CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER

Tali M. Samuni

Cell: (+254) 0799 912234

Email: tsamuni@gmail.com

 

Customer Service and Senior Supply Chain Manager

12+ years of Professional Experience

 

Proactive, high energy professional with a proven ability to build trust and develop effective relations. Strong ability to lead others and work towards enhanced customer satisfaction and surpassing expectations.

 

Expert in optimizing organizational processes, measurement systems, and infrastructure to maximize business results in manufacturing and service operations worldwide.

 

Solid track record of progressive accomplishments and leading operations, logistics and project management initiative for diversified international businesses. Respected leader, equipped with powerful communication, coordination and analysis skills.

 

OCCUPATIONAL CONTOUR

 

Senior Customer Service Manager-Supply Chain May 2007 – Till Date

Scion International L.L.C. Sharjah, UAE

Core Responsibilities

• Recruited as an expert for successfully developing, managing and delivering large-scale international transportation, logistics and supply chain solutions for a company primarily involved in manufacturing and distributing personal care products.
• Restructured ongoing operational process analysis, mitigated “scope creep,” communicated project status, and identified and resolved operational issues and constraints.
• Reported directly to the Director and implemented regional customer relations strategies.
• Conceptualized, formulated, and established business process improvement through the acquisition of global transportation networks.
• Identified and captured opportunities for new business development.
• Geared to build new market presence while expanding existing transportation and distribution, subsequently increasing client base and improving corporate brand recognition.
• Formulated, developed and instituted long-range cost reduction and building plans, improving African, Middle Eastern and European Region distribution.
• Utilized technology aids to solve logistics and bring about improvement. Directed and consolidated corporate communications and business initiatives.

 

Selected Accomplishments:

• Handpicked to manage key brand accounts, including Yardley, Coty – U.S, Supermax, Godrej, Royal Mirage and Parfume De Ceour
• Increased sales by 40% for the key brand accounts within 1 year: 2014-2015
• Achieved 25% reduction in freight costs for both inbound and outbound cargo during 2013-2015
• Showcased continual record of rapid account expansion using multi-layered expertise in sales force mentoring, operational efficiencies and profitable vendor relations.

 

Seafreight Commercial and Logistics Manager 2005 – 2007

Hellmann Worldwide Logistics L.L.C. Dubai, UAE

 

Core Responsibilities

• Primarily responsible for utilizing knowledge of productivity standards, costing models, shipping management and logistics overview to assist the company in managing its core logistics needs.
• Hired for coordinating daily shipping and airfreight activities for the Middle East and maintaining good relations with partners, customers and shippers.
• Designed and implemented logistics for new air facility and planned operations demonstrating cross-functional team leadership participative management.

 

Selected Accomplishments:

• Played an instrumental role in increasing the market share by 35% in 2005-2006 through European and American import trade lane
• Effectively initiated quality management system within the organization in 2006
• Helped enhance profit by 40% in 2005-2006 for Kempinski and Parker company projects
• Introduced value chain concept and enhanced Sea freight profitability by 90% in 2006
• Spearheaded team operations for Kraft foods, Supreme foods (U.S military cargo), ABB, Dorma Gulf Middle East. 3M Middle East, Shell products giving way to winning the Audi Volkswagen tender bid for logistics and warehousing

 

EDUCATION

MBA (International Strategy Management) University of Strongman, UAE

Post Graduate Diploma (Business Management) Mau Mau University, Kenya

Bachelor of Science, University of Nairobi, Kenya

MS Office Package – (MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint)

SAMPLE CUSTOMER SERVICE CV

Tali M. Samuni

Cell: (+254) 0799 912234

Email: tsamuni@gmail.com

 

Professional Summary: 5x top quality performance award winner Customer Service professional with 10 years of experience. Able to handle a high volume of customer calls in a fast-paced environment, with minimum supervision, while maintaining emphasis on the highest quality of consumer service.

 

EXPERIENCE

ABC Office Supplies, Nairobi, June 2012 – Present

Customer Service Representative

Inbound telemarketing, upselling and order entry for a product line of 3,000 items.

