ATS-friendly CVs help Nigerian job seekers beat the bots that screen applications before a human ever sees them. With more companies in Nigeria using Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) for roles posted on sites like JobsForYou.com.ng, knowing how to format your CV and choose the right keywords can decide whether you get shortlisted or silently rejected.
What is an ATS and why it matters
An Applicant Tracking System is software recruiters use to collect, scan, and rank CVs automatically. Instead of reading every application, the ATS filters out CVs that do not match the job description based on formatting and keywords, so only the top-scoring candidates reach the recruiter. For you, this means a beautiful CV with the wrong structure or missing keywords can be discarded, even if you are qualified.
The basics of an ATS-friendly CV format
An ATS-friendly CV prioritizes simplicity and clarity so the software can read it correctly. Complex designs, graphics, and unusual layouts may confuse the system and cause your information to be misread or ignored. The goal is not to impress with design, but to make your skills and experience easy for both ATS and humans to understand.
Use a clean, single-column layout with standard fonts such as Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman, and stick to font sizes between 10 and 12 for body text. Avoid text boxes, tables, WordArt, icons, and images, because many ATS tools cannot properly parse content stored inside them. Keep headings standard and clear: “Professional Summary”, “Work Experience”, “Education”, “Skills”, and “Certifications” are better than fancy labels that the ATS might not recognize.
Ideal structure for ATS-friendly CVs
A strong ATS-friendly CV for Nigeria-based roles can follow this simple structure:
- Contact Information: Name, phone number, professional email, city/state (e.g. Port Harcourt, Rivers).
- Professional Summary: 3–5 lines highlighting your role, key skills, and career goal.
- Core Skills / Key Competencies: Bullet or comma-separated list of your top skills.
- Work Experience: Reverse chronological roles with clear bullets showing achievements.
- Education: Degrees, institutions, and dates.
- Certifications & Tools: Relevant courses, professional exams, and software.
Write job titles in a way that mirrors how employers describe them, such as “Customer Service Representative”, “Marketing Assistant”, or “HR Officer”. JobsForYou.com.ng can help you map your experience to the most common job titles Nigerian employers search for, increasing your visibility in both ATS filters and recruiter searches.
How ATS uses keywords to rank your CV
ATS systems look for specific words and phrases from the job description and compare them with your CV content. These keywords can be skills, tools, certifications, tasks, or even industry terms, and they contribute to a match score that decides how high you rank in the recruiter’s list. If your CV does not contain enough relevant keywords, the system assumes you are not a fit, even if you actually have the experience.
There are four main keyword categories ATS focuses on: core skills, technical tools, action verbs, and domain-specific language. Core skills include things like “project management”, “customer service”, or “data analysis”, while technical tools could be “Excel”, “Power BI”, “SQL”, or “Canva”. Action verbs such as “managed”, “optimized”, and “analyzed” show what you did, and domain terms like “talent acquisition”, “sales pipeline”, or “social media strategy” anchor your experience in a specific field.
Example keyword sets for Nigerian roles
Different roles require different keyword focuses, and tailoring your CV for each application significantly improves your ATS score. Below are sample keyword sets you can adapt based on the job description.
1. Entry-level Digital Marketing Assistant
Common keywords for Nigerian digital marketing roles include:
- Digital marketing
- Social media management
- Content creation
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
- Facebook Ads / Instagram Ads
- Email marketing
- Google Analytics
- Canva
A “Core Skills” line might look like:
“Digital marketing, Social media management, Content creation, SEO, Email marketing, Canva, Facebook & Instagram Ads, Google Analytics, Copywriting.”
JobsForYou.com.ng regularly features digital roles needing these skills, and the CV writing service can help you identify which of these to emphasize for specific job posts you apply to on the platform.
2. Customer Service Representative / Call Center Agent
Useful keywords for customer service roles in Nigerian banks, telcos, and fintechs include:
- Customer support
- Call handling
- Complaint resolution
- CRM software
- Ticketing systems
- Communication skills
- Upselling
- Service level agreements (SLAs)
You can use them in bullets like:
“Handled high-volume inbound calls, resolving customer complaints and meeting SLA targets consistently.”
3. HR / Recruitment Assistant
Common ATS keywords for HR roles are:
- Recruitment
- Talent acquisition
- Shortlisting
- Interview scheduling
- Onboarding
- HRIS (Human Resource Information System)
- Employee records
- Performance management
A bullet point might read:
“Supported talent acquisition by shortlisting CVs, scheduling interviews, and updating HRIS records for over 30 open roles.”
For each of these job types, JobsForYou.com.ng can generate targeted keyword lists from live vacancies so your CV matches real employer expectations in Nigeria’s market.
How to insert keywords naturally (without stuffing)
The key is to integrate keywords smoothly into your summary, skills section, and experience bullets instead of dumping them in a long list. Start by carefully reading the job description for each role and highlighting words that appear more than once or in important sections like “Requirements” and “Responsibilities”. Aim to include 10–15 of the most relevant ones across your CV.
In your professional summary, mention your role and two or three core skills that match the job:
“Entry-level digital marketer skilled in social media management, content creation, and basic SEO, seeking to support campaign execution for a growing Nigerian brand.”
In your bullets, combine action verbs with keywords to show results:
- “Managed social media content calendar and increased Instagram engagement by 30% through targeted campaigns.”
- “Supported recruitment and talent acquisition by screening CVs and scheduling interviews for multiple departments.”
Avoid repeating the same word unnaturally many times or adding skills you do not actually have, as both ATS and human recruiters can detect keyword stuffing and dishonesty.
How JobsForYou.com.ng can help you beat ATS
Many Nigerian job seekers are qualified but lose out because their CVs are not optimized for ATS scanning. JobsForYou.com.ng offers CV writing and optimization services specifically tailored to the Nigerian market and the types of roles advertised on the platform. The team can:
- Analyse the job descriptions you are targeting and extract the most important keywords.
- Restructure your CV into a clean, ATS-friendly format that avoids tables and graphics.
- Rewrite your summary and bullets to showcase your achievements using the language recruiters and ATS tools are looking for.
You can start by selecting one job currently posted on JobsForYou.com.ng, copying the description, and then updating your CV to reflect the right format and keywords using the principles in this guide
