0 P a g e STEPS TO CREATING AN EFFECTIVE AUSTRALIAN RESUME

Transcription

1 0 P a g e STEPS TO CREATING AN EFFECTIVE AUSTRALIAN RESUME

2 AUSTRALIAN RESUMES - STEPS TO CREATING AN EFFECTIVE AUSTRALIAN RESUME By Nadine Myers 1 P a g e

3 AUSTRALIAN RESUMES STEPS TO CREATING AN EFFECTIVE AUSTRALIAN RESUME Published by: Resume Australia Copyright 2014 Nadine Myers All Rights Reserved Published by Resume Australia No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to australianjobsearch@gmail.com. 2 P a g e

4 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Nadine Myers is the Founder and Director of many of Australia s leading job search assistance websites, assisting locals as well as migrants from all over the world to successfully secure employment in Australia. Degree qualified in Business Management through the University of Queensland, Australia; Nadine took on further studies in Organisational Psychology, gained through the University of London, UK. With more than 14 years work experience gained in Australia and Internationally in Human Resource Management, Recruitment and Job Search Strategies, across several industries, including Tourism, Engineering, Government, Health Care, Engineering, Manufacturing, Skincare and Finance; Nadine has expertise in assisting people to achieve their career dreams. Nadine current runs and as well as LinkedIn Group, Employer Sponsorship Australia ( is author of several books on the topic of job search in Australia (see Recommended Books & Websites for full list of books available), and has been featured twice in Australian & NZ Magazine, UK. Nadine not only assists locals and emigrants to prepare their CV and cover letter for the Australian job market, but also provides job search strategies and techniques to help people find jobs in Australia through the hidden job market. COPYRIGHT Nadine Myers 2014 All Rights Reserved 3 P a g e

5 Table of Contents About the Author... 3 Introduction... 5 Why You Need an Impacting Resume... 6 Australian Resume Secret #1 - First Page Your Key to Success!... 7 Australian Resume Secret #2 - Personal Information Less is More!... 9 Australian Resume Secret #3 - Career Objective / Career Summary the Hook Australian Resume Secret #4 - Key Skills the Line Australian Resume Secret #5 - Key Qualifications the Sinker Australian Resume Secret #6 - Memberships Show You Mean Business Australian Resume Secret# 7 - Employment History / Work Experience Australian Resume Secret #8 -Job Title- WHO are you? Australian Resume Secret #9 - Dates Australian Resume Secret #10 - Full Time, Part Time, Contract, Temporary or Voluntary Australian Resume Secret# 11 - Company Information Australian Resume Secret# 12 - Responsibilities Australian Resume Secret# 13 - Achievements Australian Resume Secret# 14 - Technical Skills and Personal Attributes Australian Resume Secret# 15 - Additional Training Australian Resume Secret# 16 - Referees: the Proof is in the Pudding Australian Resume Secret# 17 -Format and Font Simple is as Simple Does Other Useful Tips - Common Resume Mistakes in Australia Writing an Australian Cover Letter Putting It All Together Final Word Recommended Books & Websites P a g e

6 INTRODUCTION There are definitely some secrets to writing a really good resume for the Australian job market, otherwise everyone would be doing it! If you knew the secrets to a really good resume, would you be applying them? Of course you would! This ebook will not only transform your resume, but it will also dramatically increase your success rate when applying for jobs in Australia guaranteed! If you apply all of the secrets exposed in this ebook and do not have better results when applying for jobs in Australia, I will give you your money back. That s how confident I am that you can now achieve the job that you want, just by changing a few key things about your job application. I have set this ebook out to showcase the key secrets of a successful Australian resume so that you can learn what they are, but also learn WHY they are important. This will allow you to take a completely new approach to your resume and your Australian applications, and ensure that you achieve success from now on. After exposing the key secrets of a successful Australian resume, I then provide you with some additional tips that will cement your success, if applied. Following the key secrets, I list the top no-no s of what NOT to do on your resume. This will keep you out of hot water and take you further down the road to success! Finally, we will put all of the information together and take you through some simple steps where you will actually write your successful resume as we move through this chapter and recap on all of the important points to remember. Here I have included my most proven successful resume templates for you to choose from. Your selection will be deliberate, based around your industry, your audience, and your taste. In a nut shell, your resume will be specifically tailored to your individual situation. TIP: You may find it useful to go straight to selecting the right template on page 52, so that when you reach the section of the ebook where I step you through the process of creating your CV segment by segment, you can add the information directly into your chosen template. I believe you re worth that job and life that you really want in Australia, and I can t wait to assist you in achieving it! So what are you waiting for? Let s go and create an effective Australian resume! 5 P a g e

