Resumé Help
A well-presented resumé is an essential job search tool. An effective resumé will assist prospective employer in searching through the information in an effective way.
If the information is promoting your strengths and the benefits that your experience has to offer, it will drastically increase the odds of you progressing to the next stage of the recruitment process.
Following are some tips that will help you create an effective, professional resumé that will enhance your chances of employment. (A poorly written resumé will do the opposite).
Do:
- Try to keep your resumé to 2-5 pages depending on length of employment (If your employment history is long and varied, try to focus on the positions that are relevant to the position you are applying for)
- List qualifications and written references on resumé and keep all original documents in a portfolio. These can then be used for verification purposes at interview.
- Use bullet points, refrain from the use of jargon and minimise the use of pronouns such as ‘I’ and ‘we’
Don't:
- Do not exaggerate, (or worse - lie) this can be embarrassing when the recruiter verifies your information.
- Do not use different fonts and colours unless you are applying for a graphic designer’s position or similar.
Layout:
The following order of details is what most recruiters expect and will enable them to access your information a familiar and effective fashion.
First page
Personal Details:
- Name
- Date of Birth
- Nationality (If non-Australian, include visa class)
- Address
- Phone Details
- Email Address
Education:
- Tertiary Qualifications and/or current studying details
- Last year of High School, name of school
Further Training and skills:
- IT Skills
- Relevant Certificate Courses
- Language skills (other than English)
Objective:
Your personal career objective and how it will benefit the prospective employer.
Subsequent pages
Career History in reverse chronological order by starting with the most recent position first:
- Date started and date finished (month and year only)
- Company name, Location
- Your job title
- Briefly summarise your duties, responsibilities & Achievements
Last Page:
- List referees in order of relevance.
- Remember to ask your referees permission, before including them.
- Include referee's name, title, name of company and the his/hers relationship to you as well as contact telephone and email
