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How to Write a CV in Somali: A Step-by-Step Guide

Most people lose a job before anyone reads their CV properly — not because they lack the skills, but because the CV is hard to scan. A recruiter in Mogadishu or Hargeisa may open sixty applications for one vacancy. Your job is to make the right information obvious in the first ten seconds. Here is how to do that, section by section.

First decide: Somali or English?

This is the question people get wrong most often. The rule is simple: write in the language the vacancy is written in.

Almost every NGO, UN agency and international organization in Somalia advertises and hires in English — so your CV should be in English, even if the interview later happens in Somali. For local businesses, government offices and community organizations that advertise in Somali, a Somali CV is appropriate and often preferred.

If you genuinely aren't sure, English is the safer default for professional roles. What you should never do is mix both languages in one CV.

1. Contact details — keep them boring and correct

At the very top, put your full name, job title, phone number, email address and city. That's it.

  • Use a professional email address — firstname.lastname@gmail.com, not a nickname.
  • Write your phone number in full international format (+252 …) so employers abroad can reach you.
  • Add your city (Mogadishu, Hargeisa, Garowe) — many employers filter by location.
  • Do not include your age, marital status, clan, tribe or a photo unless the employer specifically asks.

2. Write a 3-line professional summary

Directly under your contact details, write three lines that answer: who are you, what have you done, and what are you looking for.

Example: "Finance officer with four years' experience managing budgets for humanitarian programmes in Banadir. Experienced in QuickBooks, donor reporting and cash-based transfers. Looking for a finance role with an international NGO."

This single paragraph is the most-read part of your CV. Rewrite it for every application so it echoes the job you're applying to.

3. Work experience — newest first, results not duties

List your jobs starting with the most recent. For each one give the job title, organization, city and dates.

Then, underneath, write two to four bullet points. The mistake almost everyone makes is listing duties ("responsible for reports"). Instead write results, with numbers wherever you can.

  • Weak: "Responsible for distributing food aid."
  • Strong: "Coordinated monthly food distribution to 1,200 households across three districts, with zero reported diversion."
  • Weak: "Handled the office budget."
  • Strong: "Managed a $180,000 annual programme budget and produced donor reports that passed audit without findings."

4. Education and certifications

List your highest qualification first: degree, institution, city and year. If you graduated recently and have little work experience, put education above work experience.

Then list short courses and certifications separately — humanitarian training, project management, IT, accounting software, first aid. In the Somali job market these certificates carry real weight and are frequently what separates two similar candidates.

5. Skills and languages

Keep skills concrete and verifiable. "Hard-working" and "team player" tell a recruiter nothing — every applicant writes them. Name the actual tools and abilities: Excel, QuickBooks, data collection with KoBo Toolbox, monitoring and evaluation, procurement, community mobilisation.

Always include a languages section with your honest level. Somali, Arabic, English and Swahili are all genuine assets, and language ability is often an explicit scoring criterion in NGO recruitment.

6. Formatting — one or two pages, nothing more

A CV is a scanning document, not an autobiography. One page if you have under five years' experience; two pages at most otherwise.

Use one clean font, consistent spacing and clear headings. Avoid heavy colours, tables inside tables, and graphics — many organizations run CVs through automated screening software that cannot read them.

Always send as PDF, never Word, so your layout doesn't break on someone else's computer. Name the file properly: Faadumo-Ahmed-CV.pdf, not cv-final-2.pdf.

Before you send it

  • Read it aloud once — you will catch mistakes your eyes skip over.
  • Check that every date is correct and there are no unexplained gaps.
  • Confirm your phone number and email are typed correctly. This sounds obvious and it is a genuinely common reason people never get called.
  • Tailor the summary and top three bullets to the specific vacancy.