Most Nigerian CVs are two to three pages long. Most Nigerian recruiters give yours 20-30 seconds on first scan. The maths does not work. This guide shows you the one-page CV format that fits Nigerian hiring norms in 2026, with the exact sections, ordering, and example copy that gets interviews.
The one-page CV skeleton
Full Name
Phone - Email - Lagos / Abuja / etc - LinkedIn URL
Personal Summary (3 lines, below your name)
Experience
Role, Company, City - Month Year to Month Year
- Bullet
- Bullet
- Bullet
Education
Degree, Institution - Year
Skills
Comma-separated list, grouped by category
Certifications (optional, if relevant)
Referees - "Available on request"
That is it. No photo, no date of birth, no state of origin, no marital status. Those were standard in the 2000s and are now actively unprofessional on a Nigerian CV.
Personal Summary - the 3 lines that decide if you get read
The summary sits directly under your name and must do two things in three lines: say what you are, and show the recruiter your highest-value signal.
Weak: "A hardworking and dedicated professional seeking challenging opportunities."
Strong: "Accountant with 4 years at a Big Four firm in Lagos, ICAN qualified, specialising in tax advisory for FMCG clients. Looking for a senior associate role in financial services."
Experience - the format that actually works
Lead with the role, not the company. Use month-year ranges (not just years - "2022 to 2024" could mean 1 or 3 years). Each role gets 2-4 bullets, each starting with a verb and quantifying impact.
Senior Accountant, Zenith Bank, Lagos - June 2023 to present
- Managed month-end close for a 42-branch region, cutting cycle time from 8 days to 5
- Led the migration from SAP to Oracle Financials for the retail division, delivered 2 months ahead of plan
- Supervised 3 junior accountants, two of whom passed ICAN finals within the year
Numbers beat adjectives. "Managed a large portfolio" is weak. "Managed a $4.2M portfolio across 42 branches" is strong.
Education - keep it tight
List your degree, institution, year, and class of degree. For your highest qualification only - skip secondary school unless you are a fresh graduate.
BSc Accounting, Second Class Upper, University of Nigeria Nsukka - 2019
If you are a recent graduate (within 2 years), it is fine to include 1-2 relevant projects or your final-year dissertation title.
Skills - group them
A messy list of 20 skills reads worse than 8 skills in 2-3 groups:
- Finance tools: SAP, Oracle Financials, QuickBooks, Excel (advanced)
- Reporting: Power BI, Tableau basics
- Languages: English (native), Yoruba (fluent), French (conversational)
Common Nigerian CV mistakes
- Photos. Standard practice in Europe. Not here. Leave it off.
- "References available on request" with 3 references listed anyway. Pick one approach.
- Objectives that read like LinkedIn bios. Keep the summary punchy.
- Font soup. Pick one font family (Calibri or Arial), two sizes (11pt body, 14pt headers).
- PDF file named "cv_final_v4_use_this_one.pdf". Name it
Firstname Lastname - CV.pdf. - Hiding gaps. Short explanation beats a mystery. "2024: NYSC in Jigawa" is fine on its own line.
Salary expectations - put them or leave them off?
In Nigeria, leave them off the CV. If the ad asks for them, state a range in your cover letter, not the CV.
File format checklist
- Save as PDF, never .docx
- One page, 11pt body, 10mm margins
- No background colours, no graphics, no "progress bar" skill ratings
- File name:
Firstname Lastname - CV.pdf
Final step
Once your CV is tight, apply direct through openings. No agent fees, no recruiter middlemen. Browse live roles on openings.ng/jobs.