A well-written resume will generate interest and interviews. It should be easy to read and no more than 3 pages. It should reflect your personality and be written in language that you would normally use.
When applying to a specific role, amend your basic resume to highlight your suitability for that role. Keep presentation simple and easy to follow. Ensure that grammar and spelling are checked thoroughly before submitting.
Presentation & Format. This area really is a minefield. If you over adorn your resume, it will look as though you are trying to disguise something, it also makes it much hard to read. Choose a simple font that is easy to read. Imagine being a recruiter and trying to decipher this kind of thing. A photo of yourself is probably a bad idea, no matter how gorgeous you think you are. Are you relying on looks rather than experience? Please number your pages too. Shuffling sheets of paper trying to get them in order is a time waster and is easily fixed by the writer. Remember too, that you need to format the document using lots of ‘white space’ a large margin means that the reader has space to jot down notes about how good you are!
Spelling and Grammatical Errors. Nothing says disinterested like mistakes in your resume. The resume is a sales tool, and if you can’t be bothered to ensure it is perfect, why would anyone else be interested? Take the time to use spell check, and read it aloud to get a feel for the flow of the document. Then hand it to someone else to proofread.
Should I put my address etc on the resume? My feeling is that no, you shouldn’t. If you live in Liverpool and the role is in North Sydney, you are the one that should make the decision as to whether the job is too far away. NOT the recruiter or HR person you have sent the resume to. Your name and phone number(s) is enough - make sure it is on all pages.
Should I put school awards etc on the resume? If you are a recent school leaver or graduate, then certainly, these things have merit. However once you have built up some solid career experience, it really does not add value if you won the shot putt in year 5.
Email addresses. Often, people seem to use their email address as an opportunity to express their personality or creativity. Please ensure that you are not asking people to contact you at softbunny@hotmail.com or rippedboy@hotmail.com, for example. While providing some much needed light relief for the reader, it doesn’t look professional!
Resume Template
Click here to download the Careers Unlimited resume template
Resume Format
Personal Information
- Name
- Address
- Home Phone
- Work Phone
- Mobile Phone
- Email address
Career Summary
- What do you hope to achieve? Maximum One sentence
- Employment Summary
- List most recent position first. Summarize only 3 or 4 of your positions.
- Use a on liner to refer to other roles that are important.
- Start date - end date of each position
- Company name (and location if important)
- Position title
- Responsibility/major objective of role (single paragraph)
- Major duties - dot points
- Achievements - dot points
Educational Summary
- List most recent first
- Start date - finish date
- Institution
- Qualification
Tertiary
- Start date - finish date
- Institution
- Qualification
Secondary
- Start date - finish date
- Institution
- Qualification
Skill summary
- Technical skills - list skill and grading (beginner, intermediate, advanced)
- Computer literacy - list packages and grading
- Non-technical skills - include personal attributes such as "team player, high work ethic"
- Professional Memberships
Employment sought
- Interests: One line only
Referees
- Name
- Title
- Company
- Work phone
- Mobile phone
- Email address
- Relationship of referee to you