7 Common CV Mistakes Somali Applicants Make

1. Listing duties instead of achievements

"Responsible for supervising staff" tells a recruiter what your job description said. It says nothing about whether you were good at it.

Fix it: add the result and a number. "Supervised a team of 12 field officers across two districts, reducing monthly reporting delays from 10 days to 2." Same job, completely different impression.

2. Sending the same CV to every vacancy

A generic CV is instantly recognisable and it signals low effort. It also fails longlisting, because the specific requirements from the advert aren't visible.

Fix it: keep one master CV, then before each application spend ten minutes rewriting the summary and reordering your top bullets so they match the vacancy's stated requirements.

3. Including personal information that shouldn't be there

Age, marital status, number of children, clan or sub-clan, and a photo are not required and can work against you. International organizations in particular have strict anti-discrimination policies, and this information creates awkwardness rather than advantage.

Fix it: delete all of it. Use that space for skills and achievements instead.

4. A CV that's too long — or too decorated

Four-page CVs with colour blocks, icons and multiple columns feel thorough to the writer and look like noise to the reader. They also break automated screening software.

Fix it: one page under five years of experience, two pages above. One font, clear headings, plenty of white space, and no graphics in the main content.

5. Weak or unprofessional contact details

An email like cabdi_boy99@hotmail.com undermines an otherwise strong application. A local-format phone number makes you unreachable for employers calling from abroad.

Fix it: create firstname.lastname@gmail.com, and write your number as +252 6X XXX XXXX. Then test both — send yourself an email and check the number digit by digit.

6. Vague skills that everyone claims

"Hard-working", "fast learner", "good communicator", "team player" — every single applicant writes these, so they carry no information at all.

Fix it: replace adjectives with evidence. Instead of "good communicator", write "Facilitated community consultations with elders and women's groups in 14 villages". The skill is now demonstrated rather than asserted.

7. Typos, wrong dates and Word files

Spelling errors suggest carelessness in a sector where reporting accuracy matters. Inconsistent dates raise doubts about honesty. Word documents reformat themselves on other computers and can arrive looking broken.

Fix it: read the CV aloud, ask one other person to check it, verify every date against your records, and always export to PDF with a professional filename.

A two-minute final check

• Does my summary mention the actual job title I'm applying for?
• Does each role show a result with a number?
• Is my phone number in international format and correct?
• Is it a PDF, correctly named?
• Have I followed the vacancy's application instructions exactly?