Career Week 2023: What makes a good resume?
Tuesday, 16 May 2023
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Creating an effective résumé is an essential skills you'll need when you begin applying for jobs.
National Careers Week runs during Week 12 from 15 - 21 May. It is a time to celebrate careers, career development, career development services, and career development practitioners.
Your career does not start at the end of your degree, many of the most important steps you can take while you are studying. Whether it is volunteering, building up your work experience, developing your resume or working on your networking skills - there is lots to do now.
Creating a Résumé
Creating an effective résumé is an essential skills you'll need when you begin applying for jobs, volunteering opportunities and work placements.
A résumé is a document outlining your education, employment history, skills, accomplishments and referees. It is designed to give a potential employer an overview of your experience, skills and abilities.
A Curriculum Vitae (definition ~ “course of (one’s) life”) is a comprehensive overview of everything you have done in your life, however this document should not be sent to potential employers.
A résumé is a summary of the information on your CV, customised to the position you are applying for. It should be current and relevant, showcasing your skills, abilities, experience and knowledge matched to the position description, company and job advertisement.
Nowadays many companies use software to access incoming resumes, scanning for the key words used in the job advertisement, so it is vital that you craft a specific resume for each position you apply for.
Five tips to think about
- Provide specific examples of previous work, tailored to the position you are applying for.
- Use strong action verbs, such as executed, implemented, advised, facilitated and demonstrated.
- Don’t cram information in. Utilise white space in your résumé.
- The document should be no longer than 4 pages regardless of how long you have been employed.
- Use bullets where possible, no more than 6—7 in a section.
Develop the essential skills relating to resumes, interviews, selection criteria and creating cover letters via the Career Hacks resources in Career Hub.
Look at the helpful tips on Interview Skills, Resumes, Selection Criteria and Cover Letters.
You can also head down to one of the regular Resume, Cover Letter, LinkedIn Review Drop-In sessions to get feedback on your resources. Find out when the next session is on via CareerHub.