Writing a resume from scratch can feel daunting — especially if it's your first one for the Australian market. This checklist walks you through it step by step. (For the full rules on length, tone, work rights and what Australian employers expect, start with our Australian resume format guide.)
Step 1: Contact details
Full name, Australian mobile (04XX XXX XXX), professional email, city and state (e.g. "Brisbane, QLD"), and your LinkedIn URL. No full street address — city and state is enough.
Step 2: Professional summary
Three to five lines in implicit first person. State your title, years of experience, key strengths, and what you're seeking. Tailor it to each role.
Step 3: Key skills
List 8–15 relevant skills, mirroring the job ad's terminology. Include tools, platforms, and methods — not personality traits like "hard worker".
Step 4: Work experience
Reverse chronological. For each role: title, company, location, dates. Then 3–6 bullets starting with action verbs and including quantified achievements. This is where you win or lose the recruiter's attention.
Step 5: Education
Qualification, institution, and year. Include relevant certifications and professional development.
Step 6: Referees
Either list 2–3 with name, title, company, phone, and email, or note "referees available on request" — both are accepted in Australia (see our referees guide for how to choose). Ask permission before listing anyone.
Step 7: Format and proofread
A4, single column, ATS-safe font, Australian English. Read it aloud, check every number, and save as DOCX or a text-based PDF named FirstName-LastName-CV.
Step 8: Test it against the ATS
Before applying, run a free ATS score check to see how your CV parses and which keywords you're missing. Prefer a guided approach? Build your CV step by step and we'll handle the formatting.