In our last blog, we gave you an overview of what a resume is, it’s purpose when seeking a job and what to include. In this post, we are going to dive deeper into what to include on your resume and give you some great tips to help you out.
Before you get started, make sure you have gathered all of the necessary information and that you are prepared to spend a few hours putting together your draft.
Ok, now let’s get straight into it!
- Personal/Contact Details
- Opening statement
- List of key skills
- Qualifications & Certificates
- Employment history/volunteering/work placements
- Hobbies/Interests
- References/referees
Personal/Contact Details
Not only is it important to include your contact details for when an employer wants to contact you, but you must make sure that you triple check that the details are correct. If you have a typo in your phone number or email address, it’s almost impossible for an employer to contact you for an interview.
Tip: Get your friends and family to read over it carefully.
Opening statement
Use the opening statement as an opportunity to give a quick a summary of who you are, where you’ve worked and/or studies, and what you bring to the job.
Start with one sentence about who you are and what you bring to the job, then go on to describe the skills and attributes you have that suit you to the job you are applying for.
Your opening statement should only be a few lines (3-6) and straight to the point. Edit out any unnecessary words.
Resume hack: make sure your opening statement is written in first person, but without personal reference. (Don’t say “I did this”, say “Did this” instead).
For example; Don’t say “I studied at Monash University”, instead say “Studied at Monash University”.
Qualifications & Certificates
Make sure to list any of your current relevant qualifications and certificates.
Education
Again, a simple list of your education is all that’s needed here.
List of key skills
Adding a list of about 10-15 skills is a great way to show the employer that you have the desired skills for the job.
- Problem solving
- Cash management
- Data processing
You can also add a short list of software skills if they are relevant to the job.
- Photoshop CS5+
- Microsoft Word
- WordPress
- EFTPOS
Tip: If you carefully read the job description you will have a list of essential and desirable skills. If possible, respond to all of the essentials and as many of the desirable skills as you can.
Employment history/volunteering/work placements
Working backwards, from your latest job to your first. List any relevant employment, volunteering and work placements that you have.
The format should be easy to read for the employer.
Company Year from – to (eg 2006-2012)
Position
Brief one sentence of your role
List your achievements and contributions
Hobbies/Interests
Including your hobbies and or interests might seem like an odd thing to include in a professional document; but it gives the employer a little bit of an insight into you and your personality which can be a great advantage.
If you don’t feel that hobbies and interests are appropriate, than a short list of your personal attributes is another great way of giving a little bit of insight into your personality.
Example:
• Effective Communication Skills
• Honest and Reliable
• Flexible
• Time Management
References/referees
Your resume should list at least two people who can positively vouch for what you are like as a person and what you are like to work with. Some job applications will outline a minimum number of references, so be sure to read carefully.
Ideally your referees will be people who you have worked with before. Your neighbour might know that you’d be a great employee, but that isn’t appropriate. Also, your mum is a little biased, so don’t go adding her. Provide their name, their position title, and a way that they can be contacted.
Tip: Always ask your referees if you can list them first. This is also a great time to ask for their current contact details.
Our next blog post in this series we will go into details about the formatting and presentation of your resume.
Need help?
We understand that looking for a job can be hard work. If you’re unsure where to start or need some help writing your resume, contact your nearest STEPS Employment Solutions office and our friendly and professional consultants will provide you with one on one support.
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