Building a Resume
What is a Resume?
A resume is a brief account of employment history, work experience, education and further training, skills, interests, and personal qualities.
- Name
- Address
- Contact phone numbers
- Email address (if applicable)
- Any applicable Licences and transport
- Certificates, courses and qualifications
- Year completed
- Certificate/Qualification/Course title
- Institution who ran the course
Skills & Personal Attributes
- Summarise all your skills and attributes making them focused on the type of work you are applying for
- This is where you list the benefits you have to offer the employer in a simple format
- This should be in a simple layout such as in a table form
- List your jobs in reverse order - most recent first working back from there in order
- Date - to and from
- Title
- Company Name
- List of duties and responsibilities of job
- List of Achievements you had in the job
- Name
- Position
- Company
- Contact details (phone numbers, address, email)
- If it is a personal reference then indicate this
Other information you should include if it is relevant to the position/industry you are seeking:
- Membership of professional organisations
- Community activities and other interests (hobbies)
- Knowledge of other languages
Verbal References
These are vital to you obtaining your next job, so you will need to contact your referees and let them know the type of job or jobs you are applying for. This will ensure that they are not caught off guard and are actually expecting the call and assists them in knowing what areas to focus on to give you the best reference possible.
*Never give a referee that may give you a negative or average reference. It is better to not have any referee than a bad one!*
It is very important to leave on amicable terms when you change jobs, because what your last boss says about you will determine whether you get your next job.

