of experience, the earliest roles can compress to a single line each.

Make your contact details work

Put a phone number that receives calls during working hours and an email address you actually check. A surprising number of applications fail here — the shortlist is made, the call does not connect, and the employer moves on.

Use a professional-looking email address. If your current one was made in secondary school, make a new one; it costs nothing.

Tailor, then check

Read the advert again with your CV beside it. If the advert names a skill and your CV never mentions it, add it where it is true. Many employers filter applications by keyword before a person reads them.

Then check the file itself: send a PDF unless asked otherwise, name it with your own name rather than "CV final v3", and read it once out loud to catch the errors your eyes skip.

Lead with a summary that names the job

Rewrite this section for each role. It is the single highest-return edit you can make, and it takes two minutes.

Write achievements, not duties

A duty describes the job you held. An achievement describes what changed because you held it. Employers already know what a sales representative does — they want to know how you performed as one.

Instead of "responsible for stock control", try "cut stock discrepancies by introducing a weekly count".

Instead of "handled customer queries", try "resolved customer queries for a branch of roughly 400 walk-ins a week".

Keep the structure boring

Two pages is a reasonable ceiling for most applicants. If you have fifteen years of experience, the earliest roles can compress to a single line each.

Make your contact details work

Use a professional-looking email address. If your current one was made in secondary school, make a new one; it costs nothing.

Tailor, then check

Then check the file itself: send a PDF unless asked otherwise, name it with your own name rather than "CV final v3", and read it once out loud to catch the errors your eyes skip.