Contact Details
- These are to be placed at the top of the first page and should include your address, email address and contact numbers.
- Make sure you only provide the details where you wish to be contacted.
Employment History
- List your work experience in reverse chronological order (i.e., your most recent position first).
- Provide the dates of your employment (including month and year), your position and your key responsibilities and achievements (ensuring the latter are quantified).
- You may choose to include a brief profile of your previous employment. This could contain the size of the company in terms of the number employees and turnover in dollars.
- Bullet point your responsibilities. These should give the reader a clear idea of the reason your position existed. Indicate how much responsibility and accountability you had and also who you reported to/who reported to you.
- Bullet point your achievements. Highlight, where possible in a quantifiable manner, projects you developed/implemented and how well you performed at your job.
Education
- List your education in reverse chronological order.
- Include the tertiary institution you attended and course or qualification you completed/are completing. Also list the dates of your studies.
- It is not necessary to include your grades unless the advertisement states that the employer requires a transcript.
- If you are a graduate or school leaver with a short employment history then give a more detailed overview of your academic qualifications and success.
Key Skills/Competencies
- A potential employer should be able to assess with ease how your key competencies are relevant to the position in which you are applying for.
- Ensure you clearly link your skills and competencies to the requirements outlined in the job advertisement.
- You could be asked to back up and expand on the key skills and competencies you have listed so be prepared to provide examples of them.
Other Details
- Computer literacy – list the programs and applications you are familiar with along with your proficiency level in each.
- Referees – you should have the names of at least two referees along with their company, position and contact details. Remember to let the individual/s know that they are listed as your referees. Alternatively you may indicate that “Referees are Available upon Request”. All referees should be employment related not personal.
- Interests – listing your interests is a way of differentiating yourself and your personality from other applicants that have similar skills and qualifications. Try to list interests that demonstrate appropriate skills that are relevant to the position you are applying for. For example, if the job advertisement lists “being a team player” as a requirement for the role, you may wish to include your involvement in a team sport or activity to show that you possess this quality.
- Professional Development and Training Courses –There is no need to list every course you have attended. Instead stick to the courses that are relevant to the position in which you are applying for.
- Memberships – this may include both professional and interest based. They give the reader an understanding of your commitment and the level of involvement that you have in your chosen job or interest.
- Voluntary employment and activities – this is often a good way to showcase your commitment to the community, your leadership and interpersonal skills. Volunteer work demonstrates personal characteristics such as initiative and perseverance that employers are likely to view as highly valuable.
