The Errors That Eliminate Your CV (and What to Put Instead)

The most common errors that eliminate a CV in Mozambique are lying or exaggerating experience, adding too much personal information (BI, NUIT, parentage, place of birth), sending a generic CV, having Portuguese grammar errors, and making a resume that is too long. Data that does not matter for the role is left out; what stays in is what proves you can do the job.

The short answer

• Lying or exaggerating is the most serious mistake. MozYouth, a Mozambican youth organisation, placed it at the top of the list on 17-07-2024.
• Irrelevant personal details stay out. BI, NUIT, parentage, place of birth, and marital status: Mozambican job portals and a local CV guide advise against all of them.
• One page is enough. A Mozambican job portal reports CVs being discarded simply for being too long (26-03-2026).
• Send as PDF, with a simple filename like firstname-lastname.pdf, and proofread everything before sending.

The 5 errors that eliminate your CV

1. Lying or exaggerating

«Exaggerating or lying» is the number one mistake on the list published by MozYouth, a Mozambican youth organisation, on 17-07-2024. A Mozambican job portal (15-09-2025) adds the same problem to its list of common mistakes: «inventing experience».

The reason is simple: a lie only holds up until the first question. «What exactly did you do in that role?» — if the answer doesn't add up, trust dies right there. And even if you pass, the company can verify it later. An honest CV with fewer years of experience always beats an embellished CV that doesn't stand up to verification.

2. Too much personal information

BI, NUIT, parentage, place of birth, date of birth, marital status, parents' names, hobbies. MozYouth (17-07-2024) calls this «irrelevant or personal information»; a Mozambican job portal (15-09-2025) mentions «too much unnecessary personal information».

Every line that doesn't sell your work steals space from what matters. A Mozambican job portal defines a CV as a «career marketing tool, not an autobiography». A Mozambican CV writing guide is more direct: «Marital status, parentage, and date of birth also add nothing».

3. Generic CV for all vacancies

Sending the same CV «ccing everyone» — to every company, without changing a single line — is another mistake pointed out by MozYouth (17-07-2024). And they aren't the only ones: a Mozambican job portal points out that recruiters review hundreds or even thousands of resumes in a «quick glance».

A copy-paste CV gives the recruiter no reason to call you. Tailor your profile summary to the vacancy and highlight, in each experience, tasks similar to those of the job role. Spending twenty minutes per application is worth more than sending a hundred identical ones. And if the company receives applications through a screening system, check out our CV guide for automated screening systems.

4. Portuguese grammar errors

«Portuguese grammar mistakes are one of the main reasons for eliminating candidates during initial screening» — that is the conclusion of a Mozambican job portal (28-10-2025). MozYouth was harsher: spelling mistakes lead to «a high volume of CVs ending up in the trash» (17-07-2024).

Your CV is your first writing test. A document with errors suggests carelessness, and in job openings requiring written communication, it is often what determines screening results. Read your CV out loud, ask someone to review it, and don't rely solely on your phone's spell checker: it doesn't know the names of Mozambican neighbourhoods, cities, or local terms.

5. Overly long CV and informal email

A Mozambican job portal reports that «many resumes are discarded simply because they are too long» (26-03-2026). The same portal that warned about excess information (15-09-2025) adds informal emails to the issue: applying with an address like «king_of_the_city_77» gets the conversation off to a bad start.

A three-page CV forces the recruiter to hunt for relevant info — and some won't even bother looking. Your email address is your first impression: create an address with your name (for example, firstname.lastname) and use it exclusively for applications. The cover letter follows the same principle: short, tailored, and without fluff.

What to include in your CV — and what NOT to include

A CV that gets you an interview is short, clear, and tailored to the vacancy. Divide it into six sections:

• Name and contact details — full name, phone number, professional email, and the city where you live (full street address is not needed).
• Profile summary — two or three lines: who you are professionally and what you are looking for.
• Experience — company, job title, dates, and two or three tasks with results. Reverse chronological order: most recent role first.
• Education — course/degree, institution, and graduation year. Only what is relevant to the role.
• Skills — technical skills and those required by the vacancy, without exaggerating (back to the most serious mistake).
• Languages — Portuguese, English, and others. A Mozambican CV writing guide considers local languages — Changana, Makhuwa, Sena, Ndau — a real advantage.

Presentation matters too. The portal that warned against «mixing multiple fonts and colors» (15-09-2025) is right: use a single font, one accent color, and plenty of white space. The recruiter shouldn't have to strain to read your CV.

What stays out:

• BI (ID card) and NUIT (Tax ID) — belong to the contract phase, not the application.
• Parentage, place of birth, and date of birth — they add no value, and place of birth should not be an evaluation criterion.
• Photo — only if explicitly requested by the job post.
• Marital status, religion, and hobbies — personal information that doesn't market your skills.
• Full references — replace with «references available upon request».

Photo on CV: yes or no?

It is not mandatory. That is what the CV builder of a Mozambican job portal states: a photo is optional, and if you decide to use one, it should be JPG, PNG, or GIF up to 5 MB.

