This page gives you a CV template built around duties, along with the guidance to fill it in properly. The template matters less than what goes into it, so most of this page is about writing the duty lines that decide whether you get called. Copy the structure, then work through the examples to turn your own experience into bullets an employer can act on.
The CV Structure
South African employers expect a straightforward, readable CV. Two pages is standard, three is acceptable with long experience, and one is fine early in a career. Use this order.
- Personal details: name, city, phone, email. Include your identity number only if the employer requires it, and never on a CV posted publicly online.
- Professional summary: three or four lines stating who you are, your experience and what you are looking for.
- Key skills: six to ten items, matched to the advert, naming systems and certifications.
- Work experience: most recent first, with duties as bullet points.
- Education and qualifications.
- Certifications and licences, with expiry dates.
- Languages.
- References, or a line stating they are available on request.
The Work Experience Template
This is the section that does the work. Use this format for each role.
- Job title
- Employer name and city
- Dates, month and year to month and year
- One line describing the employer and your scope, such as the size of the team or site
- Four to six duty bullets for recent roles, two or three for older ones
The scope line is frequently omitted and always useful. Writing that you worked in a thirty-bed ward, a warehouse holding four thousand stock lines, or an office of thirty-five staff tells the reader more in one line than several duty bullets would.
How to Write Each Duty Bullet
Every bullet follows the same shape: action verb, the work, then scope or outcome. Not every bullet needs all three, but each needs something beyond the bare activity.
Weak Versus Better
- Weak: responsible for filing. Better: maintained physical and electronic filing systems for a department of thirty-five.
- Weak: did stock counts. Better: conducted daily cycle counts and improved stock accuracy from 94 to above 98 percent.
- Weak: helped customers. Better: served an average of one hundred and fifty customers daily during peak trading periods.
- Weak: drove deliveries. Better: completed thirty-five multi-drop deliveries daily across the greater Durban area in a Code 10 vehicle.
- Weak: assisted patients. Better: provided personal care to patients in a thirty-bed medical ward, maintaining dignity and privacy.
- Weak: captured data. Better: captured an average of four hundred records daily at above 99 percent accuracy on Sage.
Action Verbs That Work
Start each bullet with a verb that describes what you actually did. Vary them, and match the seniority of the verb to the reality of the role.
- Doing: operated, processed, captured, prepared, assembled, maintained, delivered, served.
- Owning: managed, coordinated, controlled, administered, scheduled, monitored.
- Improving: improved, reduced, streamlined, reorganised, implemented, introduced.
- Leading: supervised, trained, mentored, led, delegated, inducted.
- Checking: verified, reconciled, audited, inspected, investigated, resolved.
Avoid responsible for and duties included, which describe a job rather than what you did with it.
Choosing Which Duties to Include
Do not list everything. Choose the duties that match the advert and carry the most evidence, and cut the rest. Four to six strong bullets beat twelve weak ones, and leaving out a routine task does not suggest you cannot do it.
Read the advert and mirror its emphasis. If it stresses accuracy, lead with your accuracy evidence. If it stresses volume, lead with your numbers. The same experience can be presented honestly in several orders depending on what the employer asked for.
Handling Common Situations
Short or Interrupted Work History
Include temporary, contract, seasonal and casual work, described as fully as permanent roles. South African employers are used to interrupted histories. An unexplained gap invites worse assumptions than a brief factual explanation does.
No Formal Work Experience
Include learnerships, internships, volunteer work, community projects and family business work. Describe the tasks concretely rather than apologising for the lack of paid employment.
Changing Industry
Lead with the transferable core, such as systems, accuracy, volume handled and working under supervision, and be brief and direct about the sector knowledge you would need to learn.
Formatting for Screening
- Use a simple, clean layout with clear headings and consistent spacing.
- Avoid tables, text boxes, columns and headers or footers containing important information, since automated screening tools frequently misread them.
- Use a standard font at a readable size.
- Save and send as a PDF unless the employer asks for a different format.
- Name the file clearly, such as your name followed by CV.
- Keep to two pages where you can.
- Proofread carefully, since spelling errors on a CV claiming attention to detail undermine the claim.
Mistakes to Avoid
- Copying the job advert so the CV describes the role rather than your experience.
- Writing responsible for at the start of every bullet.
- Listing duties with no scope, volume or outcome.
- Including a photograph, identity number or marital status unless specifically required.
- Using the same untailored CV for every application.
- Claiming figures or software levels you cannot demonstrate.
- Listing referees without asking them first.
Related Pages
For role-specific duty wording across dozens of jobs, see Duties for CV.
FAQs
What should a CV template with duties include?
Personal details, a short professional summary, a key skills block matched to the advert, work experience with duty bullets and a scope line for each role, education, certifications with expiry dates, languages and references. Work experience carries the most weight.
How many duties should I list per job?
Four to six for your most recent role and two or three for older positions. Choose the duties that match the advert and carry evidence, and leave out routine tasks that add nothing. A short specific list outperforms a long generic one.
How long should a CV be in South Africa?
Two pages is standard. Three is acceptable with extensive experience, and one page is perfectly fine early in a career. Length matters less than whether the reader can find the relevant information quickly.
Should I include a photograph or my identity number?
Generally no, unless the employer specifically requires it. Avoid putting your identity number on any CV you post publicly or send to unverified recruiters, since it can be used for identity fraud.
What file format should I send?
PDF unless the employer asks otherwise, since it preserves your formatting. Keep the layout simple and avoid tables, columns and text boxes, which automated screening tools frequently misread.