How to Write a CV That Gets You Noticed in Ethiopia (2026)

You spend two days polishing your CV. You apply to ten jobs. You hear nothing back.

It is not always about your qualifications. Most of the time, the CV itself is the problem.

At Kedamijobs, we see hundreds of applications flow through every week. The gap between CVs that get callbacks and CVs that get ignored is not talent, it is presentation. Here is what actually works.

Keep it to one or two pages maximum

Ethiopian recruiters reviewing 50+ applications in a day are not reading your CV top to bottom. They are scanning for red flags and green lights in about 10 seconds. A three-page CV full of padding does not signal experience, it signals poor judgment.

If you have under five years of experience, one page is enough. If you have more, two pages is the absolute ceiling. Cut anything that does not directly support the job you are applying for.

Lead with your strongest section

Most people open with a generic objective statement like "I am a hardworking and motivated individual seeking a challenging role...", which tells a recruiter nothing.

Instead, open with a 2–3 line professional summary that answers: who are you, what do you do, and what makes you worth calling. Make it specific to the role.

Example: "Finance officer with 4 years of experience in NGO budget management and donor reporting. Skilled in QuickBooks and USAID compliance frameworks."

Use bullet points, not paragraphs

Your experience section should never be a wall of text. Each role should have 3–5 bullet points that describe what you did and, more importantly, what you achieved.

Weak: Responsible for managing the social media accounts of the company.

Strong: Grew company Instagram following from 800 to 6,400 in eight months through consistent content and targeted campaigns.

Numbers matter. Even rough numbers ("reduced onboarding time by about 30%") are far more convincing than vague descriptions.

Match your CV to the job description

Do not send the same CV to every job. Take 15 minutes to compare the job description against your CV. Recruiters, and increasingly, applicant tracking systems, are looking for keyword matches. If the job asks for "project coordination" and your CV says "task management," you may get filtered out before a human even sees your application.

Mirror the language in the job posting where it honestly reflects your experience.

Format for readability, not for decoration

Fancy tables, text boxes, columns, and graphics look impressive to you but often break when imported into HR software. Stick to a clean, single-column layout with consistent fonts and clear section headings.

Use a font size between 10–12pt for body text. Keep margins at 1–1.5cm. Bold your job titles and employer names so they stand out on a quick scan.

Always send as PDF

Unless the employer specifically asks for Word format, always send your CV as a PDF. It preserves your formatting across every device and operating system. A CV that opens correctly on every screen makes you look more professional before anyone has read a single line.

What to skip entirely

Leave out your photo unless the job posting specifically asks for it. Skip your date of birth, marital status, and religion, these are irrelevant to your qualifications and give a recruiter nothing useful. Do not list hobbies unless they are directly relevant to the role.

And never write "References available upon request", it wastes space and every recruiter already knows this.

The bottom line

Your CV is not a biography. It is a marketing document with one job: get you an interview. Every word on it should earn its place. When in doubt, cut it out.

Ready to find your next opportunity? Browse open positions on Kedamijobs and apply with a CV that actually stands out.