What should you put in your resume? It depends on what your career goals are, and on what companies need who employ people in your field.
One good rule is: don't make your resume too long. Only include information that shows clearly that you meet the employer's needs.
Look at the following for help:
Sections of a resume
Your resume can contain as many sections and sub-sections as you need, to hold all the information. However, don't break it up too much, or it'll confuse your readers and prioritise the sections so that the employer can find information easily.
The most common sections are those in the list above (contact information, objectives etc.).
Others you might want to use include:
- professional associations you belong to
- articles you've had published in journals or books
- any presentations you've made at conferences or seminars
- languages you speak other than English.
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What order should you put the information in?
Put the information that's most important to the employer at the beginning of the resume:
- contact details
- your objectives
- a summary of your experience.
Organise the rest in order of the sections' importance to the employer and to the job. For example:
- If the job requires special qualifications, list how and where you obtained these at the beginning.
- If technical skills are the most important requirements, list yours early.
- If you're changing career direction, put your transferable skills first.
If you've just left school you may not have much work experience. Include skills, abilities and personal qualities you demonstrated in other areas of your life, such as school activities, hobbies or community involvement.
Referees go last in the resume.
Use headings that suit the content below them, and that match the wording of the job advertisement.
For each section described below, you'll find a list of alternative section headings; choose the one that best suits your resume.
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Contact information
To start off your resume, say clearly who you are and how you can be contacted.
You don't need to use a heading for this section. It's best if your name is the first thing on the first page.
Which details should you include? This depends on what would be most convenient way for the employer to contact you.
Every resume must include:
Your name
Write your first and last name. If you prefer people to use a certain version of your name, either put it in brackets after your first name (e.g. 'Kathleen (Kathy) Porter'), or simply use it without the full name ('Kathy Porter').
Make your name a larger font size than the other text in the resume, or put it in bold type - you want the employer to remember it.
Your address
If you're about to move house, put both your old and your new addresses in, and the date from which you will be able to receive mail at the new address.
Telephone number
Most employers want to contact you by phone. Give them a number where you're certain they can reach you or leave a message.
Include your home number and your mobile number. Include your present work number if it won't be awkward for you to be contacted there.
Check that you've typed all phone numbers correctly. Making a mistake can cost you an interview.
E-mail/fax (optional)
Only include your e-mail address or fax number if you check your inbox and fax regularly.
You might want to add a simple graphic element, such as a horizontal line, between your contact information and the rest of the resume.
Examples
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Objective(s)
This section tells an employer what position you are seeking, and the next step you want to take in your career path. It's an optional part of the resume. It can be useful if your current job goal doesn't exactly match your past experience, or if it would otherwise not be clear from your resume what kind of work you are seeking.
Alternative headings for the 'Objectives' section include:
- Professional objectives
- Career goals
- Job objectives
- Professional goals
- Position desired.
If you do include objectives, but you want to be considered for other openings, don't use any objective that will lock you into a specific job role.
Don't go the other way and be vague. An objective like 'to utilise my skills in a challenging role in a company that offers professional development and advancement' is too general. Almost every job seeker wants that. Employers prefer a carefully worded, specific job objective that conveys useful information about you. For example:
- To move from Technical Writing into Project Management roles, with a focus on large-scale data migration projects in a government context.
- To broaden my business knowledge with a range of real-world experience, with the ultimate aim of working as a commercial consultant for non-profit organisations.
- To gain experience of all aspects of salon management, with a view to operating my own salon within three years.
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Summary of experience
This is a big-picture or general statement that describes what work you do, and what strengths and abilities you can offer.
Alternative headings for this section include:
- Summary
- Profile
- Career summary.
Write a brief description of your experience, skills and personal attributes. It should show the employer how these all fit together.
Make it one short paragraph in length, or put it in bullet-list format. Create one to three points for a one-page resume, two to five points for a longer one.
For example:
- Self-motivated and reliable child care assistant with three years' part-time experience in a local child care centre.
- A cheerful and caring manner with infants and children three months to five years old.
- Able to communicate easily with parents.
Remember
- You might find it easier to write the summary after you've written the rest of your resume and know everything that's in it.
- Keep in mind the employer's needs and the selling points you have that will meet them.
- Don't get too detailed in the summary. The rest of your resume will show the specifics of your experience.
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Competencies
Many people's work history does not necessarily show that they can do the job they're applying for. You can overcome this by having a competencies section, describing your overall ability as it relates to the job or industry you're applying for.
