Resumes

Guide to Writing Effective Resumes

A resume is a marketing document for you to showcase your unique skills and attributes to potential employers - it is not a complete personal biography. Your resume should highlight your qualifications, work experiences and accomplishments that are relevant to the job and employer. 

Australian employers generally expect resumes to be two to four pages in length. If you are applying for a part-time job whilst studying, you could keep it to 2 pages.

When creating your resume, start off by deciding the fonts you will use and the heading styles. Your headings should look the same and stand out from the rest of the text in the document. The use of bold, underlining or italics can help the reader to focus on highlights in your resume – but don’t use all three at once! 

Content

This is a list of content most commonly included in résumés for students and recent graduates. The order of sections is flexible – you should present the information most relevant to the job you are applying for in the first page, with less relevant information towards the end of the document. All information should be presented in reverse chronological order (that is, list the current or most recent activity first).

Click on the section name to view the description.

Personal Details

In this section, include your:

  • Name
  • Address
  • Email address
  • Contact phone number
  • Your customised LinkedIn profile page URL

Career Objective or Career Summary

A career objective is used for entering a new career; a career summary is for people with 3+ years experience. Your career objective should be concise and tailored to the job you are applying for.

Examples:

Career objective: As a graduate with a major in politics and history I am seeking a position where I can use my analytical and communication skills in an organisation developing and implementing public policy.

Career summary: An international finance professional with over 5 years experience in equity raising for IT start-ups.

Education

In this section include:

  • Course title
  • Institution (La Trobe University, not Latrobe!)
  • Dates studied (include your expected completion date if you are currently studying)
  • Majors (if applicable or relevant)
  • Highlight major projects or research papers, etc.

Sometimes it may be helpful to include a selection of subjects you have studied if they’re particularly relevant to the job you’re applying for and are not part of your major.

It is optional to include your secondary education. Your primary school education is irrelevant to employers.
If you have completed other qualifications, such as a TAFE certificate or first aid certificate, consider the best place to position this on your résumé. If it is directly relevant to the job, include it in this section, if not, it could go in a section at the back of your résumé called ‘Training’.

Employment

In this section, include details from previous employment, including:

  • Job title
  • Company name
  • Dates you worked (months and years)
  • Position responsibilities
  • Statements highlighting your achievements

Achievement statements are important for helping you stand out from other applicants. Achievements can include projects completed, awards, initiatives, feedback, or improved performance. Even if the achievement sounds small include it. For example: ‘Increased my data entry rate to 90 words per minute’.

Skills

Research has found that including details of your skills or competencies may increase your chance of being offered an interview by 30%. In your skills section, use sub-headings for the skills that you want to highlight (e.g. Communication Skills, Teamwork Skills, or Leadership Skills). For each heading, use dot points or a short statement to demonstrate the skill.

For example:

Organisational Skills
I have well developed organisational skills through planning and coordinating training sessions for the Eltham junior basketball team for 3 years or organising staff rosters at Toys ‘R’ Us.

Professional Memberships

Include membership of industry/professional bodies, as it indicates that you have a genuine commitment to your profession.

Extracurricular Activities

If you have been involved in sports clubs, student clubs or societies, include details here. Your focus should be on highlighting how these activities have contributed to your development of skills that are valued by employers.

Volunteering

You should format this section in the same way you format your employment history. Sometimes you may wish to include your voluntary experience in your employment history if it was directly relevant to your field of interest.

Referees

Include contact details of two or three people who have supervised your work in paid or volunteering jobs. Academics can be used, but only ask those who know you well.

It is permissible to state in this section ‘Referees available upon request’ as employers will only conduct reference checks on candidates whom they have interviewed. However, if the employer specifically requests details of references as part of the application, then you need to include these.

Always make sure you keep in contact with your referees so that they know to expect a phone call.

Slidecast

View our Slidecast of a resume writing presentation. Note: Audio not available on mobile devices.

 

Further information

Get feedback on your resume

A careers consultant can provide feedback on your resume. Book an appointment via CareerHub. If you are on the Melbourne campus you can attend a drop-in session daily at 11am (subject to staff availability).

Example resumes