Section 3: The Written Application

The Résumé

What is a résumé or curriculum vitae?

The terms 'résumé' and 'curriculum vitae' (or c.v.) tend to be used interchangeably to mean a summary or brief account of your personal details, education, qualifications, skills and work experience. In general a résumé tends to be briefer and less detailed than a curriculum vitae.

What should the résumé include?

Résumés vary greatly in the way they are presented and the information they include, depending on such factors as personal preference and the amount of experience from which you have to draw.

The following information may help you to decide what to include in your résumé and what to leave out.

Information selection panels normally expect to see

Personal details:

Full name
Home address
Telephone numbers - usually home and work
Eligibility to work in Australia (e.g. if not an Australian citizen)

Educational background:

Qualifications achieved (e.g. Year 10/12, certificate, degree, diploma, etc.)
For qualifications gained overseas, give the equivalent Australian qualification if it is unclear
Dates of qualifications
Name of school, college or university and location (name of city; name of country - if outside Australia)

This information can be ordered in a number of ways, depending on such factors as personal preference, the number of qualifications you have, which qualifications you most want to emphasize and which are most relevant to the job:

most recent first (this is the most common form)
highest or most relevant qualification first
separated into secondary and post-secondary.

Employment history:

Name of organisation/department
Position title
Summary of key duties and responsibilities
Dates of employment

This information can be also be ordered in a number of ways, depending on such factors as personal preference, the number of jobs you have had, which jobs you most want to emphasize and which are most relevant:

most recent job first (this tends to be the preferred option)
chronological order
separated into different types of employment (e.g. secretarial and administrative, technical) if these would make it easier for the selection panel when looking for relevant positions.

The further back your employment history goes, the less detail you need to give. For employment going back beyond about 10 years you don't need to list all the duties performed for each job, and if you've done a number of similar jobs, you could consider summarising them as a single type of job. For example:

1982 - 1986	Held a number of temporary secretarial positions, both in government and private industry.
	Organisations included ..... . Main areas of responsibility were:
	-
	-

Referees:

Names, addresses and phone numbers of two referees, preferably work-related

Additional information you may wish to include

Career objective. This is a brief statement, usually at the start of your résumé, which summarises your career goals. If you include one, make sure it ties in closely with the goals of the department and of the job for which you're applying.

Training courses attended

Breaks or gaps in employment, e.g. for travel, child-rearing/home duties

Volunteer work or work experience

Summary of skills not covered in the selection criteria, e.g. public speaking

Summary of equipment, and computer software packages used

Membership of professional associations

Items that are optional

Personal details

Date of birth
Marital status
Number of dependents
Nationality
Health
Driver's licence

Hobbies, interests, languages spoken

To help you decide whether or not to include such details, ask yourself the following questions:

Is the information relevant to the job for which I'm applying?
Is it necessary to include it? (e.g. health: no-one is likely to admit to being unhealthy in their résumé!)
Will it help the selection panel to get a more complete picture of my skills and abilities? (e.g. that you've held responsible positions in sporting clubs)
Could the information bias the selection panel in any way?

Making it easy for the selection panel

It is often said that employers on average spend only about two minutes reading an applicant's résumé. This means that your résumé must look good and attract the reader's attention, and all relevant details must be clear, easy to read and easy to find.

To make it easy for the selection panel, consider the following:

Keep the résumé brief, preferably between two and four pages long.

Give lots of relevant information but be brief and selective.

Put the information in a logical order so that it is easy to find the relevant details.

Be consistent in the way you present the information: in terms of headings, order of information, use of words, layout, etc.

Use point form (like this list) rather than long paragraphs; items in point form are generally quicker and easier to read.

Make the résumé look professional by effective use of spacing, bold, uppercase, font sizes, underlining, etc.

Suggested layout

On the following pages is an example of a pro-forma résumé, highlighting the types of information that could be included, and the way in which that information could be laid out.

The way you lay out your résumé in terms of order and appearance is up to you, and there are a number of different formats you can use. A lot depends on personal preference and on what aspects of your qualifications or experience you want to emphasize most strongly. Whatever style you choose, make sure that the items most relevant to the vacancy are covered and are easy to find. Also bear in mind that the selection panel may have different preferences to you.

For more information on style and layout of résumés, refer to the books listed under 'Further Reading' at the end of this section.

RÉSUMÉ

PERSONAL DETAILS

Name

Address

Telephone Number (home and work)

Eligibility to work in Australia - if not an Australian citizen or resident

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Can be listed in a number of ways:

most recent qualifications first (this is the most common)

highest or most relevant qualification first

divided into secondary and post-secondary education

For each item listed, include the following:

qualifications achieved (e.g. Year 10/12, certificate, degree, diploma, etc.)

for qualifications gained overseas, give the equivalent Australian qualification if it is unclear

dates of qualifications - indicate if still in progress

name of school, college or university and location (name of city; name of country - if outside Australia)

OTHER QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING

Other qualifications and certificates, e.g. first aid certificate, driver's licence

Training courses attended at work, etc. - give dates and course titles

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Can be listed in a number of ways:

most recent employment first - this is the most common form

chronological order

by type of employment (e.g. administrative, technical, etc.), if these would make it easier for the selection panel when looking for relevant positions.

Give the following information about each job:

name of organisation, name of department, position title

summary of key duties and responsibilities - list these in point form and use 'action' verbs (eg 'organised', 'co-ordinated', 'supervised', etc.)

dates of employment

The further back in time you go, the less detail you need to give.

Give details of reasons for any gaps in employment, e.g. home duties, travel, etc.

VOLUNTEER WORK OR WORK EXPERIENCE (if recent)

Set these out in the same order and format as your employment history.

SUMMARY OF RELEVANT SKILLS

These may include:

Use of specific computing and software packages, other equipment

Knowledge of internal systems, e.g. Human Resources System (HRS), Financial Records System (FRS), library cataloguing system, etc.

Use of electronic information systems, e.g. Email, World-Wide Web (WWW)

Understanding of internal procedures, e.g. accounting, payroll, etc.

Relevant skills not covered in the selection criteria, e.g. presentation/public speaking, book-keeping, budgeting, conference organisation, etc.

MEMBERSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

Full name of association and type of membership
Details of any official position(s) you hold or have held

HOBBIES AND INTERESTS

It is optional whether you list such details. If you include them, make sure you:

List current activities rather than ones you haven't engaged in for years

Pick ones that you think will be relevant and don't list too many.

REFEREES

Details of at least two referees, preferably work-related, including:

Name, title, organisation, address and phone number

Position title and relationship to you, if not clear (e.g. supervisor)

Make sure you have sought the referees' permission before including them in your résumé.

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The University of Western Australia, Centre for Staff Development

Contact: Claire Webb, cwebb@csd.uwa.edu.au
Last Update: 26 May 1999
URL: http://www.csd.uwa.edu.au/job/guide/sec_3_4.htm