Preparing a Winning Resume
What is a resume?
Why produce a resume?
What needs to be included?
Helpful resume hints
Skills List
Personal Characteristics Assessment
Cover Letters
What is a resume?
- A self-marketing document – it is an advertising brochure selling a product i.e. you, the job seeker.
- Your major marketing tool – to get an interview
- A source of information
- A script for talking about yourself
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Why produce a resume?
A resume provides relevant information to help an employer determine if you meet the requirements for the job, and/or what you have to offer.
Its purpose is to:
- Secure an interview for you when accompanied by a letter of application
- To present factual/truthful information (that can be verified) to assist you in presenting your case
- Remind someone of who we are after we have seen them
- Be used for walk-in job canvassing
- Be sent to employment consultants and recruitment agencies
- Be the first communication of the applicant, to the potential employer. It should therefore be used to create the most favourable impression.
CONTINUALLY UPDATE!
It should be updated as you accumulate new skills and experience or whenever your personal details change.
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What needs to be included?
The key purpose is to outline in a brief but comprehensive format your personal details and work experience and highlight the skills that make you employable. These should be matched to the job criteria. They may include:
- Personal details (name, address, phone number, email address)
- Education (Year 11 or 12), Qualifications (tertiary and trade) and Training (Certificates)
- Employment history (most recent job first, years worked, position first with name of company underneath)
- Skills (use headings e.g. computer, customer service, clerical, interpersonal etc)
- Personal qualities (Optional)
- Leisure interests (Optional)
- At least two referees or written references
- Front cover sheet is no longer essential
Some More Facts
- Hand written resumes are not acceptable. Do not make hand written amendments to your resume. If there is an error, correct it on the computer and reprint it.
- Do not include your photo on your resume (unless you’re applying for a job as a model!) It is also not necessary to include details under the headings of gender, age, marital status, religion, ethnicity or health.
- Proof reading is vital
- If the employer provides formal selection criteria, make sure you explicitly respond to each point.
Your resume must :
- Look professional
- Be well typed and set out
- Contain only relevant information.
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Helpful resume hints
- Your resume is a powerful marketing tool
- The purpose of the resume is to get you an interview
- Avoid repetition
- Remember that your resume is intended for someone else to read who usually does not know you
- The reader starts to lose interest after page two, so put important information first
- Try not to have large spaces at the bottom of a page
- Make sure that the information reveals all the skills you want the reader to know about. Don’t expect an interview for a job that you know you can do, if the reader can’t see your ability to do the job in your resume.
- Understand the difference between duties and skills. Skills sell. Skills are learned. Skills are transferable. You own skills.
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Skills List
The following are a list of duties that may apply to various positions. Other job descriptions can be found at the Jobguide website
Receptionist
- Greet personal and telephone callers and find out the nature of their enquiry
- Provide information to assist clients or refer them to appropriate contacts, either in the organisation or elsewhere
- Arrange appointments for callers or for people working in the organisation and keep records of these
- Carry out word processing, filing, mail-outs, bookkeeping and banking as required: in some cases, receptionists send out accounts, receive payments and order stationery and office supplies
- Open and deal with incoming mail, and organise outgoing and posting mail
- If working in hotels or motels, make reservations, check guests into and out of the hotel, give information on facilities available and advise visitors about places of interest
- If working in surgeries, salons or similar places, organise bookings, deal with changes in schedules, present accounts after treatment and handle money
- In sales areas, assist in the promotion of products and give prices and details to customers.
Sales Assistant
- Advise customers on the location, selection, price, delivery, use and care of goods available from the store, with the aim of encouraging them to buy and to return to buy in the future
- Operate cash registers and accept payment, or prepare finance arrangements through, for example, invoices and contracts
- Take special orders for items not currently in stock, or not normally stocked, and notify customers when the items have arrived
- Package goods for customers and arrange delivery
- Price, stack and display items for sale, and keep the store tidy and attractive
- Be aware of health, safety and welfare issues and practices
- Participate in stocktaking (counting and describing the goods in stock)
- Arrange for the repair of damaged goods, or advise on needed repairs
- Order items.
Warehouse Assistant
- Unload goods and check them against order forms
- Catalogue or label items with storage details
- Place goods in bins and on racks, or stack bulky items on floors
- Complete orders by selecting goods from shelves and checking them off appropriate lists
- Package and send out completed orders to customers
- Move heavy packages using forklift machinery
- Obtain details of the location and quantity of items in stock, using visual display units or computers
- Enter details of received delivery slips, requisitions and invoices into computers
- Count and record the number of items in store during stocktaking
- Advise supervisor on stock and re-ordering levels
- Help keep the work area neat and tidy.
