Your CV for donor-funded projects: World Bank format
- vsavastin
- Mar 4
- 3 min read
When applying for a key expert position in a donor-funded project, it is very important to have a well-tailored CV that matches the requirements of the profile. However, often this is not enough because major donors, such as the EC, the ADB, the World Bank, and the UN, prefer to work with their own specific formats and disregard applications that do not match these.
Continuing DevelopmentPeople's exclusive series on CVs for donor-funded projects, we're pleased to share more helpful tips! This time, we'll thoroughly examine the World Bank format and highlight the unique aspects that set it apart from other donors.
The World Bank is an international financial institution (IFI) that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries to pursue capital projects, aiming to fight poverty.
The World Bank CV format is used for applications from companies bidding for a WB-funded project or for individual applications for jobs in NGOs/companies that receive WB funding.
The main sections presented in the EuropeAid format, which we described in our previous article, also feature in the WB format: name of expert, date of birth, country of citizenship/residence.
In the Education Section, list college, university, or specialized education by providing the names of the institutions, dates of attendance, and the degree(s) or diploma(s) earned.
Start your Employment Record with your current position and list all assignments in reverse chronological order. Include dates, the names of the organizations you worked for, the titles of the positions you held, the types of activities you performed, and the locations of these assignments. Also, provide contact information for previous clients and employers who can be contacted for references.
Employment that is not relevant to the assignment does not need to be included!
This section is followed by the Membership in Professional Associations and Publications Section and Language Skills – indicate only the languages in which you can work.
What sets this format apart from others is the Adequacy for the Assignment Section, where you should enumerate all the tasks you'll be engaged in and provide examples of past assignments that best demonstrate your ability to manage these specific responsibilities. There's no requirement to provide detailed information about relevant projects or assignments; just include concise details like the project name, your role and capacity, and the relevant dates.
Contact details should be included at the end followed by the Certification Section that needs to be dated and signed by the candidate.
Source: DevelopmentPeople
Formatting tips for the World Bank CV template
Details matter – this is the thing you should remember. This is why we suggest you follow a few rules:
In terms of fonts, use Arial, Calibri, or Cambria, size 9 or 10.
Refrain from using various colors, images, shapes, pictures, font sizes, and font types in your CV, as recruiters may not appreciate these elements.
While it's acceptable to list hobbies in your CV when applying for private sector positions, this information is unnecessary for donor-funded roles, where the emphasis is on your technical expertise. Therefore, we recommend focusing on the content!
When customizing a WB CV for a specific sector, the formatting remains unchanged, but it's important to emphasize sector-specific terminology and keywords.
Stay tuned for our next article in this exclusive DevelopmentPeople series.