 

• Accrued the highest award level on work team for perfect attendance and successful upselling.

Earned ABC Performance Award for accomplishment.

• Recognized by management for sensitivity and ability to handle difficult customers.
• 5x recipient of WEZA award for quality customer service.
• Simplified scheduling process for a call center of 500 people.
• Set record for acquiring 100 new customers in August 2018.

 

XYZ Phone Company, Nairobi May 2007 – June 2012

Call Center Representative

 

• Performed data entry, set up new customer accounts and handled customer inquiries.
• Answered 500 incoming toll free customer service line.
• Performed administrative duties – filing, office administration and bookkeeping.
• Cross-trained in customer relations, billing and new accounts.
• Tested new call center tracking software.

 

EDUCATION

Diploma of Business Administration May 2005

Wanjanja College • Chair, Business Club Four Semesters

THE FUNCTIONAL CV

The functional CV highlights major areas of accomplishment and strength and allows you to organise them in the order that best supports your work objectives and job targets.

• Use four or five separate paragraphs or sections, each on headlining a particular area of expertise or involvement. List functions (e.g. Design; research; supervision etc.) in order of importance, with t he area most closely related to your job target at the top and described in slightly more detail.

• Within each functional area stress your accomplishments, results or abilities most directly related to your job target.

• Know that you can include any relevant accomplishment without necessarily identifying the employment or non-employment situation in which it took place.

• If you have completed a relevant course or received a degree within the past five years, it should go at the top of the CV; otherwise, education should be listed at the bottom.

• List a brief synopsis of your actual work experience at the bottom, giving dates, employer, and title. If you have had no work experience, or a very patchy work record, leave out the employment synopsis entirely (but be prepared to talk about it at the interview so that you can show that you do have skills to offer)

• Keep the length of your CV to a maximum of two pages.

EXAMPLE

Eileen Tambor

1020 SW Clarandon Drive 503-389-7540

Portland, Oregon 97894 tambor44@home.com

 

OBJECTIVE

Customer Service Representative

 

QUALIFICATIONS

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Received “Outstanding Customer Service Award of the Year”

Dealt with up to 100 customers daily

Assisted customers in locating merchandise and making purchasing

decisions

Increased monthly sales approximately $1,000 by utilizing add-on sales

techniques

Demonstrated interest in customers by carefully listening for their key

concerns and resolving their problems

Effectively handled irate customers and complaints in a friendly, patient

manner

 

MERCHANDISING/MARKETING

Assisted manager in analyzing sales and marketing trends for purchasing

seasonal merchandise

Designed creative window and in-store displays to increase sales

Created innovative promotional materials

Stocked, priced, and inventoried merchandise

ADMINISTRATIVE

Produced daily, weekly, and monthly sales reports

Balanced cash drawer with consistently high level of accuracy

 

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Retail Associate – Nordstrom’s, Portland, OR, 1999-2001

Retail Sales Representative – Wal-Mart, Newport, OR, 1998-99

Waitress – Mo’s Restaurant, Newport, OR, 1995-97

 

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Numerous seminars on Sales and Customer Service

A.A.S., Graphic Design – Portland Community College, will graduate June, 2003

WANT AN INTERVIEW WINNING CV? CHECK THIS TIPS

A CV is a concise document which outlines the relevant professional facts about you to a prospective employer. These facts include your skills, education qualifications and work experience.

 

For a CV to win you interviews, it needs to be:

• Clear – you want the information to be understood straight away
• Concise – you shouldn’t give lots of irrelevant information
• Organised – so that the information given can be quickly found.