7 WHY YOU NEED AN IMPACTING RESUME Just How Important Is the Resume When Applying for Jobs in Australia? Most people don t realize the answer to this question just how important is my resume, anyway?. These same people therefore do not put much thought or effort into writing their resume, and hence, they do not get the desired results when applying for jobs, especially in Australia. To put it into perspective, the resume is the first point of communication from you to your potential employer in Australia, and therefore your first chance to make an impression. We all know from experience that first impressions last this is both a good thing and a bad thing. Wouldn t you want your first impression to be a good one? The obvious answer is yes! This is why you need to write your resume very carefully and deliberately for the Australian job market. If you put yourself into the shoes of the hiring manager in Australia for a minute, imagine you are trying to fill a vacancy within your organization. You have put together a job description of the role you are recruiting for, you have written an advert based on this job description, to try and attract the right person for this job. From this job advert you receive maybe 100 or more applications both locally and from all over the world, which you now have to sift through to find the top 10 that you may like to interview. What sorts of things do you think will put your resume in the pile for no letters? How about these: the resume does not list the required skills for the job the resume does not list relevant studies for this job the resume does not illustrate the work experience that is required for this job the resume is poorly set out the resume does not give a lot of information there are large, unexplained gaps in the work experience on the resume there are spelling and grammar errors and poor formatting on the resume the resume is difficult to follow and read the font on the resume is not easy on the eyes key information for this job is not brought to the attention of the reader there is a photo on the resume* And the list goes on! Did any of the above surprise you? When there is a large response from a job ad, it is amazing the types of things that will determine whether a person will be called in for an interview or not. Taking these points and more into account, let s set out to write you an impacting Australian resume that will position you favourably for the all-important interview! * some employers prefer photos on resumes, however, although there are laws in place to stop discrimination in recruitment, having a photo on a resume can leave the door open for discrimination whether you like it or not. The way a person looks has nothing to do with the job they need to perform (most of the time), therefore it is best to have just the relevant information on the resume that will position you favourably for the job you are applying for. 6 P a g e

8 AUSTRALIAN RESUME SECRET #1 - FIRST PAGE YOUR KEY TO SUCCESS! The first page of your resume is the very first chance you have at making an impression. Quite often these days when applying for a job there is not an opportunity to write a cover letter. For example, when applying for a job through a job website, sometimes you are not given an option to attach a covering letter with your resume. Why is this? Some employers don t even read the covering letter if there is one attached. They are more interested in the information on your resume! Since the first page is your key to success, it acts as a teaser for the reader, so must give loads of relevant information about you that is specific to the requirements of the job you are applying for. Sounds obvious, right? You would be surprised to know just how many people do not acknowledge this fact when writing their resume! The resume is basically a marketing tool and therefore should be treated as one. You are the product you are trying to sell! You need to put yourself in the Australian recruiting manager s shoes and think about what information they are looking for. TIP: When writing your resume, keep in mind that recruiting managers read a resume by skimming through for the key information that is relevant for the job you are applying for. It is therefore KEY to bring all of the relevant information to the reader s attention by writing short, sharp statements in bullet point format or very short and to-the-point sentences. 7 P a g e

9 A visual example of what a difference a high-impact first page can make to your resume (right), against a very poorly written first page of a resume (left). 8 P a g e

10 AUSTRALIAN RESUME SECRET #2 - PERSONAL INFORMATION LESS IS MORE! Many people make the mistake of providing more personal information than is necessary on their resume. Anti-discrimination Laws in Australia were created to protect you from missing out on a job due to your race, gender, age, marital status, address, appearance, physical ability or other attribute that is unrelated the job you are required to perform. Therefore, it is not necessary for you supply this information, and I strongly suggest that you do not include this information on your resume if you want to increase your chances of being invited for an interview. Visit: for more information on Anti-Discrimination laws in NSW. The only personal information that the Australian recruiting manager requires from you is your name, your contact telephone number, and your personal address. TIP: Do not provide an address that is inappropriate or offensive. This could dramatically reduce your chances of progressing to the next stage of the recruitment process. Your personal information should be clearly positioned at the top of your first page. Usually you would commence with the title Resume, and underneath type your name. Some people prefer the term Curriculum Vitae, however I personally find this term old fashioned and overly formal. Do not, however, let this stop you from using it, this is just my personal opinion. I feel it is unnecessary to have a heading for each of your personal details such as Name, Telephone Number, Address etc., as I feel it is stating the obvious. You can therefore just list these items, for example: RESUME Nadine Myers australianjobsearch@gmail.com Alternatively, you could have T: (for telephone), M: (for mobile) and E: (for ), if you prefer, which is a more modern method of listing your details. It works fine to list your contact details aligned to the left, the right or centered. Although it is my personal preference to align them to the right, as I feel it balances the resume nicely, since most of the resume will be aligned to the left. 9 P a g e

