Guide
Writing a CV for the Rwanda job market
Most adverts in Rwanda are read quickly. A two-page CV that leads with the work they asked for will do more than a long biography.
Keep it to two pages
For most private-sector and NGO roles in Kigali, two pages is enough. One page is better if you are early in your career. Public-service adverts sometimes ask for a specific form or for every certificate to be listed. If the advert names a format, follow that and ignore the rest of this page.
A useful order is:
- Your name, phone with the +250 prefix, email, and the district or city where you live.
- Two or three lines on the kind of role you want. Mention the employer's field, not a generic objective.
- Work, newest first. Each role gets the title, the organisation, the city, and the years.
- Education, with the institution and the year you finished.
- Languages, tools, and then two referees.
What local readers expect to see
A photo at the top is still common on CVs sent to Rwandan companies and NGOs. International and remote employers often prefer no photo. If the advert is silent, a simple head-and-shoulders photo is fine for a Kigali application and optional for a remote one.
State languages honestly. “Kinyarwanda, native. English, working. French, basic.” is more useful than a row of stars. Many Kigali private-sector interviews are in English. Government and some NGO processes use Kinyarwanda or French. Do not claim a language you cannot use in a meeting.
Referees should be people who have supervised you. Ask them before you send the CV. Give a name, a current role, an organisation, and a phone number. “References available on request” makes the reader do extra work.
Lead with the advert, not your life story
Read the posting once and underline the tasks. The first role on your CV should show those tasks, with a result if you have one. “Prepared monthly reports for 12 field sites” is stronger than “responsible for reporting”. If you have not done the exact job, show the closest work and say what you used: Excel, a district campaign, a campus project, a shop you ran.
Cut anything that does not help this application. A 2014 school prize, a long list of workshops, and every software icon you have ever opened usually cost you the reader. Keep certificates that the advert names.
File and sending
- Export a PDF named with your name, such as Aline-Uwase-CV.pdf. Do not send “final-final.docx”.
- Use an email address you check. A missed message is a missed interview.
- If they ask for a cover note, write five to eight lines: the role, where you saw it, and two reasons you can do it. Akazi is a fine place to say you found the opening.
- For email applications, put the job title in the subject line.
Leave these out
Do not invent an employer, a salary, or a language. Do not pay someone who says they will “submit your CV into the system” or “guarantee a shortlist”. A real employer listed on Akazi takes the application on their own site. If a message asks for mobile money before an interview, stop and tell Akazi if the listing itself looks wrong.
When a role is open, the board links you to the original posting. Match the CV to that posting, not to a generic template.