A CV is supposed to be a short and honest summary of what you can do. In practice, it is a short and enthusiastic summary of what you wish you could do, written at midnight with the help of a very generous imagination.

This is the story of Kingsley, a graduate with a gleaming smile, an extraordinary CV and one remarkable gift: absolute confidence.

The Document

Kingsley’s CV was three pages long. The first page listed his education, which was real. The second page listed his experience, which was mostly real. The third page, titled “Skills”, was a work of art.

It said: “Expert in Microsoft Office, Photoshop, Excel, coding, networking, accounting, graphic design, video editing, project management, digital marketing, public speaking, data science and basic engineering. Fluent in English, French, Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba and Spanish. Familiar with artificial intelligence.”

At the bottom, in small italics, it added: “References available upon request, and some even on time.”

The Interview Begins

The hiring manager, Mrs. Adebayo, was a calm woman who had interviewed thousands of people and could spot an exaggeration the way a mechanic spots a loose bolt. She welcomed Kingsley warmly, offered him a seat and held up the CV.

“This is very impressive,” she said, in a voice that suggested the opposite. “Let us begin with something simple. Your Excel skills.”

“Excellent,” said Kingsley. “I am an expert.”

“Can you tell me how you would add a column of numbers?”

He paused. “I would… use the plus sign?”

“Interesting. Is there a function you might use?”

Kingsley’s eyes moved sideways. “Yes. The function of addition.”

The Language Test

Mrs. Adebayo nodded slowly and moved on. “You say you are fluent in French.”

“Absolutely.”

“Please say something in French.”

He sat up straight and said, with tremendous confidence, “Bonjour, je suis Kingsley. I am very good.”

Mrs. Adebayo smiled. “Yes. And how would you say ‘I would like to schedule a meeting for next Tuesday’?”

There was a long silence. Somewhere, a clock ticked. Kingsley looked at the ceiling, looked at the wall and finally said, “Next Tuesday, we shall… bonjour.”

“Thank you,” said Mrs. Adebayo, writing something on her notepad. It was a very short note, but it had a firm underline.

The Software Showdown

“Let us try something practical,” she said, turning her laptop toward him. “You listed graphic design software. Please design a simple flyer.”

Kingsley stared at the screen. It displayed a blank page and a toolbar full of tiny pictures. He moved the mouse. He clicked a pencil, a bucket and an object that looked like a tiny frog. A bright pink shape appeared and covered the entire screen.

“It is a modern style,” he said. “Very bold.”

“What is the frog?”

“It is a… frog-shaped tool.”

“And what does it do?”

“It jumps,” said Kingsley, with the dignity of a man who believed in his answer.

Mrs. Adebayo closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them, she was smiling in a way that was almost admiring.

The Question of Artificial Intelligence

“Last line of your CV,” she said. “Familiar with artificial intelligence. Can you explain what that means?”

Kingsley took a breath. “Artificial intelligence,” he said, “is when a computer thinks it is smarter than a human.”

“And is that true?”

“Sometimes,” he said. “Especially in my case.”

There was a short pause, and then Mrs. Adebayo laughed. It was a real laugh, loud and unplanned, and the kind that makes a room feel lighter. Kingsley, relieved, laughed too, though he was not sure why.

The Honest Moment

When the laughter faded, Mrs. Adebayo folded her hands. “Kingsley,” she said gently, “can I tell you what I see?”

“Please.”

“I see a young man who is bright, quick and not afraid. You are brave in an interview, which is rare. But your CV promises things you have not yet learned. That is dangerous, because when the job begins, the work will not wait for your confidence.”

Kingsley said nothing. His smile had softened into something quieter and more honest.

“Next time,” she continued, “write what you truly know. Write what you are learning. Then tell me you are eager to learn the rest. I will respect that far more than a long list of things you cannot do.”

The Second Chance

He thanked her, shook her hand and walked out looking thoughtful. That evening, he opened his laptop and began to rewrite his CV. It took four hours. The new version was shorter. It listed three skills he actually possessed, two he was practising and a sentence that said: “I learn fast, and I tell the truth.”

Two weeks later, his phone rang. It was Mrs. Adebayo. “We have an opening in our customer team,” she said. “It requires patience, humour and the ability to say ‘I do not know yet’. Would you like to try?”

“Yes, ma,” said Kingsley, so quickly that he nearly dropped the phone.

He got the job. And on his first day, a colleague asked, “Do you speak French?” Kingsley smiled and said, “Not yet. But bonjour.”