11 AUSTRALIAN RESUME SECRET #3 - CAREER OBJECTIVE / CAREER SUMMARY THE HOOK Since the first page of your Australian resume is where the recruiting manager gets their first impression of you, you need to give all the information that they are looking for on this page. By providing a Career Objective, or a Career Summary, you can quickly and effectively introduce yourself to the recruiting manager as the person that they want to hire! How do you do this? It s simple. You write a high-impact ONE PARAGRAPH summary of your relevant experience to date, your relevant qualifications, and a statement of what you are now looking for (i.e., the specific job you are applying for). For example, I wrote a Career Summary for a client recently who was applying for a job as a Financial Planner. She had not worked as one previously, however she had worked as an Assistant Para-Planner for about two and a half years, prior to that she had worked as the manager of a retail store for 11 years, and prior to that, whilst she was studying her degree in business and economics, she worked part time as an accounts clerk for about seven years. This client also had a Diploma in Financial Planning, however she had never worked as a Financial Planner, and she was not being considered for interviews due to the way she was presented on her resume. She therefore came to me to increase her success rate in her job applications. The Career Summary that I wrote for this client was as follows: A Finance professional with a Business Degree and Diploma in Financial Planning, I have gained nearly ten years experience within Finance and Wealth Advising environments and I am now seeking a position that will enable me to expand my knowledge in investing and promoting ethical investments. I have underlined the important points in the paragraph for you to take particular note of. Do you think the reader will be eager now to continue reading my client s resume to find out what else she can offer their organization? Of course! They will be excited just by that one sentence, and they will have received a very positive first impression of my client that will stay with them as they continue to read the rest of my client s resume. The trick is to pull out the relevant points of information from your experience and skills and to write a very sharp and to the point summary that tells the reader what you re about, where you ve come from and why you re now applying for a job with their organization. In essence: that you are the ideal person for this job! Another client of mine, who has had very varied experience across different industries, who had spent about $300 for an organization to write him a professional resume, and he had been using that resume for a few months and not had one call back for an interview. After speaking with him, 10 P a g e

12 I found out that he had been applying for jobs as a Facilities Manager, and also for jobs as an HR Manager. The problem I identified with my client s resume was that it was not tailored to each of those types of jobs he was applying for, and therefore, he did not look 100% suitable as an applicant, and this is why he had not achieved success.. The resume that he had paid $300 to have rewritten, had a statement on the first page as follows: A dynamic, highly experienced Facilities and H.R. Manager with comprehensive international exposure 18 years management of diverse enterprises in Australia and internationally Currently company director with 9 direct reports Outstanding business acumen with strong results and client satisfaction focus Now investigating opportunities in large scale Australian based corporation The Career Summaries that I re-wrote for this client were as follows: For his HR-focused resume: A Human Resources professional with over 15 years international generalist HR experience, gained in both private and public sectors, with specialties in Learning and Development and Management. I am Tertiary qualified in Business, Management, Workplace Assessment and Training, and Adult Teaching. For his Management-focused resume: After a career in the Police Service and the last 8-10 years experience in Facilities Management, Small Business Management and Human Resources, I am now looking to consolidate my skills and experience and secure a permanent role in the area of Office Management or Facilities Management. When my client received his two focused resumes on his two careers of choice, he applied for jobs that weekend and had four interviews lined up over the next week. His first interviews in months! What an improvement from the resume he had paid $300 to have professionally written for him! Can you see what my competitor had done wrong in their career summary of my client? Can you see how my simple yet focused career summary has a higher impact and why my client went forward in leaps and bounds with his job applications? 11 P a g e

13 Action Point Go through your resume now and analyse whether you have a clear focus. Imagine you are an employer - is it clear to the reader what direction you are heading in your career? Do you know what direction you are heading in? Now is the time to get very clear about it and to re-write your resume based on your career of choice. Research all the key skills you require for the career of your choice. Speak to a careers expert if need be, to help you with your list. What other personal attributes are necessary for this career? Do you need to have good organization skills, attention to detail or leadership skills? Write down what you come up with, because you will need to refer to this list throughout the process of writing your resume. Now, pull out all the skills and experience that you have gained so far that match your list. Are there many skills missing? Are there any short courses you could do to touch up on these skills and strengthen your resume and how you look on paper? Once you have written your second list of all of your skills, qualifications and attributes, have a go at writing your career summary, as a clear, concise statement that is focused and relevant to the job you are applying for. Now add this summary to your resume under the title Career Summary, or Career Objective. 12 P a g e

