A good CV does one job: it earns you the interview. In Timor-Leste, where most hiring still happens through who-you-know, a clear written CV is how you get considered by employers who do not already know your family. Here is what a strong one contains.
The seven parts of a strong CV
- Your name and contact. Full name, phone/WhatsApp, email, and your municipality. Nothing else at the top.
- A two-line summary. Who you are and what work you want. “Hospitality worker with 3 years front-desk experience, fluent in Tetum and English.”
- Work history, newest first. Employer, your role, the dates, and one line on what you actually did. Informal and family-business work counts — write it down.
- Education and certificates. School, any diploma, and short courses (SEFOPE / CNEFP training, computer courses, first aid). Certificates matter for overseas programmes.
- Languages. Tetum, Portuguese, Indonesian, English — and your honest level (basic, good, fluent). Language is often the deciding factor.
- Skills. Concrete ones: driving licence, motorbike, welding, Excel, cooking, childcare, cash handling.
- References. Two people who will speak for you, with their phone numbers — a former boss, a teacher, a community leader.
Five habits that win
- Keep it to one or two pages. Nobody reads more.
- Use a plain photo — face clear, good light, like a passport photo.
- Tell the truth. A lie found in the interview ends the interview.
- Match the job: put the experience the vacancy asks for at the top.
- Save it as a PDF so it looks the same on every phone.
Servisu of Timor will let you build this CV once on your phone and reuse it for every application — free, always.