Ghanaian employers expect a letter with a CV, and many read it first. It is a formal letter: addresses, a date, a heading, and one page.

The template

                    [Your address]
                    [Town]
                    [Phone number]
                    [Email]
                    [Date]

The [Human Resource Manager]
[Company name]
[Address]
[Town]

Dear Sir / Madam,

APPLICATION FOR THE POSITION OF [JOB TITLE]

I write to apply for the position of [job
title] advertised on [where] on [date].

I hold a [degree or qualification] from
[institution] and have [number] years'
experience in [field]. At [current or last
employer] I [one concrete result that
matches what the advert asks for].

[One paragraph on why this company and this
job, specific enough that it could not be
sent to anyone else.]

My CV is attached. I would welcome the chance
to discuss the role, and can be reached on
[phone] or at [email].

Yours faithfully,

[Signature]

[YOUR FULL NAME]

Why each part is there

  • The heading names the job, as the advert names it. A company hiring for several posts sorts letters by it.
  • Say where you saw it. Employers want to know which advert works, and it shows you are answering a real vacancy.
  • One result, matched to the advert. Read what the advert asks for and prove the one that matters most. The CV has the rest.
  • The “why here” paragraph is the one most letters skip, and the one that shows you read about the company.
  • One page. If it runs over, cut the second paragraph, not the first.

By email

Put “Application for [job title] - [your name]” in the subject line, write the letter in the body of the email or attach it as a PDF with the CV, and send it from an address with your name in it.

For a job nobody has advertised

Change the heading to “ENQUIRY ABOUT [FIELD] VACANCIES” and the first paragraph to what you can do for them and why you are writing to them in particular. Address it to a named person if you can find one.

Before you send it

Never pay to apply

A real employer does not charge an application, form or “processing” fee. A job that asks for money before an interview, or a “recruitment agent” who promises a post in exchange for a payment, is a scam.

— CV template for Ghana — Formal letter format — How to find a job in Accra