How to write a resume

Read the text below to find out what information you should include in your resume.

Personal Details

Educational Background

Tertiary Education

For a graduate of a couple of years, emphasis will be on employment and typically this item would be addressed as follows:

For students who are just about to complete their degrees and have very little or no work experience, list subjects studied. It is probably best to describe them by year and highlight good results.

Many employers do want to know all your academic results, including failures. However there is no need to list them under this heading. They will appear on your transcript. If there are reasons for the failures, and you would like to emphasise this, they may be notated as below.

Example:
Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical)
University of Technology, Sydney

Any scholarships and awards can also be listed at this point. If there are many it might be an idea to have a separate AWARDS/ACHIEVEMENTS sub-heading. Also include capstone projects or other major projects you worked on within your degree.

Secondary Education

• Only include subjects if you were awarded a very high level of pass in that subject and it is relevant to your field eg 4 unit maths for Actuary position.
• For older students or those with anything other than the Higher School Certificate either leave the details out or be general in your description eg 1989 Completed Matriculation program through Carlingford College of TAFE.

Work Experience

• For those with extensive work experience this section will be their biggest selling factor.
• If you have extensive work experience you may wish to record your achievements and skills in a separate heading, for example after your career objective. This may then be followed by an outline of Work History and then Education. See the Careers Service for a sample format.
• Highlight any achievements, responsibility, size of budget, initiative used, staff you supervised or level of professional skills. It is a good idea to include two sub-headings for each job:- Responsibilities and Achievements.
• Set out dates clearly and in reverse chronological order.
• As you take on more responsibility your description becomes more complex and details of more junior positions in the organisation need not be included.
• If you have significant work experience, some casual/part-time positions undertaken earlier may not be relevant.
• Essentially you are trying to demonstrate by your experience that you have abilities most employers would seek.
• For those students with less experience you may have to rely on your vacation or part-time work.
• If you were given any responsibilities at all, then highlight them. Even such things as being trusted with money are important and should be included. Also highlight transferable skills acquired through part-time work. Skills like team work, leadership, interpersonal and communication skills and provide examples - don't just list the skills.

Key Skills

Here you would include any special skills you may have that make you a more outstanding applicant eg: computer skills, typing speed, fluency in other languages. This category allows you to summarise the key skills which you wish to promote to the employer. Think about your professional skills, generic skills and computing skills.

Personal Qualities

Refer to written references, school reports, awards and certificates to access brief comments made about your personal qualities.

Extracurricular Activities/Community or Leisure Interests

• These are the most significant for those with little work experience. Ideally they show you to be a well rounded individual who has received a broad education. They can also indicate transferable skills as shown above. Any special awards you have achieved are also worth highlighting.
• Your years away from high school determine how many of your school achievements you include. Outstanding achievements should always appear as below:

Referees

• Employers will prefer to speak with your previous employers.
• Include if possible both academic and professional referees. (Here you should use their titles eg: John Smith, Dean of Faculty of Engineering etc). Try for more than one - three would be considered ample.
• A personal referee or anyone who is familiar with your general skills can also be used.
• Always tell your referees that you have included their names and provide them with a copy of your application and position description is you can but certainly they should have a copy of your resume.

General Tips

• You should update your resume continuously.
• Try to be concise and relatively brief. There is no right or wrong length although 2-3 pages is a generally accepted length.
• Put your name and page number on each page of your resume. Employers can mix up sheets when photocopying large numbers of resumes.
• Your resume is an attempt to create an accurate picture of yourself which highlights your strengths.
• You will not be hired on your resume, but a bad one may cost you an interview.
• Your resume should be printed single-sided.
• When making multiple copies of your resume, ensure they are of the highest quality.
• Ensure there are no spelling and grammatical errors in your resume.

Sample resume

View our sample resume to see how it all comes together.