How to write a CV that GCC employers actually read

When a good role opens in the Gulf, recruiters can receive hundreds of applications in a few days. Most CVs get a quick first look, often less than a minute, before the recruiter decides whether to read on. Your CV’s job is to pass that first look and make the next step easy.

Here is how to write one that does.

What recruiters look for first

In the first scan, a recruiter is trying to answer a few questions quickly:

• What do you do? Your current or most recent job title.
• How much relevant experience do you have? In years, and in this kind of role.
• Where have you worked? Countries, sectors and the type of projects or companies.
• Do you have the right certificates or licences? Trade, safety, professional or driving.
• Where are you now, and when could you start? Your current country and notice period.

Put these where they can’t be missed: in your profile at the top and in your most recent role. In the GCC, many candidates also add their nationality and visa status. Include them if you are comfortable doing so, because recruiters often need them early.

A structure that works

Keep the order simple and predictable:

1. Name and contact details: phone with country code (and say if it’s on WhatsApp), email, city and country, and a LinkedIn link if you have one.
2. Profile: two or three lines saying who you are, your experience and the role you want.
3. Key skills and certificates: a short list of the skills and certificates the job asks for.
4. Work experience: most recent first. For each role, give the job title, company, country, start and end dates (month and year) and three to five bullet points.
5. Education and training.
6. Languages: for example Arabic, English or French, with your level in each.

Two pages is usually enough. If you are early in your career, one page is better.

Use the words of the job advert

Many employers and agencies use software to sort applications, and recruiters search their databases by keyword. If the advert asks for a “Site Supervisor” with “HSE” experience and “Primavera P6”, use those exact words wherever they are true for you, especially in your profile and recent roles.

Don’t copy the whole advert, though. Recruiters notice, and it makes your CV harder to believe.

Show proof, not adjectives

“Hard-working, reliable team player” tells a recruiter very little. Facts tell them a lot. Compare these:

• Weak: “Responsible for maintenance.”
• Strong: “Led preventive maintenance for 40 pumps and compressors across two plants, with a team of 6 technicians.”

Wherever you can, add numbers. How many people did you supervise? How big was the project, how much equipment did you look after, how many guests or patients did you serve? Numbers make your experience concrete and easy to compare.

Keep the format clean

• Send a PDF unless the employer asks for Word. It keeps your layout intact on any device.
• Use a simple layout. Avoid tables, text boxes and graphics: they can confuse application software and look cluttered on a phone.
• Choose a clear file name, for example Ahmed-Ali-CV-Site-Supervisor.pdf, not CV_final_v3.pdf.
• Keep the file small. Most online forms have a size limit; on our website it is 4 MB.
• Photo: common in the GCC but not required. If you include one, use a recent, professional head-and-shoulders photo.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Unexplained gaps between jobs. A short line is enough: “Career break, family relocation, 2023”.
• Old phone numbers or email addresses.
• Dates that don’t match between your CV, your certificates and your LinkedIn profile.
• A generic objective that could fit any job.
• Spelling mistakes, especially in job titles and company names.
• Anything that isn’t true. Certificates and references are checked, and inconsistencies end applications.

Before you send it

Read your CV once more and ask yourself:

• Can someone tell what I do, and at what level, in ten seconds?
• Does it use the key words from this job advert?
• Are my phone number and email correct, with the country code?
• Is it a PDF, under 4 MB, with a clear file name?

Then send it. If you don’t see the right role today, you can still send us your CV and our team will contact you when a matching opening comes up. Or browse our open jobs.