The formatting is the easy part. Knowing what to write is the hard part. Here are two full sectors from the wording library, copied straight out of the file. A professional summary you can adapt, a skills list to choose from, and achievement starters to fill in with your own numbers.
These two sectors are free whether you buy anything or not. Copy them, use them, send them to someone who needs them.
Before you copy anything
Never submit any of this unchanged. Every bracketed section must become your own detail, and every skill must be one you genuinely have. A recruiter who has seen this wording before will recognise unedited text immediately, and they read hundreds of CVs. Use these to get moving, then make the words yours.
If your work spans two sectors, take the summary from the closest one and pull skills from both. If your sector is not listed here, use the one nearest to it, the structure works everywhere.
Administration & office support
Free sectorProfessional summary
Detail-oriented administrative professional with [X] years’ experience supporting office operations, scheduling, document control and customer queries. Proficient in Microsoft Office and [system you use]. Known for [reliability / accuracy / handling high volumes calmly]. Seeking an administration or office-support role in [city, province].
Key skills - choose the 6 to 10 that are true of you
Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook) • Diary and calendar management • Data capturing • Minute taking • Filing and document control • Switchboard operation • Petty cash • Invoice processing • Travel arrangements • Stock and stationery ordering • Customer query resolution
Achievement starters - add your own numbers
- Managed the diary for a [X]-person team, coordinating an average of [X] meetings per week without a double-booking
- Processed [X] invoices per month, maintaining a [X]% on-time payment record
- Reorganised the filing system for [department], reducing document-retrieval time from [X] to [X]
- Handled an average of [X] queries per day by phone and email, resolving most on first contact
Retail
Free sectorProfessional summary
Customer-focused retail professional with [X] years’ experience in [point-of-sale operations / merchandising / stock control] within a [fast-paced / high-volume] store environment. Recognised for [accurate cash handling / reliable attendance / consistently meeting targets]. Seeking a [sales assistant / supervisor] role in [city].
Key skills - choose the 6 to 10 that are true of you
Point-of-sale operation • Cash handling and cash-ups • Stock counting and receiving • Merchandising and displays • Customer service • Upselling • Shrinkage control • Opening and closing procedures • Team supervision • Returns and exchanges
Achievement starters - add your own numbers
- Served an average of [X] customers per shift, with a balanced till at every cash-up
- Counted and reconciled stock across [X] product lines weekly, identifying and correcting discrepancies
- Consistently met or exceeded a monthly sales target of R[X]
- Trained [X] new staff members on till procedures and store standards
Why the wording matters as much as the layout
Most CV advice stops at formatting. But a recruiter reading your CV is looking for evidence, and evidence is specific: a number, a scale, a result. “Responsible for stock” tells them nothing. “Counted and reconciled stock across 40 product lines weekly” tells them what you actually did.
That is why every starter above has a bracket in it. The bracket is the work. Fill it with something true and the line does its job.
The other ten sectors
The full library covers twelve South African sectors: administration, retail, customer service and call centre, finance and accounting support, sales and business development, marketing and communications, IT and technical support, logistics and warehouse, healthcare support, education and training, hospitality and tourism, and general worker, operations and trades.
The two above are free. The other ten come with the South African CV & Job-Search System - two A4 Word CV templates, matching cover letters and reference pages, nine guides, and a tracker for a hundred applications. One once-off payment, nothing to renew. The current price is on the product page.
If the two sectors above are all you needed, that is a fine outcome. Take them and go.
See what is in the full system
Questions before you buy anything? The questions page answers what most people ask, and you can email a person who will tell you honestly if this is not right for you.