How to Write a Good Resume

 

 

 

By following this resume template and tips you will ensure you cover almost everything a potential employer may want to see in this very important document.

 

 

PERSONAL DETAILS

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• First and last name

• Phone number(s)

• Email/Postal address

 

 

CAREER OBJECTIVE

 

Depending on your age and experience, this may differ in length, it is a chance to summarize your personality, skills, experience and what area/position you aim to work in. A sentence or two should suffice.

 

 

SKILLS SUMMARY/MATRIX/STRENGTHS

 

This is a great opportunity to list your technical skills/strengths in certain areas. A table can help and a rating of capability/experience is sometimes useful. This is only relevant if you are applying for technical roles.

 

 

EMPLOYMENT SUMMARY/CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

 

Before going into detail with your Employment History you might like to write a few sentences/paragraph that gives a snapshot of your career. Keep this section brief.

If you are a senior member of the workforce you may want to include an Employment Summary or perhaps come Career Highlights, before going into detail with your Employment History. Some people include a few sub-headings on their capability/experience. For example: Management, Account Management or Sector experience could all be categories you write a few sentences against. This section shouldn’t be too long.

 

 

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

 

This is where the bulk of your resume will be written. Always begin with your most recent employment. There is no need to include the companies address unless you were working abroad, and in this case only mention the city. Here is a sample of what an Employment History could look like:

 

Position

Company                                                                  

Dates of employment

 

Sometimes it is good to put a small statement about your company if it is relatively unknown or overseas based. This is not necessary for large well known organizations.

 

Summary sentence on your role

This might include some information on the size of the organization and how your role fits. You might like to provide context for how you came into this role and then give an overview for what the role entails. After this prose section, you might like to dot point some key points divided into the subheadings below:

 

Responsibilities  

•  

Achievements

•  

Projects

•  

 

There are two types of “readers” of resumes – those who skim read and look at key dot-points to figure out if you are worth interviewing, and those who want a bit more detail and really need you to describe your role in detail. Breaking your experience up with dot points, prose, subheadings etc is a good way of appealing to both.

 

The important thing to remember in this section is that this is often the ONLY section someone will read in your resume. Hiring managers want to see what you’re doing and if you’ve got the experience they require for their role. If your x experience is hidden in a summary of your career or a summary of your skills at the beginning of your resume, how do they know you are actually doing that in your current role?

 

 

QUALIFICATIONS, EDUCATION AND TRAINING

 

High School

Include your highest qualification and educational achievements, but keep it simple or delete entirely if you think it will not add any value

 

Tertiary Education

Include your qualifications, diplomas, degrees etc

 

Courses/Qualifications

Include any credentials that you have acquired either in your own time or via employment with a company

 

 

HOBBIES/INTERESTS

 

Let us know what you like to get up to in your spare time!

 

 

 

REFERENCES

 

This is optional if you like feel free to list two. If not simply state “References supplied on request”

 

 

 

 

SOME HELPFUL TIPS

 

Here are some helpful hints when creating your resume

 

• Always put the bulk of your working experience/skills within the section relating to each role. Avoid large sections of text that is not set within the context of one of your roles

• Avoid fancy formatting or writing text in boxes etc. Keep it simple in a neat word document – let your experience speak for itself

• Keep bold/italics to subtitles and avoid pictures or symbols

• You can high-light key technologies you’ve used in bold if you feel they need to stand out

• The only place a table is necessary would be a “Career Summary or Skills Matrix”

• Make sure you use the same font throughout. Ariel 11 is great and easy on the eye

• Send your CV in word format, unless you are attaching your portfolio, references or certificates – then PDF version is fine

• Always include some interests and hobbies but keep your personal information fairly simple (for example, it is not necessary to provide information about what your offspring do for a living or that you are proud of your children).

• Lastly, maintain a clear, simple and consistent style throughout your CV