14 AUSTRALIAN RESUME SECRET #4 - KEY SKILLS THE LINE A very strong Australian resume will have a snap shot of your key skills that are relevant to the job you are applying for. After reading the career summary (the hook ) which effectively sends the message to the Australian recruiting manager that you are equipped with relevant experience and qualifications for the job, following this with Key Skills (the line ) will back up the statement with factual statements of your skills and experience that relate to the job. These statements can also include personal skills that are relevant to the job you are applying for, such as the ability to rapidly build effective business relationships ; or superior customer service skills. A client of mine is studying towards a degree in Human Resources, however he has only ever worked in the fast food industry, so it was extremely important to strengthen his resume with key skills that are relevant to the jobs in HR that he is applying for. The Key Skills that were added to the front page of his resume are as follows: Training & development Policies & procedures Supervisory and management skills Recruitment, selection & induction Performance management Occupational Health & Safety Studying Bachelor of Business (HRM & Tourism Management) Highly organised time management Collaborative team work Basic - intermediate computer literacy Exemplary customer service skills Ability to communicate confidently at all levels Hard working and loyal These key skills were based on experience he had gained within his previous roles, and as you can see, even though he has never worked in a job with HR in the job title, he has gained a significant amount of experience and skills that are relevant to the jobs he is applying for. 13 P a g e

15 Action Point Using the list that you created in the previous section with all of the skills, qualifications and experience that you have that are relevant to the job you are applying for, narrow this down to a list of Key Skills that you can add to this section of your resume. Aim for a list of key skills for this section. Add this list to your resume, directly under your Career Summary or Career Objective, under the title Key Skills 14 P a g e

16 AUSTRALIAN RESUME SECRET #5 - KEY QUALIFICATIONS THE SINKER We re still on the first page of your resume, and already your resume should be starting to look more focused, more clear and more powerful! You now need to add your Key Qualifications to your resume. Quite often, people add their qualifications / education to the back of their resume. This means that the recruiting manager is left wondering whether you have the necessary qualifications for the job you are applying for, until they reach that final page on the resume where it is listed. By this stage, they may have lost interest so the impact isn t very high when they do discover your necessary qualifications and training. Your qualifications are very important to the job you are applying for in Australia, and therefore they should be one of the first things that the recruiting manager sees. Being on the front page, this further backs up your Career Summary and your Key Skills. TIP: Only list the qualifications here that are relevant to the job you are applying for. If you have qualifications that are not focused on the job you are applying for, you can add these to the back page of your resume under the title, Additional Education and Training, or something similar. The important information that you need to provide under your Key Qualifications section is the name of the qualification, the year that you completed the qualification, the institution through which you studied, and the location (particularly important if you studied overseas, however if the institution has the location in its name, for example, the University of London, then it is not necessary to state the location). For example, let s say you have Bachelor of Business with a major in Economics, which you studied through the University of Vancouver, and completed this in If you are applying for a job within the finance sector, or a role in which this qualification is relevant, you would list this information as follows: BACHELOR OF BUSINESS (Economics) University of Vancouver, 1997 TIP: If you have a degree in business with a major in a subject area that is not relevant to the job you are applying for, feel free not to mention the major. Bachelor of Business is a fantastic base degree for any professional job that you apply for, therefore you need only list that you hold a Bachelor of Business. 15 P a g e

17 Action Point Add the title Key Qualifications underneath your Key Skills, and list all of your relevant qualifications. 16 P a g e

