How to write a CV, step by step

A good CV does one job: it gets you an interview. It does not need fancy words or a fancy design. It needs to show an employer, quickly, that you can do the job they are hiring for. Follow these steps in order and you will have a CV ready to send in an afternoon.

Step 1: Gather your details first

Writing is much easier when everything is in front of you. Before you start, collect:

• Your matric certificate or statement of results, and any college, university or SETA certificates
• The names of every employer, your job title, and the month and year you started and left
• Certificates and licences: driver's licence code, PrDP, first aid, forklift, PSIRA grade, trade test
• The names and cell numbers of two or three people who can be your references

If you cannot remember exact dates, check old payslips, your UIF records or your bank statements.

Step 2: Read the job advert carefully

Before you write a word, read the advert for the job you want and underline:

• The requirements: qualifications, years of experience, licences
• The duties: what you will do every day
• The skills: words like "cash handling", "Excel", "customer service" or "PSIRA Grade C"

These words are your checklist. Wherever they are true for you, use the same words on your CV. Many companies use software to sort CVs before a person reads them, and it looks for these exact words. A person reading your CV looks for them too.

Step 3: Put your contact details at the top

Your full name, in large type, then on one line:

• A cell number you answer, with voicemail set up
• A professional email address, ideally your name
• Your suburb or town and province, for example "Soshanguve, Gauteng"

That is all you need. Leave off your ID number, date of birth and photo; our guide to what to put on a South African CV explains why.

Step 4: Write a short profile

The profile is two or three sentences under your name. It answers: who are you, what are you good at, and what job do you want? A simple formula:

[Job title or "school leaver"] with [experience or strength], [one proof such as a number or certificate]. Looking for [the job you want] in [area].

For example:

Friendly cashier with three years at a busy Spar in Polokwane, balancing my till to within R10 on almost every shift. Looking for a full-time cashier or front-end supervisor post in Polokwane.

Change your profile for each type of job you apply for, so it matches the advert.

Step 5: Describe your work experience

Start with your current or most recent job. For each one, write the job title, the employer, the town, and the start and end month and year. Then add two to four bullet points.

Good bullets start with an action word (handled, served, trained, repaired, packed, reduced) and, wherever you can, include a number. Compare:

• Weak: "Responsible for the till"

• Strong: "Served around 250 customers a shift on a POS till, with cash-ups balanced to within R10"

• Weak: "Did deliveries"

• Strong: "Delivered stock to 25 stores a day across the East Rand, with signed PODs for every drop"

Numbers make your work real: customers a shift, trucks loaded, calls answered, money handled, months without an incident. If you are not sure what to write for your job, our CV examples list strong duty bullets for dozens of South African jobs.

No work experience yet? Use part-time work, piece jobs, volunteering, church or community work, and school leadership. Read how to write a CV with no experience.

Step 6: Add your education

List your highest qualification first. For each one give the qualification, the institution and the year you finished, or "expected 2027" if you are still studying.

For matric, write "National Senior Certificate (NSC)", your school, the year and your pass type. If your results are good, or you finished school recently, add your subjects and marks. Our matric CV guide shows how.

For college and SETA qualifications, add the NQF level, such as "National Certificate: Generic Management, NQF Level 4". It lets employers compare your qualification with what the job asks for.

Step 7: List skills, languages and licences

Skills: six to ten skills, taken from the advert where they are true for you. Mix practical skills (forklift operation, Excel, Sage Pastel, first aid) with people skills (customer service, working in a team). Only list what you could explain or show in an interview.

Languages: each language and how well you speak, read and write it, for example "isiXhosa: fluent; English: fluent; Afrikaans: basic". Employers who serve the public value this.

Licence and certificates: your driver's licence code (for example "Code B (old Code 8)") and any PrDP, plus certificates the job needs.

Step 8: Add references

Two or three people who have supervised or taught you: a manager, a supervisor, a lecturer or a teacher. Give each one's name, job title, company and cell number. Always ask them first, and let them know when you apply for a job so they expect the call.

Step 9: Check it, then send it

Before you send your CV:

• Check the spelling with a spellchecker set to English (South Africa), then read it yourself. Spellcheckers miss words like "manger" instead of "manager".
• Check your dates run in order with no unexplained gaps.
• Check your phone number and email by reading them out loud, digit by digit.
• Ask someone to read it, ideally someone who has hired people.
• Save it as a PDF named with your name, such as "Lerato-Mokoena-CV.pdf".

When you email it, put the job title and any reference number in the subject line, and write a short message:

Good day,

Please find my CV attached for the Cashier post (ref. CSH-0425) advertised on Indeed. I have three years' experience on a busy till and I am available to start immediately.

Kind regards, Lerato Mokoena 072 345 6789

Our guide to the South African CV format covers layout, length and sending your CV on WhatsApp.

Change your CV for every job

You do not need a new CV for every application, but you should spend five minutes on each one: update your profile to name the job, and move the most relevant skills and duties to the top. A CV that matches the advert gets more calls than a general one sent to a hundred companies.

Let the builder do the layout

Our builder takes you through these steps one screen at a time on your phone, lays out your CV in a clean template, and can rewrite your wording professionally while you choose what to keep. Building and previewing your CV is free, and you do not need an account.