And when the vacancy asks for a photo? Then it matters, and quality counts. Professional photo: clear face, simple background, work-appropriate attire, front lighting. Never a mirror selfie, never a party photo, never a cropped image from a group photo.

When in doubt, leave the photo out. Employers want to know what you do, not what you look like at a weekend party.

ID card (BI), place of birth, and parentage: what the law and the market say

Start with a fact: there is no official Mozambican source that requires including your BI (ID card), photo, or place of birth on your CV. The idea that a CV must include your BI comes from habit — and, in the case of parentage, from school habits — not from the law or the market.

A Mozambican job portal is clear:

• BI (ID): «it is a rule not to include the BI number in the templates we provide». The rule exists to «protect against identity theft», because «this data is irrelevant» for evaluating a candidate.
• Email: if you send your CV by email, make sure the document «does not contain your BI number».
• Exception: some recruitment portals may «request» the BI «as a way to validate your identity» — in those cases, the number goes into the application form, never on the CV itself.

A Mozambican CV writing guide summarizes the practice: «The Identity Card (BI) number and NUIT belong to the contract phase»; this «protects you from identity fraud», and «Marital status, parentage, and date of birth also add nothing».

Regarding parentage, a Mozambican portal states that it «is not considered relevant information for most companies when evaluating a candidate». Regarding place of birth, it states that it «should not be a metric for evaluating a candidate».

And what about the law? The current Labour Law (Law 13/2023, of 25 August) has three relevant articles here:

• Article 8 — data protection: the employer cannot require information regarding the employee's private life.
• Article 5 — non-discrimination: «place of birth» is one of the expressly prohibited grounds for discrimination. Using place of birth to evaluate a candidate violates this article.
• Article 93 — working hours: the standard workweek is 48 hours. Useful to know your limits when negotiating schedules. And to find out salaries across sectors, check minimum wages by sector in 2026.

A clarification: the law does not expressly prohibit a recruiter from asking for a BI — that is an interpretive reading, and no one should claim otherwise. What is certain is that recommended practice in Mozambique, and the rule in Mozambican templates themselves, is not to put these details on your resume.

There is also a rare exception for place of birth: when it directly relates to the tasks of the position — otherwise, it stays off the CV.

You can consult the official text: Law 13/2023 — Labour Law (official PDF).

References on your CV: how to handle them

Write «references available upon request» rather than listing contact details. It is the most common practice and prevents your supervisor's phone number from ending up in unknown hands.

Other people's contact details are personal data. The same logic of Article 8 of Law 13/2023 applies here: third-party data should only be shared with their express consent. And there's a second risk: the recruiter calls, and the person has no idea who you are.

When the vacancy specifically requests references, do this:

• Choose two or three people who worked with you: a supervisor, a senior colleague, an internship supervisor.
• Notify them beforehand. Tell them what role it is, what the company does, and what to expect. An informed reference speaks much better on your behalf.
• Provide their full name, job title, and contact details on a separate page or in the application form.
• If not requested, leave «references available upon request». If you advance, you can provide them right away.

How Inademy helps you

A clean CV is half the journey; the other half is reaching vacancies that make sense for you. Inademy exists for this: you create your profile with your experience, education, skills, and languages, and you receive job updates directly on your phone via email and WhatsApp — without needing to send the same document to every company.

Explore job vacancies published on Inademy and apply with a single-page, honest CV without BI details or typos. If you live in the capital, start with jobs in Maputo.

Read also

• How to Create a CV on Your Mobile Phone in Mozambique (step by step)

Frequently asked questions

Should I include my ID card (BI) on my CV?

No. Mozambican job portals have a rule not to include BI numbers on CVs: the information is irrelevant for evaluation, and the rule protects you against identity theft. Your BI (ID) and NUIT (Tax ID) belong to the contract phase. If an application form asks for it for validation purposes, provide it there.

Is a photo mandatory on a CV?

No. The CV generator of a Mozambican job portal lists photos as optional. If the vacancy asks for one, choose a professional photo in JPG, PNG, or GIF up to 5 MB. If it doesn't ask, keep the CV focused on your work.

How many pages should a CV have?

There is no «one-size-fits-all rule», as a Mozambican job portal notes — but a Mozambican CV writing guide recommends one page, and a Mozambican job portal reports resumes being discarded «simply because they are too long» (26-03-2026). A CV is a career marketing tool, not an autobiography.

Can I invent experience?

No — it is the most serious mistake, according to MozYouth (17-07-2024), and a Mozambican job portal includes «inventing experience» among common errors (15-09-2025). Lies don't survive a recruiter's first question, and background checks can happen months after hiring.

References: should I write contact details or «upon request»?

Write «references available upon request». When a job posting specifically requests them, provide two or three informed references with name, job title, and contact details. Never put third-party contact details on a CV without consent — this follows the same data protection principles of Article 8 of Law 13/2023.

The Inademy Guide has more articles about CVs, interviews, and job applications in Mozambique, all with verified data and market sources. Start today: the next job application could be yours. And if your CV isn't ready yet, follow the complete step-by-step guide to making a CV in Mozambique.