 

Here are tips to achieve a winning CV:

• Use clear headings to separate the various sections of the CV
• Use indented/bullet points rather than writing paragraphs or long sentences
• Keep sentences and paragraphs short (paragraphs should be no more than 10 lines)
• Do not use ‘I’ – instead start your sentences with action verbs such as communicated, directed, managed, led etc.
• Put the strongest qualifications at the top and work down the page
• Have a professional profile using just one or two sentences to summarise your strengths
• Quantify your achievements wherever possible
• Have a third party check your grammar, spelling and punctuation.
• Include hobbies or social interests if they clearly contribute to your work ability for your target job
• Keep the CV short, 3 pages maximum and 1 page for fresh graduates.
• Don’t include irrelevant details like pictures, salary information, ID No, weight & height.
• Don’t try and be humorous, write in verse or use complicated language.
• Cliché and empty phrases like “Hardworking, intelligent and diligent worker” are to be avoided. Rather demonstrate these qualities in your skills, achievements and work responsibilities.
• Include only relevant details pertaining to position you are applying. For example if you have both hospitality and sales certification,only include the sales details when applying for sales jobs, especially if you are not applying in the hospitality industry.
• Stay current. Focus on the more recent qualifications, five years within.

CV SAMPLE FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

HARISON AJAJA ATIMU

info@free.com| P.O. Box 1673 Masaku, Kenya| 070000000

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/hajaja

 

Director of Business Development

Growth Catalyst | Powerful Sales Strategist | Market Expansion

Top-performing Business Development & Sales Director who builds high-performance sales teams and develops successful new markets that enables higher-margin sales

 

KEY STRENGTHS

• Business Development strategist who builds strong, dedicated client relationships and partnerships.
• Executive with an entrepreneurial spirit who leads companies to growth and market differentiation with a record of generating new business opportunities and developing lucrative partnerships.
• Proven track record of implementing the necessary business development strategies to accomplish breakthrough sales objectives while creating unique market-entry strategies, managing business relationships, building credibility, and establishing immediate rapport with potential clients.

 

EXECUTIVE HIGHLIGHTS

• Grew annual revenue from $700,000 to more than $5-million while launching new sales and distribution opportunities and Domestic and Global expansion for new sales territories.
• Trusted and highly-respected Sales Management leader and Mentor during explosive multimillion-dollar company growth from $12-million to more than $175-million.
• Championed new business opportunities by generating new income streams from identifying opportunities for growth in new markets; key Management leader during exceptional corporate growth from 15 employees to nearly 180 employees.

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

REGIONAL MANAGER, Business Development & Sales

Business Development | Multimillion-Dollar YOY Growth | Global Sales

Benn-Miller Group (2000 – Present)

 

Recruited to lead sales and drive accelerated growth of company’s core services while managing five offices with more than $6-million in annual sales; identified solutions for various measurement and control products and applications for Manufacturing clients. Built a solid sales infrastructure from the ground up, expanded penetration in new markets, and delivered immediate results producing new business while directing business development, deal organization, and building credibility and rapport with new and existing customer stakeholders.

 

 

ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP

• Valued mentor and leader—provides employees with the autonomy to do their work well while building strong, personal relationships in order to improve communication as well as advance business development efforts.
• Managed top-performing global teams including 20 staff with 7 direct reports; optimized organizational operations, staffing and succession plans, hired resources, conducted performance reviews, and ensured compliance with company policies.
• Advanced in various executive leadership roles managing resources and promoting career growth; recognized for building high-performance teams from a start-up to a high-performing state.
• Led and monitored complex projects and worked cross-functionally with various internal groups to determine project scope, requirements, and resources; managed RFP’s, and determined best practices while ensuring project activities aligned with business objectives.

 

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

• Built and nurtured C-Level relationships through many varied engagements, successfully implementing solutions, quickly resolving issues, and closing new business opportunities.
• Evolved selling strategy across a new portfolio of sales opportunities by introducing solutions for the Mining industry; diversified customer base by successfully leveraging sales for various industrial processes with Mining clients for new contracts.
• Established Global partnerships and new sales channels with International opportunities in Canada for automotive, gas and oil, electric utilities, and mining industries.
• Reengineered valve design that ultimately captured a large, multimillion-dollar business opportunity with Kimberly Paper in Vancouver—awarded contract for quick response and resolution of a critical valve design.

