Winning Resume Tips

With employers receiving a lot of resumes you must make sure that your covering letter and resume needs to stand out from all the others and the language you use to express your qualifications and achievements can help to attract attention within a glance. It will help to determine whether or not you are short-listed for an interview.

Guidelines for the covering letter

Make a good first impression. The first impression is made by the covering letter that introduces the resume.

Keep your letters focused on what you can do for employers and their needs.
Do not get too hard in your writing style. Make it simple and clear.

Guidelines for the CV

Content of your CV:

Current particular (example: contact information, citizenship/country of permanent residence, etc)
Present and previous positions which includes information about the job description, your responsibilities, outcomes and/or major achievements.
Education detail and professional training and qualifications, including summary of academic record (including honors), professional and community affiliations etc;
Other experiences such as voluntary work (paid or non-paid)
Any other relevant information, such as other relevant attributes and skills, offices held in professional bodies, community service etc; and
Contact details of at least three referees

Remember to:

Keep the length short and clear. Depending on your work and experience, around two to three pages should be enough;
Keep the layout and design clear, consistent and easy to follow, with good clear headings, large easy-to-read.
Use good quality, plain paper and print on a high quality printer (for paper based submissions);
Focus towards the position you are applying for and emphasize more on your achievements rather than duties and responsibilities.
Keep it simple and clear by writing in point form as opposed to prose as employers may skip long blocks of text
Write your work history and educational details in reverse chronological order, that is, by starting with the most recent.
Be specific and highlight positive outcomes, for example, use numbers or percentages to illustrate your successes or the impact you can have
Be flexible in the use of headings. You can shape headings to suit your purpose by either combing similar headings that have limited information or where you have insufficient detail for just one category

Please avoid:

Exaggerate your experience to make it sound more impressive. claim complete responsibility for achievements; implying no one else deserves any credit, as this is usually not the case;
Write a novel. It should concisely paint a picture of you and your job history. Key points should be highlighted to develop interest and excitement about you as a potential candidate;
Use a narrative style. Highlight your accomplishments in a bullet point format and then you don’t need as many complete sentences. But be warned: brief points must be carefully thought out; and
Use initials and jargon and write so you’re understood. There’s a general consensus by good interviewers that people who really know their subject, write and speak clearly and don’t try to complicate issues.

Source: Griffith University website.