18 AUSTRALIAN RESUME SECRET #6 - MEMBERSHIPS SHOW YOU MEAN BUSINESS In your chosen career direction, there will no doubt be a body or organisation that is designed for people like yourself to keep up to date with relevant information and changes in the market, to do with your industry. For example, Real Estate Professionals have the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA), Medical Professionals have the Australian Medical Association (AMA), Engineers have Engineers Australia, Maintenance Engineering Society of Australia, Environmental Engineering Society, etc. These organisations encourage professionals in that particular field, to become members of the organisation so that they can be at the top of their game in their field. Usually such memberships have fees which cover useful services and information such as industry magazine subscriptions, invitations to industry events, networking opportunities, discounts on professional development and training in that field etc. There are also usually different tiers of membership that you can be assessed against, depending upon your level of experience, qualifications and regular professional development. Obviously the higher up the tier you are, the most respected you are in your field, as the more equipped and knowledgeable you should then be on your subject matter. Are you currently a member of your Key industry organisation? If not, why not? Being a member of such industry organizations in Australia reflects your level of commitment to your career of choice, the value you place on continuous professional development, shows your commitment to getting up to speed with your industry in Australia and it also sets you apart from an individual who has applied for the same job and has similar work experience to you, however, has no industry memberships. I recommend that you list your relevant memberships after the Key Qualifications section, with the heading Key Memberships or Industry Memberships. The information you should include here is: Your level or tier of membership (if appropriate) The name of the industry organisation TIP #1: Generally being a member of one relevant organisation is sufficient for your continued career development, however if there are other industry memberships that interest you that are relevant to your career, feel free to join more than one the worst that could happen is that you will impress your potential employer! TIP#2: Listing only the memberships you have joined in your home country will not benefit you so much because they are not Australian-specific. If you are not joined with any Australian industry organizations, I recommend you either join, or not mention your home country s memberships at all. 17 P a g e

19 Action Point If you are not a member of your relevant industry organisation, do some research to find out what memberships are recognised and respected in your field, and join it! Add this information to your resume as instructed above. 18 P a g e

20 AUSTRALIAN RESUME SECRET# 7 - EMPLOYMENT HISTORY / WORK EXPERIENCE Now that you have completed your high-impact first page of your resume, the Australian recruiting manager will be eager to find out more about you and will now be looking for your work experience that is relevant to the job you are applying for in Australia. Have a look at your current resume. Is your work experience relevant to the jobs you are applying for? Perhaps your previous work experience has been in a different field, however are there skills and experience gained in those positions that is relevant to the job you are applying for? You need to highlight these now! Your employment history should be listed in chronological order with your most recent work experience listed first, all the way back to your first jobs. This is very important because your employer may be turned off by the first few jobs that you have done and not realize that you actually have recent relevant experience that are listed on following pages. This may strike you out before the game is even over! Accounting for Volunteer Work Volunteer work is the same as any other job you have worked in except that you were not being paid for it. This experience should therefore be listed in the same way as your ordinary work experience is listed. By doing this, you are accounting for extra pieces of work experience you have gained that may be relevant to the job you are applying for. Further, the work you did as a volunteer shows the value you place on your career, among other things, so much so that you will happily work without being paid. This will often gain respect from your potential employer. Gaps in Your Work History If there have been any gaps in your employment, particularly long gaps of a couple of months or more, it is a good idea to have an explanation on your resume for these gaps. Otherwise, the recruiting manager may jump to conclusions and assume that you were unable to find work during that time, which they may then jump to the conclusion that you are not a very strong candidate if you were applying for jobs for so long. Something you want to avoid! Your explanation of your gaps should be valid points. For example taking time off to be a mother, to pursue further studies or volunteer work, or whatever the reason may be. I do not encourage false information on resumes as there is always the risk that you will be found out, and will therefore lose all credibility in the market. Believe me, word gets around! Therefore, if the reason for the gap is truly because you have been looking for work and you have been unsuccessful, perhaps it is best to not add an explanation. It may be that you require the services of a professional resume writer, or simply apply the secrets exposed in this book. TIP: If you have had loads of jobs over the years and the very first few jobs you had are not at all relevant to the jobs you are applying for (for example, working a paper run when you are applying for a role as a Fire Alarm Technician), it is not necessary to list this on your resume. 19 P a g e

21 AUSTRALIAN RESUME SECRET #8 -JOB TITLE- WHO ARE YOU? When listing your work experience, you should always start with your job title. This is the first thing that the hiring manager will be looking for job titles that have synergies with the role you are applying for. It is best not to use false information in this section, because when your potential employer contacts your references, one of the first things they ask the referee is what your job title was. If they state a job title that is different to the job title you have listed on your resume, they will automatically wonder why you were being dishonest, what else you have been dishonest about on your resume, and whether they would like to hire a dishonest person in their company. HOWEVER, there is an exception to this rule. If you have been working in a role that is commonly known as a different job title in Australia, it is OK to change the job title to the title it is most commonly known as in Australia, and then have the title you were actually known as in brackets. This way you are making it clear to your potential employer that there was something not quite right with your job title, and they can question you on this when they meet up with you. You want the right words to stand out on your resume and if your official job title does not contain the right words, you should get advice on changing it. Sometimes previous employers would be ok with this, so it wouldn t hurt to speak to them about it so they are prepared when our potential employer contacts them for a reference. TIP: It is always best to be honest. Action Point Go through your work history and make sure you have been honest with all of your job titles. 20 P a g e

