A CV has one job: to make someone decide, in seconds, that you are worth reading properly.
What it needs
- Name and contact. A phone number with WhatsApp and a professional email address.
- Location. City and region.
- Experience. Employer, role, dates and what you actually did.
- Education. Qualifications, institution and year. Include National Service where relevant.
- Certifications, with validity dates.
What to leave out
Ghana Card number, marital status, religion, hometown, date of birth. None of it helps the decision.
Certifications go where they will be seen
In mining, oil and gas and engineering, safety and technical certifications are frequently threshold requirements rather than extras.
List them with expiry dates. An expired certification reads worse than none, because it suggests it was not maintained.
Professional bodies
ICAG, CIMG, GhIE and similar memberships are recognised markers in their fields. State them clearly.
How different sectors read
Banking and corporate Accra: formal layout, and often automated screening. Simple format, no tables or columns, and use the exact words from the vacancy.
Mining and industry: certifications, safety record, and the specific equipment and systems you have worked with.
NGOs and development: project experience, report writing, and monitoring and evaluation skills.
Describe the work, not the title
"Site Supervisor" says little. "Supervised a crew of 18 on a gold processing site, enforced permit-to-work procedures and maintained an incident-free record over 14 months" says a great deal more.
Use numbers wherever you have them.
Length
One to two pages. Beyond ten years of experience, two is reasonable.
Keep it current
A complete profile means employers find you in their searches. And certifications expire — review those first.