 

SALES STRATEGY

• Accelerated revenue and profit growth with a five-fold increase in the sales pipeline through the development and implementation of sales strategies including the deployment of new sales teams and services.
• Prescribed solutions that provide immediate ROI while instituting a longer transformational strategy for maximum business value, service optimization, and system flexibility; ensured client success and established trusted advisor status with business and Executive stakeholders.
• Spearheaded new start-up sales offices and new business opportunities providing Domestic and International clients with expert advice, scalable industrial solutions, and opportunity to utilize turnkey solutions for various industrial needs and requirements; quickly established trusted business relationships with key industrial contacts.
• Built top-performing sales as highest performing Sales leader.

 

 

Education

Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management—State University; Los Angeles, CA

SAMPLE CV FOR A HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL

DANIEL M. KAMAU

Box 7669 Nairobi, Kenya

Cell: 0700000000

Email: dmk@kenya.cc

 

Professional Profile

Seasoned high principal successful at directing school operations in institutions with 200+ students. Competent at instructional leadership, program planning and implementation, staff selection and evaluation, student placement and discipline, school finance, and plant supervision. Effective communicator with excellent planning, organizational, and negotiation strengths as well as the ability to lead, reach consensus, establish goals, and attain results.

 

Professional Experience

Principal, Watoto High School, County Public School, 2015 to Present

• Principal for 1,200-student high school. Direct all aspects of school operations, including

instructional leadership, education policy, program planning and implementation, staff selection and evaluation, student placement and discipline, school finance, and plant supervision.

• Administer a Ksh. 1,500,000 annual operating budget and supervise 130 professional and classified staff members.
• Chair Nyeri High School Heads Committee; built strong ties within the high schools leadership to improve learning standards across the county.
• Consistently meet/exceed Annual Yearly Progress goals set forth by the 100% transition policy.
• Involved in all aspects of $40 million high school construction project as well as relocation of students and staff members into the new facility.
• Procured and administered Ksh 3,000,000 grant for 15 new classrooms and Ksh. 400,000 donation in books.
• Achieved measurable success with at-risk students through the development of an alternative education program.

 

Principal, Jameni High School; Sub-County School, 2003 to 2015

• Principal for 1,000-student high school. Managed curriculum and instruction, teacher training, student placement and discipline and financial management.
• Administered a Ksh.700,000 annual operating budget and supervised 100 professional and classified staff members.
• Achieved numerous citations from County Education Board for improved school attendance.
• Maintained excellent academic performance despite increased class sizes and shrunk budgets. Grade B+ average for 6 consecutive years.
• Received praise from parents for establishing school reputation as a centre for excellent discipline.
• Organized and directed annual Teacher Training workshop.

 

Assistant Principal, Thelma High School; 1995 to 2002

• Coordinated student discipline, attendance, instructional supervision, and staff evaluation in the 2,000-student high school.
• Instrumental in the development and implementation of the Saturday School for At Risk Students program.

 

EDUCATION

• M.Ed., Educational Management and Supervision, Kenya College, 2010
• B.Ed, ToTo University, Nairobi, 1998

 

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Certifications

• Trained Assessor, Assessment Center Program, Association of Secondary School Principals, 2001

 

Conferences

• Association of Secondary School Principals Annual Conference, Nairobi; Mombasa; Nakuru, 2005 to 2017

 

 

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

• Advisory Board Member, 100% Transition Task Force, 2007
• Member, Nominations Committee, Association of Secondary School Principals, 2005 to 2008
• President, Association of Public School Administrators Nairobi County, 2004

DRESSING FOR AN INTERVIEW ON A TIGHT BUDGET

Employee dress is a vital part of a company’s image. Therefore dressing appropriately for a particular interview helps you build rapport with your potential bosses and colleagues. With the current economic hardships, budgets have become tighter. Despite this financial situation, jobseekers are still required to dress in a presentable manner.