22 AUSTRALIAN RESUME SECRET #9 - DATES Next to your job title, you should list the dates that you were working in that position. It is very important to list the month and the year that you were working in the role, because it is difficult to determine an accurate length of time you have worked in a role if you have only listed the years. It is not as important to include the day, so long as you have the month and the year. If you honestly cannot remember the months that you commenced and finished each employment, make an estimate, being as accurate as you can. Action Point Go through all of your work history and accurately record the months and years that you worked in each job. 21 P a g e

23 AUSTRALIAN RESUME SECRET #10 - FULL TIME, PART TIME, CONTRACT, TEMPORARY OR VOLUNTARY Next to your job title, you should list in brackets, what the status of the job was, if it wasn t a permanent full time role. If these aren t listed, the recruiting manager will assume that you were working full time, which is deceiving. Listing these facts also covers yourself if you were working for only a short period, by providing an explanation as to why you were only in the role for short period. An example of how you can set out your job title, status and date are as follows: Electrical Engineer (Contract) January 2005 February 2007 Action Point Go through all of your work history and mark beside each role whether it was full time, part time, contract or temporary. 22 P a g e

24 AUSTRALIAN RESUME SECRET# 11 - COMPANY INFORMATION This is one area that can sometimes let you down without you realizing it. We all know that we need to list the name of the company in our work history, however, just listing the name of the company assumes that the recruiting manager knows all about the organisation you worked for. This is very often not the case! It is difficult for the employer to get a good understanding of the job you did if they do not know anything about the organisation. For this reason, I suggest including a company summary, stating such things as: the size of the organisation, such as whether it is global, national, or a small family run business, for example. How many employees are / were in the organisation and within the site you worked at (if necessary) What is the industry of the organisation What is the main product or service What you were brought into the business to achieve If you have progressed into different roles throughout your time with this organisation, you can explain your progression here Whether you had / have any direct reports Anything else that you feel would paint the picture for your potential employer, of what kind of organisation it was. The main purpose of this summary is to make the job easier for your potential employer to select you as an ideal candidate. For instance, if you have worked for a very similar organisation to the one you are applying for a job with, this will obviously be of value to your potential employer that you have experience and a good understanding of a similar organisation, and therefore would integrate into the organisation a lot quicker than someone who has not worked in a similar organisation. This company summary is best placed directly underneath the company name. An example of a good company summary is listed below: Electrical Engineer (Contract) January 2005 February 2007 Company X Company X is a family run business that was established in 1977 by its current owners. The business specializes in providing electrical services to large local businesses, and has been the market leader in city X for the past 20 years. Currently with a employee-base of 400, I joined Company X to assist with a large-scale electrical engineering project for a major commercial development on the north side of the city. This summary states all the relevant information to allow the potential employer to get a good understanding of the kind of environment this person was working in. This kind of information, as stated above, makes the job of screening resumes much easier for the recruiting manager, and will effectively bring your resume towards the top of the pile! 23 P a g e

25 Action Point Develop Company summaries for each of your employers in your work history, and add the company names and summaries underneath your job titles and dates of employment as shown above. 24 P a g e

26 AUSTRALIAN RESUME SECRET# 12 - RESPONSIBILITIES Next we need to list out all of your responsibilities of each of your jobs that you have held in your work history. These responsibilities should be in brief bullet point form, so they are easy to read and process, and should include all information, no matter how irrelevant you feel it is. Over the years I have read responsibility listings that are great summaries, almost essays, of everything a person did in the role they were working in. These are cumbersome to read and it is very difficult to pick out the important points of information that are relevant to the job the person is applying for. Since this is making the job of screening difficult for the potential Australian employer, this will in fact make it easy for the employer to push the resume aside and not read any further. On the other hand, I have come across many resumes that only list two or three duties that the person performed in a role over 3 or more years. This can bring the recruiting manager to one of the following conclusions: This person did not have many responsibilities for such a long period they must be either lazy, or not have any ambition to take on more responsibilities This person is not very serious about this job, and therefore they have not put much effort into preparing their application (resume) Again, this is a sure-fire way to have your resume screened out for a rejection letter. The trick here is to sit yourself somewhere in the middle provide enough information to give your potential employer a good understanding of what your job entailed, but not too much information as to scare them away. The trick is in the presentation of the information. An effective way to list your responsibilities is by listing them under the bolded title, Responsibilities, or some may prefer the term, Duties. I feel the word, responsibilities, sounds more impressive and brings the information forward as things you were personally accountable for. For example, an Executive Assistant may have the following responsibilities listed out: Responsibilities: Managing the Company Secretary s diary on a daily basis Screening all telephone calls for the Company Secretary, and first point of call for all company secretarial-related enquiries Maintaining databases such as personnel listings, Coordinating regular business meetings, including booking meeting rooms, ordering refreshments, travel arrangements where necessary Coordinating reports and preparing Board Papers for monthly Board Meetings Regular liaison with the Executives and Non-Executives 25 P a g e

