Global Utilities

La Trobe University
Careers and Employment

For students

Tips for preparing a resume

A resumé (also called a Curriculum Vitae (or CV)) is used to convince a potential employer to interview you.

It is a summary of your:

  • personal details
  • academic qualifications
  • work history
  • skills that you will bring to the job
  • extracurricular activities 

Each resumé you prepare will be different. Before deciding what to include in yours, ask yourself "does it sell me?" and "is it relevant?"

Some General Tips

  • The front page of your document should include only the information that is going to best sell you – i.e. the information that is most relevant for the job that you’re applying for.
  • An employer or recruitment agent reads many resumés. This means that they may spend only two or three minutes scanning yours.  Keep it clear, concise and relevant.
  • Don’t undersell yourself but also don’t overstate your skills or abilities.
  • Make no spelling or grammatical mistakes
  • The university where you are studying is 'La Trobe' not 'Latrobe'!
  • Beware spell check – it doesn’t correct mis-spellings when they are typed as capital letters. It also defaults to American spelling.
  • If you are emailing an application, refer to the covering letter and resumé in the body of the email and attach them as a Word document or documents.
  • Provide information about experience that is most recent or most relevant.
  • You don’t need a heading such as ‘Resumé’ or ‘Curriculum Vitae’.
  • It’s OK to have details of one job on one page, for example, and another job on the next page but try not to avoid split one item across two pages.
  • If you are studying for a specialist degree such as Computer Science or a science degree that teaches you to use certain laboratory equipment or techniques, you should list your technical skills on the front page after your ‘Education/Qualifications’ section.
  • If you are studying a course such as Physiotherapy that has clinical placements as part of the degree, details of these should appear after your ‘Education’ section. Sub-headings can draw attention to a particular type of placement even if you did it in second year if that is more relevant to the position you’re applying for than your most recent placement.
  • If you are aiming for an academic career, you will need to give details of research that you have undertaken, articles or books that you have had published and papers that you have presented.
  • If you have done an Honours year, give the title of your thesis in your ‘Education’ section, especially if it is relevant to the job you’re applying for.
  • If your resumé is to get a part-time/casual job to earn money while you’re studying, the employer is going to be more interested in the skills and personal qualities that you will bring to the job than in your academic qualifications.
  • If you have started a different qualification and either failed it or transferred to another course, you need to present this in a positive light. Instead of saying ‘failed’, try saying ‘commenced’ or ‘completed first year before transferring to…..’.
  • Think about the best place to put any additional qualifications that you have completed.
    • For example, if you completed a TAFE Diploma in Accounting before coming to La Trobe to do a Commerce degree, you should include this at the beginning of the resumé as it shows the pathway that you have taken.
    • If you have done a ‘Responsible Serving of Alcohol’ certificate and are studying Hospitality, then it should also go in your ‘Education’ section. But, if you do not intend to make a career in the hospitality sector, then include this in a separate ‘Additional Qualifications’ section later in the resumé, or in the part that describes the job you had when you completed the qualification.
  • If you are applying for a job in a country other than Australia, check what the expectations are in that country for resumés.
  • If you came straight to uni from school, include information from your senior years at school. If you are a mature age student, include only information that is up to ten years old unless you feel that older information adds to the picture of who you are and the career path that you have followed.
  • For most people who have come straight to uni from school, the strongest selling point for your first professional position as a graduate will be your qualifications. These should therefore appear first in your resumé.
  • As you progress through your career, your experience may become more important, in which case your qualifications will appear later in the resumé.

Some Specifics

  • If you are studying for a specialist degree such as Computer Science or a science degree that teaches you to use certain laboratory equipment or techniques, you should list your technical skills on the front page after your ‘Education/Qualifications’ section.
  • If you are studying a course such as Physiotherapy that has clinical placements as part of the degree, details of these should appear after your ‘Education’ section. Sub-headings can draw attention to a particular type of placement even if you did it in second year if that is more relevant to the position you’re applying for than your most recent placement.
  • If you are aiming for an academic career, you will need to give details of research that you have undertaken, articles or books that you have had published and papers that you have presented.
  • If you have done an Honours year, give the title of your thesis in your ‘Education’ section, especially if it is relevant to the job you’re applying for.
  • If your resumé is to get a part-time/casual job to earn money while you’re studying, the employer is going to be more interested in the skills and personal qualities that you will bring to the job than in your academic qualifications.
  • If you have started a different qualification and either failed it or transferred to another course, you need to present this in a positive light. Instead of saying ‘failed’, try saying ‘commenced’ or ‘completed first year before transferring to…..’.
  • Think about the best place to put any additional qualifications that you have completed.
    • For example, if you completed a TAFE Diploma in Accounting before coming to La Trobe to do a Commerce degree, you should include this at the beginning of the resumé as it shows the pathway that you have taken.
    • If you have done a ‘Responsible Serving of Alcohol’ certificate and are studying Hospitality, then it should also go in your ‘Education’ section. But, if you do not intend to make a career in the hospitality sector, then include this in a separate ‘Additional Qualifications’ section later in the resumé, or in the part that describes the job you had when you completed the qualification.
  • If you are applying for a job in a country other than Australia, check what the expectations are in that country for resumés.
  • If you came straight to uni from school, include information from your senior years at school. If you are a mature age student, include only information that is up to ten years old unless you feel that older information adds to the picture of who you are and the career path that you have followed.
  • For most people who have come straight to uni from school, the strongest selling point for your first professional position as a graduate will be your qualifications. These should therefore appear first in your resumé.
  • As you progress through your career, your experience may become more important, in which case your qualifications will appear later in the resumé.