 

Here are tips on how to maintain that professional look even when your pockets are not so good:

• Shop early. Depending on roles you are searching, shop for the appropriate attire beforehand. Waiting until a few days to the interview might see you spend beyond your budget or failure to get the appropriate attire.
• Season-less is somehow best. Fabrics that are neither too light nor too heavy are excellent as they can be worn in different weathers/seasons.
• Think neutral. Go for versatile colours like black, gray and navy for suits, dresses and trousers.

Use ties, jewelry, shirts and sweaters to create visual effects. Jewelry and ties also help

NO MORE CONFUSION: THE NEW CV STYLE THAT WINS INTERVIEWS

For a long period,experienced candidates have limited themselves to
the traditional chronological CV writing style. Despite their
popularity, chronological CVs put emphasis on duties
(responsibilities) rather than accomplishments(achievements).

To circumvent this problem, some candidates use the combination CV. This
type of CV lists both duties and achievements in the work experience
section. However,the more experienced a candidate is, the more
positions they have held; the more accomplishments they have. This
means that if such a candidate uses a combination CV, it will be too
long.
There is a need to come up with a new CV
style. Championed as the modern way of CV writing, an
achievement-oriented CV perfects on both chronological and combination
CVs by summarising the duties into a paragraph of 3-4 sentences,and
placing emphasis on the key accomplishments.

Other key features of an achievements-oriented CV include:-
• For every skill/competency listed,a matching achievement is listed.
For example;
Technical installation,operating and IT infrastructure maintenance
skills: Successfully achieved the configuration and operationalization
of the IT infrastructure for a new Regional ICT Centre in Nairobi,
organized to provide technical services to a cluster of 22 countries.

• In addition to the name and contact details, you’re current and
target position are included.
For example;

Yvonne Tille
0733000000
Yvonnetille@yahoo.com
Current title: Accounts Assistant
Position applied (Target Position): Accountant
(If applying outside Kenya include Nationality. Including your Gender
is optional)

• The most important details are the ones relevant to the job applied/
targeted. Irrelevant experience, education and workshops attended are
omitted.
• The career summary is optional.

Here’s a step by step guide to writing an interview-winning
achievements-oriented CV

A) Work Experience
1. List down all work experience you have. Based on your career
interests, trim down the experience to the relevant positions only.
2. Summarise your key responsibilities into 3-4 sentences.
3. List down 4-6 accomplishments you made in each position. An
accomplishment can be a promotion, sales targets exceeded,delegated
duties well handled,colleagues trained, project you completed within
time and budget or being part of a strategic planning committee that
designed a growth roadmap for your organisation. Anything that
improved service delivery, saved costs,increased revenue or
organisational efficiency is an accomplishment. Use the SAR
(situation-action-result) format as listed in the example below.
4. If your CV exceeds 3 pages (and you are not an academic
professional), cut off positions held more than 10 years ago.

Example of Work Experience in an achievement-oriented CV.

COMMUNICATION MANAGER
Rest Services Ltd
February 2010 – June 2014

Supervised cross-functional teams of upto 20 members in
conceptualizing, developing and executing successful marketing
campaigns and brand launches that established the company as a
regional leader in financial consultancy. Oversaw the implementation
of internal and external communication strategy, brand management, PR,
media relations, corporate positioning, advertising, sales collateral
and tradeshow marketing. Expert in human resource management;
trained,mentored and developed 14 employees into professional,customer-focused financial consultants.

Achievements:
• Build partnerships with local leadership and commercial sponsors
(Action) that realised Kes 4M funding (result) for the monthly Inua
Biz boot camps(Situation/Challenge).
• Wrote catalogs, course guides and training brochures (Action) that
enhanced the sales reps’ understanding of complex product features
(Situation) and helped them sell more effectively. (Result)
• Increased the uptake of the emergency loans product (Situation) 83%
(Result) by introducing digital marketing campaigns and incorporating
analytics to marketing campaigns (Actions).

B) Skills and competencies
1. Do a research of the key skills required in the kind of role(s) you
are applying/targeting to apply.
2. List down your achievements that relevant to skills/competencies
found in (1).
3. Match the skills/competencies to your achievements.