27 Another effective way to lay out your responsibilities, is to split up your responsibilities under specific sections. This works well for someone who wants to highlight specific areas of their experience that is relevant to the job they are applying for. An example of this would be for my client whom I mentioned earlier, who has been working most of his life in the fast food industry, and is now applying for a job in human resources administration. This client has gained specific HR skills and experience within these fast food jobs he has worked in, however because the job titles do not indicate that he has been carrying out HR duties, it is in his best interests to showcase his relevant experience to make the job easier for the recruiting manager to find the relevant information, and to increase his chances of being invited for an interview. For example, where my client had just listed out his responsibilities as Assistant Manager at KFC, he now has listed all of his HR related experience under the bold title, Human Resources and Management, and his further duties under the title Administration, so as to demonstrate the administration skills and experience he has gained that is relevant to the types of jobs he is applying for. If my client had failed to do this, he would not have been considered for the job as an HR administrator, it would have been too difficult to process the information and draw out the relevant skills and experience. TIP#1: Keep responsibilities information brief and very relevant to the job you are applying for TIP#2: List all the responsibilities that are relevant to the job you are applying for at the top of the list TIP #3: In your responsibility statements, give examples so the Australian employer can grasp what you mean by each statement 26 P a g e

28 Action Point Go back to the list you prepared earlier, when you were reviewing the responsibilities of the job you are applying for and comparing it with the experience and skills you have gained in each job. Are there relevant areas of each job you worked in that you can showcase, but dividing up your experience under separate headings? Once you have established your list and whether you can divide up your responsibilities under separate headings, develop your responsibilities list for each job in your work history, taking into account the instructions and tips provided above. 27 P a g e

29 AUSTRALIAN RESUME SECRET# 13 - ACHIEVEMENTS Secret# 13 is one of the most important secrets for you to take on board. Why? Because, whilst Secret#12, your Responsibilities, may indicate to your potential employer that you have the relevant experience for the job; your achievements indicate how well you performed in that job. In other words, your achievements will indicate to your employer what value you can add to their organisation, and also the types of things that are important to you and motivate you. This secret, if applied, will push your resume even further up to the top of the pile; and coupled with the rest of the secrets exposed in this ebook, will most certainly ensure that you are invited for an interview! You re probably wondering what sorts of things you could list as achievements in each of your jobs you have worked in. TIP: Achievements do not have to be massive accomplishments (although please feel free to list these!), however they can be as small as creating a database that organized information and reduced time in searching for information on X, receiving a compliment or commendation from your manager or client, or successfully organizing an event from start to finish. Whatever it is, what is important is that it felt like an achievement to you, or was something that you feel particularly proud of. It is also good to list numbers here, for example if you achieved your KPIs, decreased budget by x%, or saved the company $x. 28 P a g e

30 Action Point Go back through each job that you worked in at a time, and think hard about things that you were proud of achieving in each role. You can list as many as you like, however it is best to keep this number to around 5, making sure you list what you feel are your biggest achievements, first. If there are jobs that you just cannot think of any achievements for, don t worry too much about it. The main thing is that you list achievements that may be relevant to the job you are applying for. 29 P a g e

31 AUSTRALIAN RESUME SECRET# 14 - TECHNICAL SKILLS AND PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES Congratulations! You have finished the bulk of your successful Australian resume! Now that you have prepared the body of the resume, it is time to sum up with any final pieces of information about yourself that may set you apart from the other candidates. This information may or may not be relevant to the job you are applying for, however it will round off your resume and perhaps provide a talking point for your potential employer at interview. Action Point Technical Skills and Personal Attributes is the next heading on your resume, underneath your Work History. Here you will list the remainder of your skills and personal attributes that were not listed on the front page of your resume. This will include such skills as relevant computer skills, language skills, technical or specialized skills such as short hand, and other relevant work information. 30 P a g e

