Resume writing tips
Looking for a new job requires confidence. Investing time to create a good resume will remind you of your experience and achievements and give you confidence when applying for opportunities.
It can take some time (probably 4-6 hours) because you have to think about what you have achieved (there's plenty), but you'll appreciate the results when it's done.
The downloadable sample document illustrates structure more than content, so apart from the example specifics in the achievement sections, don't pay too much attention to the content.
In Australia, around four pages is the expected length of a resume. Any longer, it puts readers off.
Here are our top tips for creating a resume you'll be proud of, and that will give you the confidence to land your next golden opportunity.
- Keep your resume format simple and in Word format. If a recruiter needs to convert it from PDF to add a summary page, it could lose formatting, or if it has a non-standard format, they could waste valuable time trying to reformat it, which could delay your application and impact your chances.
- Consider the pages of your resume as real estate. Don't waste space unnecessarily. E.g. don't space out contact details in the top half of your resume with unnecessary headings. People know what they are; you don't need to write 'Mobile : 0412 345 678' or 'LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/aexample/'. You should be able to get your contact address, email address and LinkedIn URL on one line. Your mobile phone number is the most important contact detail, so ensure it's easy to find.
- Your resume is a sales document. If you take the first page of your resume and fold it in half from top to bottom, the top half should be compelling enough for you to want to read to the bottom of the page and beyond.
- If you have multiple contract engagements on your resume and are applying for permanent positions, state why you are now looking for a change, e.g. you have just had a newborn and want a better work-life balance. If you don't explain why you want a change, people will make assumptions, and they can often be ill-informed and wrong and discount you from the process.
- The structure of each job should be Mandate (contract) or Responsibilities (full-time) followed by Achievements.
- In your achievements, be specific and aim to provide statistical results, e.g. Increased customer satisfaction in the first year by 18% or saved $250k p/a by consolidating software licenses. Think along the lines of money saved, efficiency gains, increased satisfaction levels or productivity improvements, and state a tangible amount where possible.
- If you have ever been awarded something that you feel an employer will be impressed with, put it on your resume in the section relative to the employer. Blacktown Social Snooker Player of the Year probably isn't one of these. 😉
- If you left a full-time position early, give the reason. It's much better than someone assuming something negative happened. People are generally OK with reasonable explanations.
- If you took a career break, put the details of what you did and what you got out of the experience. Not everything is achieved or learnt at work. It can also be interesting, and there will often be transferable skills or experiences.
- List any technologies you want to work with in the future in a table, along with other skills such as competencies, and domain skills. Endless lists of technology are a waste, and listing technology you don't want to work with anymore is pointless. If you want to highlight the technology you used in a specific engagement, put it in a one-line summary in the resume's body against the job you were in.
- If you have a long resume, consider compiling your oldest experience into a list. An employer will unlikely want to read anything older than ten years ago in detail.
- Education, certificates, interests and hobbies should all be at the end of the resume. Save the front of your resume for experiences and achievements.
And remember, there's absolutely no point in writing 'references available on request'. Think about it; it's a pointless statement.
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