Knowing where to start when writing a resume can be half the battle. You can decide to use a resume writing service, but these can be pricey, especially if you are starting out and money is tight.
Using a free template can be a good option but make sure it covers the correct points to convey your personality and skills to their best advantage.
Do a little research first and understand a little about the role. Read current job ads on Seek and make sure to match the language and tone of the ads as this can give a clue as to kind of information the employer or recruiter is after.
The best advice is to tailor your resume to the job ad. There are the basics that most employers are looking for but if your applying for a job in a warehouse, the part time babysitting you did 5 years ago is really going to make any difference, in fact, it shows you’re not really aware of the industry and showing casing skills that this employer doesn’t care about.
However, you may have had a job at a newsagency part time and did assist your boss from time to time with off loading magazines and stock, now that is what a warehouse manager wants to know about.
Always start with your most current work history and go backwards.
Rather than just listing your job title and the tasks you were responsible for, tell them about a project you succeeded at. Tell them about responsibilities you took on and how this developed you in the role. Talk up the skills you have used in that past role that are a perfect match for the role advertised.
Your resume must look clean and well structured, with enough white space to enhance readability. It should be approximately two pages long unless your industry has its own standards.
Use a simple font like Arial, 10-12pt, and keep formatting like italics and underlining to a minimum. Bullet points are extremely useful as they allow you to highlight key points succinctly and keep the document looking tidy. Start each one with an action verb if you can (‘created’, ‘managed’, ‘increased’, ‘improved’ etc.), rather than ‘I’.
Spelling and punctuation must be perfect, so after you proofread and spell-check it.