A resume is an overview of your employment history, education, skills and qualifications. Potential employers will ask for it so that they can see your previous experience and if you might be a good fit for their team. You can use the same resume for multiple job applications, but you’ll want to personalise your cover letters to each employer.
Do’s and don’ts!
Do:
- Make it easy to read – It’s tempting to use loads of exciting fonts and colours when personalising paperwork, but in this case you want to let your experience grab their attention. Stick to one font and colour and try using different font sizes, spacing and the bold or italic functions to make the different pieces of information easy to see.
- Double check your contact details are correct – Include your phone number and email address so they have two ways of getting in touch with you. Also check your junk folder regularly so you don’t miss any emails!
- Make it relevant – You don’t need to list every single thing you’ve ever done. Pick out the jobs and experience that are most relevant to the jobs you’re applying for.
- Ask your referee’s permission – First of all, it’s polite to ask before you give out people’s contact details. Secondly, the phone call will go a lot smoother if they’re expecting it, making you look organised and responsible.
Don’t:
- Sell yourself short – Communicating all your experience clearly is really important, always ask someone to proofread your resume before you hit send. Contact 26Ten in St Helens for help in this area.
- Make it too long – A good rule of thumb if you’re just starting out is to stick to one A4 page. If you’re further along in your career, aim for two pages. You can always talk about extra things when you get to the interview!
- Include unfinished courses – You may have learnt something, but if you didn’t complete the course (and don’t intend to) then you’re not fully qualified.
- Put fake information – It could be tempting to add things you haven’t actually done to your resume to make yourself look better. Don’t risk it. The whole interview experience will be a lot more enjoyable if you’re not trying to remember what you wrote on your resume the whole time.
Resume Example
You can download this simple template here or get more inspiration from here!
Get in touch if you’d like us to have a look at your application before you hit send, we’re here and happy to help! You can contact us by email: admin@bodec.org.au or call us on 0417 143133 or 0417 155201.