Your resume is a marketing tool, the purpose of which is to get you to the interview! It is your chance to present to a prospective employer all the information that proves that you have the required skills and experience for the position.

To make your resume stand out you need to go beyond simply listing your job functions and show how your experience made a real difference to the organisation and that your skills are transferable to the new position. Resume preparation is not the time to be modest; rather you should tell the reader what you have done in an honest and positive manner.

It is useful to remember that you are totally responsible for your resume and the impression it creates!

Before you can put pen to paper you need to spend time reviewing your work experience. You will need to identify your current and past job responsibilities and duties, your past accomplishments/achievements, and your skills and abilities. You must keep in mind that the reader will be asking themselves three main questions: Who is this applicant? What sort of job does this person want? What abilities or skills is this person offering?

Resume Structure

You are the product for sale in the job market.Employers want to know what you can do for them, not how many children you have and your HSC results. Opinions vary as to the correct contents and structure of a resume, however, a basic resume structure should always include the following:

Personal Details

This would normally include your name, address and contact details such as telephone , e-mail addresses etc. Stating your Residency status is also useful as employers need to know, if you're not an Australian citizen, whether you are legally able to work in Australia and for how long.

Career History

When detailing your employment history you should include job title, employer dates, a description of the employer and a description of position the held which should include major duties and responsibilities, for example, the number of staff supervised etc.

Achievement

Brief statements detailing your achievements covering work experience, education, training or other activities should be included. You should ensure you include things you feel you did well in your previous positions (eg, suggestions for improvements, sales achievements). You should not rely solely on a position description when preparing this part of your resume. Instead you should say what you actually did and how good you were at it!Demonstrate your success!

Education/Qualifications

This should include:

• Formal Qualifications held and other relevant professional training and education undertaken.
• Professional Memberships (If membership of professional bodies is important to the job they can be specified separately)

• Be wary of Information overload - Although there is no set rule, it is suggested that resumes be between 3 to 5 pages long. Do not write a novel!
• Use of bullet points, short sentences and short words will assist to make your resume easy and quick to read. Resumes may not always be read but simply skimmed for the relevant information by the reader!
• Use Action words - Action verbs and not just adjectives should be use (eg accomplished, created, enhanced, launched, negotiated etc). Pronouns (I, we, they) should be kept to a minimum or avoided altogether. The use of 'I' tends to emphasise what you want rather than what you can do for the employer.
• Take care with Presentation - Layout and design should be legible, consistent and easy to follow, with good clear headings, large easy to read font eg Times New Roman, Arial. Use good quality plain A4 paper. Coloured paper or fancy border should only be used if the job requires creativity. Do not send poor quality photocopies.
• Ensure correct spelling and grammar.
• Keep it honest. Don't exaggerate your experience to make it sound more impressive. You should not include anything on your resume that you cannot substantiate at interview - to do so could impede your chances of getting the position.
• Put work history and education details in reverse chronological order, that is starting with the most recent.
• It is not advisable to include: photographs, date of birth, spouse's/partner's occupation, current or past remuneration details, religion, weight, height, health information, marital status, number of children etc.

Your references should be someone who you have reported to and who is familiar with your responsibilities and skill levels. If you elect to include referee details you should include the following information: name, job title and name of organisation, telephone number, address including e-mail if available, nature of relationship (eg supervisor etc).

Alternately you may elect to supply referees upon request.