Alternative headings for this section include:
- Key skills
- Skills summary
- Capabilities
- Work skills
- Skills.
This section convinces an employer that you have the capabilities necessary to do the job.
List all your marketable skills and strengths, not just the ones you've used in paid work; people gain many important skills in other areas of their lives.
If a lot of your skills are related to each other, group them under sub-headings: Computer, Programming, Interpersonal, Mechanical Skills etc.
Remember
If you canot think of how to present your strengths, try the following:
- Go through the entire action words list and tick all those that apply to you, adding notes about where and how you performed them.
- Go through the list again and tick those you think are most wanted by employers hiring in your field.
- In your resume, highlight the skills you ticked twice.
List any forms of accreditation and licences that you hold.
Examples
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Education and qualifications
Alternative headings for this section include:
- Education
- Educational achievements
- Educational background
- Educational history
- Educational and vocational skills
- Training
- Short courses
- Qualifications
- Licences/Certificates.
This section shows an employer that you've reached the right level of formal educational to do the job.
You can include:
- university degrees
- certificates
- short training courses
- workshops, seminars, conferences
- other professional training
- licences
- forms of accreditation.
Include or leave out information according to your goals and the employer's needs. For example, list the subjects you've studied that are relevant to the position you're applying for.
To decide what to include, ask yourself, What will this employer know about this degree, coursework or training? What might I need to describe in more detail, so that they can see how much I know?
If you have several skills in one particular area, group them in their own section. For example, if you have trained in several relevant computer packages, create a section headed 'Computer competencies' rather than listing them with more general qualifications.
Remember
Avoid jargon and abbreviations an employer might not know the meaning of.
In what order should you list your education?
It's best to use reverse chronological order, putting the most recent educational qualification first.
You might also consider starting off with the educational experiences you have that are most relevant to the job.
How should you list each item of your education?
List the qualification or program, then the institution (school, university or TAFE college), then the dates you undertook or completed the course, or the date a degree was conferred. You can vary this order if, for example, an institution/training provider has an excellent reputation in the field - highlight it by putting it first.
Whichever order you use, use it consistently for each educational achievement in this section.
Should you include high school details?
If you've just left school, you should put the details in your resume. If you've completed tertiary studies, or have some work history behind you, you don't need to include high school information.
Should you include grades or marks?
If you think they will help sell you to an employer, include them. If they're not an accurate reflection of your abilities, leave them out.
What if you're still completing a degree or training certificate?
Indicate that the course is ongoing. For example:
- currently undertaking Certificate II Warehousing
- Graduate Diploma in Human Movement - in progress
Examples
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Work experience
Alternative headings for this section include:
- Employment history
- Employment
- Employment background
- Work background
- Professional experience
- Work history
- Experience
- Related experience
- Volunteer work.
If you are a school leaver and have not worked before, use the heading 'Work experience'. If you want to include unpaid work such as work experience and volunteer work in the same list, use a heading like 'Work history'. The heading 'Employment' implies paid work.
The best predictor of what you might achieve for your employer is your past performance. Employers are aware of this, so you should emphasise your past work achievements.
List your work experience in reverse chronological order (most recent experience first).
Where should you put the work experience?
This depends on which of the three types of resume you use:
- In a chronological resume, work experience usually comes first after the contact details or the objectives.
- In a functional resume, work experience comes after the 'Competencies/Skills' section and is presented as a list.
- In a combination resume, work experience is usually listed after the 'Competencies/Skills' section.
How should you set out each item of your work experience?
Headings and sub-headings will help you to organise your work experience information. For example:
(Heading)
(Sub-heading)
(Heading)
(Sub-heading)
Voluntary work
Counselling experience
Field placements
Management experience
Each separate job listing should include the following components.
Job title
Use a more common title if the company title of your job is unusual or might be unfamiliar to your prospective employer.
In some industries, job titles change over time. Use the current job title when listing previous jobs. For example, the 'bartender' of ten years ago is now a 'bar attendant' or a 'beverage attendant'.
Company name and location
Refer to previous employers by their complete business name.
Dates of employment or involvement
Use years and months (days are not necessary).
