A Jamaican resume is usually one or two pages in English. It includes contact details, a short profile, education with your degree or diploma and CSEC and CAPE subjects for recent school leavers, work experience with achievements, skills and two references. Employers often ask separately for a police record, your TRN and copies of certificates, so keep them ready but off the resume.
These are common practices, not legal rules, and employers differ. Every example is fictional; replace each [bracketed] detail with your own, and follow the job posting when it asks for something specific.
What a Jamaican CV usually includes
| Section | What to write |
|---|---|
| Contact details | Name, phone, email and parish |
| Profile | Two or three lines on your role and strengths |
| Education | Degree or diploma, then CAPE and CSEC subjects with grades |
| Work experience | Title, employer, dates and achievements |
| Skills | Software, customer service, technical skills |
| References | Two, usually a former supervisor and a teacher or pastor |
How to list CSEC and CAPE subjects
- CSEC: "CSEC ([Year]): [number] subjects including English A (Grade I) and Mathematics (Grade II)".
- CAPE: units and grades in one line.
- Once you have a degree and experience, a short summary is enough.
Jamaican CV template (sample to copy)
Jamaican resume sample (fictional)
[Your Name] — [Position applied for]
[Parish] · [+1 876 phone] · [Email]
PROFILE: Customer service representative with [years] years in [industry].
EDUCATION: [Diploma/Degree], [Institution], [Year] · CAPE ([Year]): [units] · CSEC ([Year]): [number] subjects including English and Mathematics
EXPERIENCE: [Title], [Employer], [Month Year]–Present — [result]
SKILLS: [software], [skill]
REFERENCES: available on request
Documents employers ask for
Many Jamaican employers ask for a police record, your Taxpayer Registration Number (TRN), NIS number and copies of certificates during hiring. These are personal identifiers: give them on the employer's forms, not on the resume you send to every application.
- Do I put my TRN on my resume?
- No. Provide it on the employer's forms when you are hired or shortlisted.
- Should Jamaican resumes include CSEC grades?
- Yes for school leavers and recent graduates; keep it to a summary later in your career.
- Resume or CV in Jamaica?
- Both words are used for the same one-to-two-page document.
For North America, see the Canadian resume format; for the UK, the UK CV format. Compare other countries in the CV format by country guide. Copy the template above for free, or build yours in the CV builder: creating and previewing is free, and the PDF download is part of a paid plan.