There you have it experienced folks. You don’t have to leave out key
information from your key job search tool by limiting yourself to an
old,outdated CV style. Use a modern achievements-oriented CV and see
interviews trickling in.

P.S.
Though you may find these terms interchangeably used in some articles, an
achievement-oriented CV should not be confused with an
achievements-based (Functional) CV.
While an achievement-oriented CV refines on the work experience of the
combination and chronological CV styles, a functional CV is focused on
selling accomplishments and skills. A functional CV does not follow a
chronological order nor does it go into fine details about your work
experience. Another key difference – achievement-oriented CV is great
for experienced candidates while a functional CV is suitable for
career changers,those with employment gaps and job seekers with less
experience in the roles they seek employment.

STOP!!! 6 OUTDATED CV rules you still follow

1. Objective Statements

They used to be a thing then.
Statements that said what a jobsekeer wanted from a company rather
than what value they would bring if hired.

Since the current job market is value-driven, they have become
obsolete and been replaced by career summaries/profile/statement. The
summary highlights important skills,expertise and knowledge that you
possess relevant to position you are applying.

Example;
Objective: Competent, disciplined and innovative individual looking to
offer Healthcare services using my skills for the betterment of the
community and professional growth.

Summary: Healthcare professional experienced at working in
interdisciplinary teams to delivery quality care in assessing
patients, designing treatment plans,monitoring care effectiveness,
maintaining medical records and advising patients and their families
on convalescent care.

If your CV still has a career objective/objective statement, STOP
reading this article and go replace it, NOW.

2. Just put everything
For a long time, a CV was merely a record of your professional life
history – all places you have worked,all certificates and training
received, all workshops attended etc. Those days are long dead.

Why? One, many organisations are becoming human-driven units. The
modern HR is interested in knowing the exact value a hire will bring
to his company rather than how glorious their qualifications are. Your
CV should demonstrate how your talent and qualifications match with,
not only the hiring needs, but values of the company.

Secondly, people used to get jobs in their field of study right after
school. However, the modern jobseeker has to work in unrelated
positions as he faces high competition even at entry level roles (for
instance, an accounting graduate who finds himself working as a
merchandiser in one year, a credit officer in the other and later as
an accounting officer). Modern job seekers must therefore tailor their
application documents depending on the position and company they are
applying to. Include only what’s relevant and leave out the rest.

Keep this on your fingertips.. A CV is not a professional diary, it’s
a sales pitch tailored to the needs of each buyer.

3. My format, my choice

There was an era when email job applications wasn’t a thing. Then,
most applications were printed out and hand dropped or mailed to
companies. Since the document you printed out was the exact document
that the employer saw,you could get away with formatting quirks
without any concern about how these layout decisions appeared on the
receiving end.

However, the digital revolution has presented a catch. With many
different document viewers, some formats may appear differently if the
recruiter is using a different software (different version of similar
software) from one you used to create the CV. This means some
information may be cut off, document appears disorganised and
sometimes refuses to open.

It’s paramount for job seekers to use simple formats, recent versions
of word processors and the PDF format to keep the document layout
intact. The format used should also be friendly to applicant tracking
systems.

I won’t argue; your format, your choice… as long as I can find the
relevant details within a 6-second scan.

4. Lets keep it Black and white.

Keeping it simple doesn’t translate to a boring, black and white CV.
A little color does not hurt. Visual appeal is an important aesthetic
in CV writing if rightly done.
There no hard rules though.
Just take into account the industry practice and the culture of
organisation you are applying to.

Precaution; There is a thin line between good formatting and hellish
stuff. The last thing you want is to end up with a painting, for a CV.
A quick way to know if you have over-formatted is to send out the CV
to a few friends (and recruiters or professional CV writers, if you
know of any) and ask them to locate the most important information in
3 seconds.(Important information will vary e.g. for a fresh graduate,
education, leadership positions and key skills are important than work
experience). If most of them can’t do it, you have some editing to do.

5. Chronological CV Please!!!

The 3 widely accepted CV writing styles are Chronological, Functional
and Combination.