Kitchen hand
- Wash and clean utensils and dishes that are returned to the kitchen and make sure they are stored appropriately
- Handle, sort, store and distribute food items
- Wash, peel, chop, cut and cook foodstuffs and help to prepare salads and desserts
- Organise laundering of linen & disposal of rubbish
- Clean food preparation equipment, floors and other kitchen tools or areas
Security Officer
- Patrol areas and check doors, gates and windows for signs of unauthorised entry
- Watch for irregularities (e.g. fire hazards, leaking water pipes, lights left on, malfunctions of equipment or machinery, unlocked security doors) and report incidents or problems to the appropriate authority
- Record times of inspections and presence of authorised persons
- Respond to alarms, sound alarms, check alarm systems, provide armed escort for payroll deliveries
- Observe and report suspects to police, or apprehend offenders when appropriate and detain them until police arrive
- Monitor computer alarm systems, Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) systems and communicate by radio with mobile units to attend alarms
- Issue security passes, give directions and make security arrangements for authorised visitors
- Check travellers and their hand luggage to detect concealed weapons and explosives
- Detect and report fraud, shoplifting and other unlawful acts of employees or patrons of business establishments
- Provide armed protection for specific organisations (e.g. banks)
- Provide assistance to the public and clients.
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Personal Characteristics Assessment
- A quick learner
- Articulate
- Calm
- Caring
- Compassionate
- Common sense
- Confident
- Conscientious
- Consistent
- Cope well under pressure
- Creative
- Dedicated
- Discreet
- Energetic
- Enjoy challenges
- Enjoy customer service
- Enjoy working under pressure
- Enthusiastic
- Firm
- Flexible
- Friendly
- Get along well with others
- Good attitude
- Good communication skills
- Good decision maker
- Happy
- Hardworking
- Healthy
- Honest
- Innovative
- Intelligent
- Keen eye for detail
- Loyal
- Neat and Tidy
- Open minded
- Open to new ideas
- Original thinker
- Patient
- People oriented
- Perceptive
- Persevering
- Problem solver
- Punctual
- Reliable
- Resourceful
- Self Motivated
- Sense of humour
- Sensitive
- Sharp witted
- Thorough
- Trustworthy
- Well organized
- Work unsupervised
RANK your top nine (9) personal characteristics in order of strengths.
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Cover Letters
Cover letters need to grab the reader's attention and make sure that they will continue to read your resume.
Your letter of application will have six main objectives. Knowing the purpose of your letter will help you clarify them. They are:
- To inform
- To persuade
- To make you look professional and leave a positive impression
- To seek agreement to an interview
- To secure physical action
- To build goodwill.
Content of letter
- Opening sentence identifying the job, when and where advertised.
- Summarise your resume in 4-5 lines. You must tell the reader enough so that your resume will be read.
- A brief positive statement, to make them believe you have the skills necessary for the job.
- Ask for an interview at their earliest convenience
- If you begin your letter with “Dear Sir/ Madam", finish with “Yours faithfully". However, if you begin with “Dear Ms/ Mr Smith”, use “Yours sincerely”.
Helpful Cover Letter Hints
- It should be attached to the front of your resume.
- If the advertisement says to apply to the Personnel Manager, phone to get their name.
- It must answer what the advertisement asks for.
- Keep it short and to the point.
- Check your spelling and grammar.
- Finish the letter in a courteous, fresh tone.
- Most of all- address the criteria
Phone before you send/write your cover letter
If you phone when preparing your application you can get more information about what the job requires and include these things in your application.
- Find out if there is a position description,
- The name of the person to send it to; and
- Information about the Company services/ products.
Example cover letter
Name
Address
Suburb, State and Postcode
Phone (03)
Date
Addressee
Address
Suburb Vic
Dear Sir/Madam,
Position: Customer Service Officer
It is with enthusiasm that I apply for the position of Customer Service Officer within your organisation, which was advertised in The Age on Saturday 21st July 2007.
The following skills and attributes will confirm my suitability:
- 3 years experience in Customer service role with Qantas
- Friendly outgoing personality which allows me to build rapport with all customers
- Well organised and prioritise my work load
- Well presented
- Keen interest in retail industry
- Able to work retail hours
- Problem solver with strong negotiation skills
I am a highly motivated, confident individual who enjoys working in a team or independently.
I hope that I have attracted your interest in interviewing me for this position and look forward to meeting with you soon.
Yours sincerely,
Name
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