Five steps to a strong application.
Build a CV
Your CV, section by section.
Keep it to one or two pages. Recruiters skim, so make the important things easy to find.
Contact details
Name, phone, email and city, plus a LinkedIn or portfolio link. Leave out your full address, date of birth and photo unless asked.
A short summary
Two or three lines at the top: who you are, your strongest skills, what you want next. Rewrite it for each role.
Experience
Most recent first: title, organisation, dates, then two to four bullets. Lead each with a verb and a result, so “Grew X by 30%” rather than “Responsible for X”.
Education & training
Qualifications, institutions and years. Add relevant online courses and certificates, many of them on our directory.
Skills
Only the skills the opportunity actually asks for. Quality over quantity.
Prepare an application
A cover letter, in four moves.
Most applications ask for a short letter alongside your CV. These four moves cover it.
The 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.
Free tools we point people to.
Well-known, free-to-start tools that help with the steps above. None of these are run by Opportunity Hub.
Visit siteCanva
External toolFree CV and cover-letter templates you can edit in the browser, no design experience needed.
Visit siteGrammarly
External toolFree browser extension that catches typos and grammar slips before you submit.
Visit siteLinkedIn Learning
External toolFree and paid short courses on interview skills, writing and workplace basics.
Prepare for an interview
Turn up ready to talk.
Most opportunities that shortlist you will want a short call or interview before confirming. A little preparation is what sets you apart.
- 1
Research the organisation
Read their site and recent news. Be ready to say why this one, specifically, not just “any opportunity”.
- 2
Prepare real examples
Have two or three specific stories ready: what you did, what changed, what you learned, not vague claims.
- 3
Prepare your own questions
Ask about the role, the team, or what success looks like in the first few months. It shows genuine interest.
- 4
Follow up
A short thank-you note within a day, referencing something specific from the conversation.
Find funding guidance
Grants, fellowships and funding, read properly.
Plenty of time goes into grants people were never eligible for, and offers that were never real. Read the criteria before the headline number.
How to read grant eligibility
- Read the eligibility box first. Many grants are limited by country, age, sector or career stage, so check you qualify before you spend an evening on the form.
- Know what it actually funds. Some cover study or salaries, others only equipment or project costs. Match it to what you genuinely need.
- Check the terms. Is it one-off or ongoing? Does it expect match-funding, a registered organisation, or reporting you can realistically commit to?
- Confirm it is still open. Funding rounds close and reopen, so check the current round and deadline on the funder’s own website.
Funding red flags
- Any fee to “apply”, “process”, “unlock” or “guarantee” funding. Legitimate grants never charge you to apply.
- Guaranteed approval, or a large amount offered with no clear criteria behind it.
- A “funder” that only reaches you by WhatsApp or personal email and has no official website.
- Pressure to share bank details or ID before any formal, written offer.
Grants and funding on the Hub each link straight to the funder's official page, with no middle step. That is where to find the real listings.
Browse grants & fundingResearch an opportunity safely
A real opportunity never asks you to pay.
Application scams are common. Our editors review the platforms we list, 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.
How to check a listing is real
- Search the organisation’s name yourself and open their official site directly, rather than only trusting a link in a message.
- Find the same opportunity on their own careers page or verified social accounts.
- Check the deadline, contact and details match between here, the message and the official page.
- Treat a free email address or a messaging-app-only contact as a reason to slow down and check.
Ready when you are.
This guidance is provided for information only. The Opportunity Hub and Africa No Filter are not responsible for third-party tools or websites, for the content of external listings, or for application outcomes and selection decisions, which rest entirely with the organisation providing each opportunity. Always confirm the latest requirements on the official provider’s website.