Traditionally, the chronological CV is the most acceptable and common
style. It focuses on listing qualifications on chronological order
(education-work experience-accomplishments).

The functional (skills-based) CV is less preferred by employers as it
focuses more on skills rather than work experience and education. It
is mostly used by fresh students and those changing careers as both
have little experience in their desired career path.

The combination format,on the other hand, lives up to it’s name by
combining features of both chronological and skills-based formats.
It’s the most preferred in modern recruitment industry. The
combination format demonstrates skills by giving examples that prove
your possession of the listed skill e.g. Excellent customer service
skills: Awarded top in customer service for 3 consecutive years
effectively handling 200+ weekly enquiries within set turnaround time
(just like the functional format). It also describes responsibilities
and accomplishments for each position under “work experience” (just
like in chronological format).

Currently, a hybrid of the combination CV, called the
accomplishments-based CV is gaining popularity. It looks like the
combination format but emphasises in demonstrating accomplishments
that match the employer needs in all sections of the CV. For instance;
Under interests,instead of just listing “volunteer”, you show relevant
projects you volunteered in e.g. Volunteer: Performed physical
examination and counseling for 30 patients in 3 medical camps
organised by local NGOs.

It also gives freedom in the placing of different sections of the CV.
For example, if you are applying for a nursing role, certification and
licences appear just after your name and contact details before your
education or work experience sections.

Don’t be limited by the traditional chronological CV and fail to bring
out a better picture of your professional person. DROP IT like it’s
hot.

6. Single, but not searching

” Tell me about yourself “. You can review a million piece of advice
on how to answer this infamous interview question and never will you
hear; mention your DOB, marital status, religion or ID
number.

WHY? These details are often not relevant to getting you employed.
Age and religion can easily be used to discriminate against your
candidacy. Your ID number can be used for criminal activities if your
CV falls in the wrong hands (most companies throw away CVs without
shredding, also some job applications are hoax where scammers look to
con unsuspecting applicants). Who cares if you are single and
searching… It’s a job application, not ” perfect match”.

Most important, your CV should fit within 3 pages and these irrelevant
personal details take precious space that can be used to list
important training or volunteer work.

CV WRITING: ACTION VERBS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR FRESH GRADUATES

For most fresh graduates, writing a competitive CV is a challenge. The
multitude of varied advice by HR practitioners may be confusing.
However, one thing is universally accepted – a good CV must
demonstrate the candidates ability to perform in the role they seek.
This ability to perform is conveyed by examples of previous
achievements/accomplishments the candidate has made in past roles.

Being new to the job market, how and where can fresh graduates derive
accomplishments?

Where? From internships, volunteer work, leadership roles,
extracurricular activities, class projects, part-time jobs etc

How? Using action-verbs (the CV language), fresh graduates should
describe outstanding actions they undertook in certain
challenges/situations that yielded beneficial results. The examples
below give an idea on how to describe achievements.

Note: Action verbs make CVs unique as they replace personal pronouns
(I), vague language and bring confident tone to your CV and list of
accomplishments. Here’s an example:

Without Action Verb:
“Held weekly status meetings to share client updates.” ( Lacks
strength and clarity)

With action verb:
“Spearheaded weekly status meetings to communicate agency revenue
growth.” ( Empowered and detailed)

EXAMPLES OF ACCOMPLISHMENT STATEMENTS FOR FRESH GRADUATES.

WRITING
Action verb: translate, write, compose, edit, craft, revise, draft

Accomplishment:
• Identifed prospective donors and wrote grant proposals to help
support after-school enrichment programs.
• Conceptualized and drafted material for organization’s marketing brochure.

COMMUNICATION
Action verb: convey, correspond, engage, publicize, connect, infuence,
mediate, negotiate, present, promote, teach, train, explain

• Trained new employees on company’s procedures and processes.
• Serve as liaison to campus community as president of the Creative
Arts Club and present to various campus groups to increase awareness
on campus.

