Create Your CV

The Australian resume is very different from other styles in both its structure and its content. As a consequence, an international student who wishes to apply in Australia should create an Australian version of his/her resume. Here are some tips that can help you:

• The Australian resume is longer and much more detailed than others. It is often more than three pages long and Australian recruiters are used to receiving long resumes.
• You should not include a photograph unless you are told to do so.
• Be precise. For example, when you give the dates of your different jobs, give the month and year when you began and ended your mission, along with how long you stayed and the exact title of your position. 

• First of all, the "Contact details"section in which you must clearly indicate your full name, phone number, e-mail, and the type of visa you currently possess (Working Holiday, De Facto, Looking for sponsorship). You can also add your nationality but you don't have to indicate your date of birth.
• In addition to the traditional sections (Education, Professional Experience, Interests), you can add a section entitled "Career objective" in which you can define your professional expectations in a couple of sentences. This section is generally placed at the beginning of your resume and gives the potential employer an outline of your motivation.
• The "Experience" section is compulsory. You must detail the positions you held, the name of the firm you worked in and where you worked. You may use bullet points and action verbs. The best thing to do would be to divide your professional experience in three parts: a quick summary of what the firm does, the tasks you were doing, and your "key achievements", that is to say what you accomplished on top of what you had to do. If you have a very diverse professional career you can always put your "relevant work experience" first, (that experience you consider to be really relevant to the job you're applying for, and your "other work experience" where you can mention the other positions you have held (barman, etc.).
• The "Education" section is not a major one in the resume. You just have to mention which degrees you have and when and where you studied. If you have a diploma equivalent to an Australian one, mention it and be accurate. If not, try to explain to what Australian diplomas yours could correspond to, because Australian companies don't usually know the "value" of foreign diplomas.
• Don't forget the section "Languages & Skills" and "Hobbies & Interests" in which you will mention your extra-curricular activities.
• As with other Anglo-Saxon resume styles, "Referees" or "References" are compulsory but you can choose between two options. You can either give the names & contact details of your referees directly or write "referees available upon request", which means you will give your references later. If you have good references, we advise you to give them directly as they can always be useful.

You can find below an example to show you how an Australian resume can look like along with a cover letter for a waiter job at a fine dining restaurant.

Don't forget that those are just pieces of advice and that resumes and cover letters must be personal! They have to show your motivation. No matter what professional experience you've had, the most important thing is to show what skills you can bring to a position.

We wish you all the best for your job seeking