Writing a resume from scratch can feel daunting. This step-by-step guide walks you through a resume that meets Australian standards and passes the ATS.
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
At least two, with name, title, company, phone, and email. Ask permission first, and never write "available on request".
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.