How to apply — and stand out.
The opportunities on this Hub are real and competitive. A clear CV and a tailored cover letter are what get you shortlisted. Here's how to write both — in plain terms, with nothing to buy.
Your CV, section by section
Keep it to one or two pages. Recruiters skim — make the important things easy to find, and cut everything that isn't earning its place.
- 1
Contact details
Full name, phone, email and city. A LinkedIn or portfolio link if you have one. Skip your full address, date of birth and photo unless specifically asked.
- 2
A short summary
Two or three lines at the top: who you are, your strongest skills, and what you’re looking for. Tailor this to each role.
- 3
Experience
Most recent first. For each role: title, organisation, dates, and 2–4 bullet points. Lead each bullet with a verb and a result — “Grew X by 30%”, not “Responsible for X”.
- 4
Education & training
Qualifications, institutions and years. Include relevant online courses and certificates — many of them are on our Learn page.
- 5
Skills
A tight list of the skills the opportunity actually asks for. Quality over quantity.
The cover letter, in four moves
Open with the role
Name the exact opportunity and where you saw it. One clear sentence.
Show why you
Pick your two strongest, most relevant achievements and connect them directly to what the opportunity needs.
Show why them
A sentence on why this organisation and this opportunity specifically — not a generic “I admire your work”.
Close with a next step
Thank them, say you’ve attached your CV, and invite a conversation. Keep the whole letter under one page.
Do this, not that
Send the same CV to everything.
Tailor the summary and top skills to each opportunity.
List duties: “Responsible for social media”.
Show results: “Grew the page from 2k to 18k followers in a year”.
Write three pages of dense text.
One or two clean pages, plenty of white space, consistent formatting.
Use a personal email like coolguy99@…
Use a simple firstname.lastname address.
Submit and forget.
Save the opportunity, set a deadline alert, and follow up politely.
A real opportunity never asks you to pay.
Application scams are common. Africa No Filter curates these listings, but always verify details on the official site before sharing anything. Walk away if you see:
- A “processing”, “registration” or “visa” fee to apply or be considered.
- Requests for your bank details, ID or passport before any interview.
- Pressure to act “within hours”, or an offer that arrives with no interview.
- An email address or link that doesn’t match the official organisation.