32 AUSTRALIAN RESUME SECRET# 15 - ADDITIONAL TRAINING If you have additional training courses that you have been on in your line of work, or have additional qualifications that may not necessarily be relevant to the jobs you are applying for, you can list these in this section. For example, if you work in IT and have done refresher courses, had additional technical training or have attended seminars or workshops in your line of work, but too many to list on the front page under your Key Qualifications, you can list these out here. Now that I have you thinking about additional training courses you attended, you may remember some short courses you completed as part of your employment, or to learn a particular skill for your work. If you think of training courses that are very relevant to the jobs you are applying for, include them on the front page of your resume with your Key Qualifications. Action Point I want you to now pull together all of your remaining qualifications, details of courses and seminars you have attended and other workshops or in-house training you have attended over the years. Ensure that you not only list the name of the seminar or course, but also the training institution or organisation and the year completed or attended. List these under the title Additional Training and Qualifications, unless some of these are more suited to the front page of your CV, as mentioned above. 31 P a g e

33 AUSTRALIAN RESUME SECRET# 16 - REFEREES: THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING It is all good and well to list out all of your relevant skills and experience on your resume, however this is the section where your background and experience is validated: Referees. I recommend getting in touch with all of the people who you would like to list as a referee on your resume. Choose your referees carefully and ensure that you select the referees who would provide the most positive reference for you. Feel free to actually discuss with your referee what they might disclose to potential employers, if you are concerned about anything negative being said. Most Australian employers will require at least two valid references from past employment, and it is always best to list 3-4 referees under this section. This way if the employer needs to make a quick decision and cannot get hold of one or two of your referees, they will have others they can contact to get a quick reference and make a decision. Providing 3-4 references also gives the potential employer the option to select who they are most interested in receiving a reference from. Further, providing additional references can allow an employer to obtain more than two references if it is their policy, or if they require further verification of your experience and skills. I always recommend staying in touch with people you would like to include as referees on your resume. It is a great idea to do this as it keeps a good positive relationship with that person so that they are happy to do this favour for you, and it also builds respect from that person and encourages a positive resume. If you are listing international referees on your resume, be sure to include at least one telephone number and a valid address. For convenience you should also include international dialing codes with your international telephone numbers. Sometimes, due to time differences between Australia and other countries, Australian employers will opt to contact international referees by and send them a questionnaire to complete and return. Some people prefer not to list their referees on their CV, as they are afraid that the Australian employer may contact their current employer, who may not know that they are looking to emigrate to Australia. In this case, it is OK to simply state Available upon request under your Referees section. 32 P a g e

34 Action Point Have a good think about who you believe would provide the most positive references for you if contacted about your work experience, and aim to make a list of at least four referees. If you haven t already, get in contact with these people and ensure that they are happy to provide references for you. 33 P a g e

35 AUSTRALIAN RESUME SECRET# 17 -FORMAT AND FONT SIMPLE IS AS SIMPLE DOES Presentation of your information is key when preparing a high-impact resume, and it is something that you should definitely take time to consider. For your convenience, I have included with this ebook a selection of my most successful resume templates, so that all you have to do is enter all the information you have gathered straight into these templates. However, it is good to give you some background on why aesthetics and white space are so important when presenting an Australian resume. As I have explained previously in this ebook, the Australian employer is best pleased if you make their job as easy as possible for them to assess your resume. They will be looking to scan through the information presented on your resume, seeking specific key words and information, and wanting to find it fast. Font plays a key role in presenting information. A resume should use a professional font that is easy to read and scan. Clean lines and simple structured letters are very important here, and I will make an example of what I mean here by illustrating some sections of text in different fonts to see if you can see what a difference font makes for resume purposes. Scan your eyes quickly over the sentences below and decide for yourself which paragraphs are easier to scan and pick up information, depending on the different fonts used. A professional Graphic Designer with 25 years experience specialising in design for print and web, with a passion for packaging, typography, retouching and enhancement. I intend to secure a position in Australia in a creative environment with versatility and professionalism. A professional Graphic Designer with 25 years experience specialising in design for print and web, with a passion for packaging, typography, retouching and enhancement. I intend to secure a position in Australia in a creative environment with versatility and professionalism. A professional Graphic Designer with 25 years experience specialising in design for print and web, with a passion for packaging, typography, retouching and enhancement. I intend to secure a position in Australia in a creative environment with versatility and professionalism. A professional Graphic Designer with 25 years experience specialising in design for print and web, with a passion for packaging, typography, retouching and enhancement. I intend to secure a position in Australia in a creative environment with versatility and professionalism. Can you see the difference between the different fonts above and how some are easier to scan over and pick up information than others? You should have noticed that the third paragraph above was the most easiest and clearest to read out of the four above. Fonts that I tend to stick to and recommend others to use on their resume are listed below: 34 P a g e