Dates are usually listed down the left side of the resume. If you want to de-emphasise dates, put them on the right. For example:
Journalist, The Magazine, May 2000 - Jan 2001
Editor, Counter Calendar, Jan 1999 - Mar 2000
Responsibilities and duties
Use one or two sentences to describe generally what you did in each job. Include any information that will help an employer understand exactly how much responsibility you held at work. For example, if you supervised others, say how many people you were responsible for.
Achievements
Describe any achievements, accomplishments, results and awards that demonstrate how well you did your job.
Also, think about which achievements relate best to the job you are applying for.
Think about the measurable results you achieved, such as:
- dollars saved or earned
- time saved
- customer satisfaction increased
- production increased.
Ask yourself 'Who? What? Why? Where? When? How?' to expand your descriptions to include enough detail.
For example, you might have been a 'child care assistant'; in a previous job. You might ask yourself:
- How many children did I look after?
- How old were they?
- What activities were involved in caring for them?
Your description might end up something like: 'Cared for ten children aged from two to four years, offering a range of activities for their enjoyment and development.'
Use the same tense and sentence structure in all your descriptions, so that readers can pick up information quickly.
Should you put the job title or the employer's name first?
The job title usually comes first, but you can put the employer's name first if you think highlighting it will help sell you. Keep the format consistent throughout the resume.
How far back should you go?
List the jobs you have held all the way back to the time you left school, but be most detailed about the recent jobs. Employers are most interested in current and recent experience because of its relevance to today's workplace.
For jobs you held more than ten years ago, mention them only briefly, emphasising what you learned, or listing them without further description.
Should you include unpaid employment?
Most employers are more concerned about how much responsibility you had and what you did than about whether or not you were paid. Include all substantial, relevant unpaid work experience.
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Activities and interests
Alternative headings include:
- Community activities
- Community involvement
- Voluntary work
- Interests and hobbies
- Special interests
- Recreational activities
- Leisure activities
- Other information.
This section is optional, but it helps an employer form a picture of you. For example, an interest in sport suggests that you're physically fit. Sometimes employers can use your interests to start a conversation at interviews.
Hobbies or community activities can show that you've got initiative, creativity, communication skills or organisational ability. These are especially important if they're relevant to the jobs for you're applying for.
- Activities are structured pursuits, such as those organised by clubs or voluntary organisations (e.g. Amnesty International member, Meals on Wheels volunteer, Army reservist).
When listing activities, list the organisation, your role (member, volunteer etc.) and how long you've been involved - for example, 'Volunteer counsellor, Lifeline, 2003 - 2006'.
- Interests are unstructured, individual pursuits, such as football, netball, sewing, playing guitar, restoring cars.
When listing interests, clarify what you do (putting 'model cars' isn't enough - do you collect them, or make them, or just enjoy reading about them?). You don't have to say how long you've had an interest, and you don't have to include interests that don't project the image you want to create in the employer's mind.
As you write this section, keep asking yourself:
- What am I trying to tell this employer?
- What does this activity/hobby reveal about me and my values?
Be aware which interests or activities employers might react strongly to, either for or against them. A religious or political affiliation might be one of these. If you want to list such aspects of yourself, write about them in a neutral way, to counteract any employer bias.
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Referees
A referee is someone you know who is happy for your potential employer to contact them, to talk about you and your work experience. Referees should know your work habits from having worked with you or supervised you.
For each referee, include:
- their name
- their title
- the company they work for
- their work phone number and/or mobile
- their e-mail address
- a brief statement explaining how the referee knows you.
You don't have to put referees on your resume, but you should have arranged some. You might put 'Contact details for referees are available on request' in this section, and provide a list at the interview if it is requested.
Remember
It helps if you give your referee a copy of the job description or the ad you're answering, so that they know what to emphasise when the employer contacts them. Give them a copy of your resume, too, so that they remember your achievements - this is particularly useful if it's been a few months or more since you worked for them.
Examples
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What not to include
In a resume, you should never:
- make statements you can't prove. Be truthful. Don't say you've achieved something when you haven't. Don't claim experience that you don't have.
- put in anything about your personal life (besides your contact details). Don't mention your age, height, weight, marital status, children, the state of your health or any religious, cultural or political affiliation you have (unless you're applying for a job where your religion, cultural background or political affinity is critical to the organisation).
- include a picture of yourself, unless your occupational field requires it.
- mention the salary or pay you want. Don't talk about money at all until the interview.
- include negative reasons for leaving previous jobs (e.g. if you were fired or 'asked to leave', if you left because of a 'personality clash' with someone, if you were sick of travelling).
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