Why should you have a resume?

Most employers and recruitment agencies want to see your resume. They use it to decide which applicants to interview for a job.

A resume sells your skills to an employer. It’s the first impression an employer gains about you. It summarises your work history, skills and experience in the best possible light. It’s not just a list of past jobs—it’s about how you performed in those jobs, what you learned and what you accomplished. A resume is a way for you to show your strengths.

But a resume is just as much about saying what employers want to hear as it is about you promoting yourself. It should answer the employer’s question, ‘What can this person do for my company?’

You should take care to:

  • highlight information that meets the employer's needs,
  • put a positive spin on anything that might be considered a barrier to your getting the job you’re applying for. See Addressing employer concerns.

You will need a different resume for each type of job you are seeking, possibly for each individual job application. The most effective resume is written with a specific position in mind.

Employers are usually very busy. Probably they will spend 15–20 seconds scanning your resume, deciding whether it is worth further consideration. If you make a good first impression, they will read the resume more closely and critically, seeing whether you satisfy all the job criteria and reading all your details.

Write your resume with both these reading styles in mind, the quick scanning and the close reading. Here are some hints:

  • Organise your resume carefully and use good page design to create a resume that can be easily skimmed and comfortably read in detail.
  • Use headings so that skim readers can find what they’re looking for quickly.
  • Give enough details to convince careful readers that you really have the skills you say you have.

Tip!

  • Your resume is an important document in your job search. It can make or break your application. Don’t rush when you’re preparing it. Take all the time and care you need to make it as perfect as possible.
  • Try to make information easy to find at a glance.
  • Take 15 seconds yourself to look at your resume. What stands out? What blends into the background and needs more emphasis?
  • Keep your resume up to date. Keep your contact details current, and document every job you have so that you can describe it in different ways to suit resumes for different jobs.