TEAMWORK
Action verb: collaborate, partnership, contribute, discuss

• Collaborated with team of fve for class project to research and
design curriculum for after-school program to meet needs of
multicultural student populations.
• In partnership with 15 classmates and faculty, successfully
organized and planned “Green Careers Week,” a career information event
for students.

INTERPERSONAL
Action verb: cultivate, develop, foster, interpret, understanding, relate

• Counseled and advised diverse populations while working as a peer
advocate in the university Health Center.
• Tutored and mentored high school students at Youth Works, an
afterschool enrichment program for under-represented youth.

LEADERSHIP
Action verb: initiate, spear-head, establish, launch, implement

• Initiated and developed the concept for university’s “Evening Art
Walk”, an event where creative arts students can showcase their fnal
senior projects.
• Spear-headed planning for the Global Studies’ commencement ceremony
as part of the student leadership team.

COMPUTER SKILLS
Action verb: program, design, compute, build, develop,

• Created and maintained donor database using Edge Software including
processing all fnancial donations (individual grants and corporate
pledges).
• Designed organization website and published online reports and articles.

ATTENTION TO DETAIL
Action verb: organize, edit, focus, attentiveness, concentrate, review

• Developed agenda, scheduled speakers, and organized discussion
groups as coordinator for a 4-day international student conference.
• Edit copy for student newspaper and ensure that grammar, layout and
content are accurate.

PROBLEM SOLVING
Action verb: clarify, strengthen, solidify, improve, increase, resolve

• Improved access to health care services for qualifying community
members by coordinating monthly team meetings with lawyers,
physicians, and social workers to effciently process approvals.

ORGANIZATION
Action verb: prepare, goal setting, coordinate, direct, manage,
arrange, meet deadlines, deliver

• Organized and brought together local artists from all over the
Nakuru County for fundraising and promotion a events.
• Provided organizational support to staff including managing
schedules, supply purchasing, fling, preparing development materials,
and coordination of meetings.

GLOBAL AWARENESS
Action verb: global consciousness, cultural competency and awareness,
forging common ground, inclusion

• Developed international counseling experience while participating in
an internship at the University of Dodoma.
• Founded an International Student Mentoring Program where domestic
and international students are paired for a semester in order to
foster awareness, inclusion and understanding of each other.

ANALYTICAL
Action verb: investigate, observe, discern, perceive, consider, evaluate, assess

• Assist in the evaluation and assessment of potential candidates for
all administrative support openings as human resources intern.
• Review account ledgers and balances to ensure accurate billing and
fnancial analysis.

FLEXIBILITY
Action verb: adapt, acclimate, adjust, modify, familiarize

• Demonstrated adaptability while providing excellent customer service
as shift leader in a busy retail environment while managing other
various work priorities.

CRITICAL THINKING
Action Verb: critique, evaluate, review, measure, examine, problem solving

• Evaluated customer complaints and negative reviews for class project
at assigned company site, and identifed three key service issues as
well as potential resolutions to improve customer satisfaction.
• Conducted journal review to examine best practices in addressing
poor academic performance in public schools.
• Created and presented intervention plan focused on strength based
learning methods to improve academic performance at a local elementary
school.

CREATIVITY
Action verb: conceptualize, design, create, invent, generate, draft,
formulate, devise

• Conceptualized and developed an on-going project for ESL students
resulting in a publication of the student’s autobiographical works for
use as a learning tool for ESL teachers.
• Created visual concept for Poets and Writers Coalition’s magazine launch.
• Designed innovative advertising materials for Annual School of
Social Work Fair which contributed to a 25% increase in attendance
from the previous year.

DESIGN AND PLANNING
Action verb: forecast, develop, prepare, calculate, project,
anticipate, propose, outline, create

• Developed four year plan for incoming freshman to support student
success as part of student leadership project.
• Prepared annual budget based on analysis of previous year’s costs
and revenues as the student assistant for operations manager on
campus.

MULTI-CULTURAL
Action verb: collaborated

• Effectively collaborated with peers and faculty from various
socio-economic and cultural backgrounds to develop a presentation on
how cross-cultural values affect communication in business
environments.

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