Creating your Resume

Your Resume and CV are very important documents used to convey your skills, abilities and
career history. The difference between a Resume and a CV is summarised as follows;

Resume
Approx 2 page presentation of your career experience and other relevant information that
supports or demonstrates your suitability for the job or position that you are applying for. It is
more custom made per application and is normally no more than one to two pages.

CV
Is a more detailed document outlining your full work history in chronological order (starting
with your most recent and not going back further than 10 years). It also includes your
education, academic qualifications and achievements (such as any publications, research
experience, presentations or awards). It’s generally a static document where the information
does not really change.

The key to a good Resume is to demonstrate how you have gained your skills and how
well your skills and abilities match the requirements of the advertised position you are
applying for.

Check the following when reviewing your Resume/CV

 No Spelling or grammatical errors
 Presentation is professional and easy to read
 Formatting is uniform
 Font is uniform throughout the document - size 11 and recommended are;
Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, Cambria, Georgia, Garamond, Avenir Next
 Education and Experience are in reverse chronological order
 For tidy and professional presentation, make sure that headings and paragraphs are
not split over different pages
 Targeted to the position you are applying for
 Your name and contact details are easy to find
 Headings are in acceptable order (that flow and make sense)
Be able to explain and talk about everything on your resume. Be honest. avoid jargon, only
use abbreviations that are widely understood.

Demonstration of skills is thorough – using the STAR method

 Situation or Task
 Action that you took
 Results from your actions

A great resume is about substance, so while it might be tempting to dress it up with fancy
fonts and graphics, it’s much more compelling to have a clean and fuss-free design and
layout. An aesthetically appealing, functional resume is a reflection of who you convey as a
potential employee, it shows professionalism. There are other good reasons to ensure a
simple resume design:

Resumes with graphics and too many columns won’t actually get through Applicant Tracking
Systems (ATS), so a poorly-designed resume may not ever be seen by potential recruiters.
Fancy or hard-to-read fonts are distracting—busy recruiters and employers won’t view them
favorably.

Depending on your relevant experience, your resume aims for two pages (perhaps 3 but try
to limit to 2) by focusing on quality not quantity and by keeping your word count tight. Less is
more when it comes to providing context for the roles you have listed. Describing what
you’ve achieved in your career in as few words as possible will make your resume stand out.