Preconditions for writing an effective CV or Resume in Ethiopian context

You may be wondering about whether Ethiopian employers or companies ask you for a specific kind of CV or resume and cover letters as compared to other companies in rest of the world. Please stop wording that. They are interested in an applicant who can write standard CV.

The objective of this post it to pinpoint elements that you as an applicant should consider before putting your fingers at writing your CV or resume. So keep in mind the following points:

1.    Know job position

Know the position of the job you are applying, I don’t mean you have to know only its name. No! No!, But I am saying that expect and research what kind of roles, duties and qualifications may that job position require. This will help write an effective CV.

2.    Research about that company

Visit the company website or ask people working there, to research and know about the company that you are preparing to apply, like its vision, scanning what kind of services and products it is providing.  This will help anticipate what you are going to consider in your CV. This will not only help you write an effective CV but also get you prepared for your job interview if you pass screening step.

3.    Ask yourself

By now, you know what that company may be expecting from and be interested in you. Hence, ask yourself what kind of roles, qualities and skills you possess and acquired from all possible participation you have had in your career ( like course projects, training, courses, leadership, certification and others that you have participated. ) that is relevant to the position. Make a note and list them.

4.    Be specific

This is very import. You have to be specific. This means that you have to write your qualification, qualities, skills and roles related the position you are playing for. Period. You will be having an effect CV that takes you to job interview step.

5.    Be neat and concise

Follow uniform formatting throughout your CV. You have already written CV that makes sense but this is not enough. You have to try to win your candidate in every aspect. Having bad formatting will affect value of your CV. So, take little time adjust your formatting.

6.    Attach evidences:

Attaching documents that supplement what you have stated in you CV with evidence like certification, experiences and award documents will convince employer that you are making sense. So this is worth considering.

Sample Ethiopian CV or Resume for job application

Finally, I would love to share you two sample CVs and one CV template for your reference to writing your CV. The two CVs are written to a particular job position both for fresher and experienced applicant. So, download the sample and edit it according to your needs.

CV or Resume for experienced applicant

CV or Resume for fresh applicant

Europass CV or Resume Template

In the next post I will try to explore what kind of job entry exam and job interview questions you should expect and get prepared before sitting or showing up in exam hall.  I will do this by sharing sample questions that Ethiopian airline, Ethiotelecom, CBE, Huawei Technologies and others often ask applicant from experience.

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Thank you for reading!

Where to look jobs or vacancies in Ethiopia

It is frustrating not able to get search results when you search in Google like, Ethiopian sample CV, how to find jobs in Ethiopia, sample Ethiopian job interviews etc. Your search results nearly point to nothing. Actually this happened before three years, now things are getting better but not getting sufficient improvements. So in this post I will try to explore on where to find job vacancies in Ethiopia, particularly Addis Ababa from my experience.

Where to Find?

Good question. In Ethiopia, jobs vacancies are posted in different channels. These include websites (internet), newspapers and at hiring companies themselves even in FM radios. Fortunately, to find job vacancies in Ethiopia has become easy due to the popularity of internet.  So let’s see where to look job vacancies in Internet

1.    Websites

Nowadays, Ethiopia is getting good online vacancy websites. These were very poor before years. However, they have recently been offering new features, flexibility and up-to-date updates. So, go either to internet café or to somewhere you will have access to internet. Searching job vacancies in Internet gives you savings in like effort, time and cost. Here are the websites that you should look for:

Vacancy websites

These websites publish job vacancies regularly. They offer feature like searching by location, by category and by field of study. Check them regularly. There is one feature that I used to like in employethiopia.com that filters vacancies only for fresh graduate level entry (zero-years’ experience).

See vacancies at ethiojobs         

Look vacancies at employethiopia

See jobs listing at Ezega

Find Jobs at Nilejobs

Companies’ websites

Big companies like NGOs(see list below), Ethiopian airlines, Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, Ethiotelecom, INSA, etc also post vacancies at their own website. Hence check the following websites regularly.      

     

Ethiopian Airline Career

Ethiotelecom Vacancies

Commercial Bank of Ethiopia Vacancies

Information and Network Security Agency (INSA) Vacancies

Ministry of communication and information technology jobs

          Addis Ababa University Vacancies

          Mekelle University Vacancies

          Also check jobs vacancies at NGOs

Vacancies at UN Economic Commission for Africa

Jobs at African Union careers   

UNDP in Ethiopia Jobs

UNICEF Ethiopia Jobs

US embassy Addis Ababa job opportunities

UN jobs in Ethiopia

2.    Newspapers

You don’t need to buy these newspapers to read job vacancies. In Addis Ababa, You just need to either go to Arat kilo square or Legehar( Anbessa bus station), where these newspapers are read at open area. The Newspapers are published mostly weekly. So you should just go regularly (weekly is recommended) scan the newspapers for a vacancy and you need to pay a fee of 50 cents per newspaper you read. Don’t forget to write down the contact details of the post you are interested in so that you can contact them using that address. These newspapers include Ethiopian Reporter, Felagi, Addis Zemen, and NGOs(only compiled vacancies).

3.    Afalagi

There are agencies (called locally afalagi) you should meet them where newspapers are read at open area (like arat kilo and legehar ). What they work is that you give them your contact details and your interests (field of study, contact details), they will look for you in newspaper and call you once they find a vacancy. You need only to pay them a fee of (around 25 birr).

4.    FM Radios

If you don't still stop listening to radios, FM Addis (97.1) and Sheger FM (102.1) also announce a brief job vacancies. These would be helpful for those of you who are out of Addis Ababa.

5.    Your Friends and seniors

This is very important. You should always contact your friend and classmates ask them what they are applying for, what is new with job vacancies. Believe in competition, share what you have discovered and ask what they have found recently. Furthermore, search and ask your seniors to consult you in your application process.

Apply apply apply as much as you can. Job hiring process takes time, you need to wait at least two to three months. So be patient, it is how many companies in our country is doing. So applying to as many companies as possible will help you to maximize your chance of getting hired in one of them while waiting to the one you have high interest.

Document requirement

There are common document companies in Ethiopia request you to present them during your application process. Please, make sure that the following documents are always with you:

     I.        Your Grade Eight Certificate

Companies(like Ethiopian airlines, Ethiotelecom) that need to verify age limits require you to submit your grade eight certificate, hence make sure that it is with you.

   II.        Your diploma (Tempo)

Most companies need these certificate. Hence, let it be near you.

  III.        Your CV or resume

Every company will ask you for a CV/resume, make sure that you have prepared a neat and good CV. You are highly recommended to make some adjustments, like stating your qualification and skills relevant to the company and position you are applying.

 IV.        Your Cover letter

This document is not a common requirement. But some foreign companies working in Ethiopia may ask you (for instance, companies like Huawei, ZTE, American embassy, UNDP, AU and others), so get prepared for it.

   V.        Your work experience

If you have work experience, make it ready.

In the upcoming post, I will try to explore basic elements that a typical Ethiopian CV or resume comprises and most companies look for. I will share you a sample CV or Resume and Cover Letter that is very typical and applicable to employers in Ethiopia.

           

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Good Luck!