All That You Need To Write an outstanding CV or Resume for all job situations. Use your Career Tools to track job selection criteria and tailor your application for every job opportunity. Pt 1

CV or resume?

Do I need to create a CV or a resume? Aren't they the same thing?

Resume or CV?

Speaking strictly, a resume is not a CV. In many parts of the world these terms are used interchangeably, whereas in others like the United States, the terms have specific meanings; you wouldn't normally send your CV to apply for a job in the US!

Knowing how CVs and resume differ will allow you to speak the same language and recruiters and hiring managers and make sure you use the right document for each situation.

What is a CV?

The term 'CV' is an abbreviation for curriculum vitae, a Latin phrase meaning 'course of life' and is an extensive account of your entire career.

If you work in academia, medicine, law or other specialised occupations, then you're probably already familiar with the CV. In these and some other fields, a CV is the correct document to prepare and submit when seeking a promotion or when interviewing with a potential new employer.

The length of a CV is dictated by the extent of your career. If you are a senior academic with an extensive publication history, then your CV may run to more than 20 pages.

A CV will include detailed accounts of tertiary education (subjects and specialisations listed in detail), academic publications, technical articles, positions held with detailed lists of activities and so on. Gaps in employment, such as for study sabbatical, are detailed to give the reader a full understanding of your course of life since college.

In some countries like Australia and India, the term 'CV' is used interchangeably with the term 'resume', and is taken to mean the same thing.

In other countries including the United States, the term 'resume' has a specific meaning.

What is a resume?

Your resume is a type of personal marketing document that aims to promote your most marketable and relevant skills to a specific employer, for a specific role. Your resume should contain only those achievements, skills, abilities and experience that relate to the role you are applying for.

There a three basic types or styles of resume (click on the link to learn more):

1. The chronological resume
2. The functional resume
3. The combination resume

While each style of resume contains roughly the same information, these three styles differ in how they present information about your employment history and skills.

The chronological resume presents this information in order starting with your most recent position and working backwards to your earliest position of employment. This is a good way to show career progression, as well as factors like stable and loyal employment and other positive traits.

The functional and combination resume styles present skills and experience grouped according to particular skills 'clusters', and are often used when changing career to help build a case for employment.

Resumes are typically between 1 and 4 pages in length, with an average length of 2 pages.

The single objective of your resume is to secure you an interview for your target role. It must get you through the screening process; the stage in which a recruiter or hiring manager attempts to reduce the entire volume of job applications (often hundreds) to a more manageable number for interviews.

Choose the right layout

Choosing the right layout or style to match your goal is an important decision.

The wrong layout can draw attention to areas that may be regarded by a hiring manager as weaknesses, whether valid or not, such as:

• Gaps in your employment history, signalling extended periods of unemployment
• Frequent job hopping, implying that you may quickly leave the position, once hired
• Irrelevant qualifications which do not 'fit the profile'
• Unrelated employment history, signalling that you do not possess the right competencies for the job

While you cannot change the facts of your career history, you can present them in a multitude of ways that serve to emphasise, downplay or otherwise influence their interpretation.

To learn which resume style is right for you, click to read the WorkLifeGroupchronological resume guide and the functional and combination resume guide.

Chronological resume guide

Part 1 of 3: All about the chronological resume style. What to include, when to use it, and how to create a high-impact chronological resume of your own!

What is a chronological resume?

Use a chronological resume to apply for a promotion or when searching for a new job in a related field or function.

The word chronological means 'time', and refers to the presentation of your work history and achievements in reverse order from most recent to oldest. By contrast, the alternative functional resume and combination resume styles present work history and achievements according to clusters of functional skill areas.

Regardless of the resume style you choose, remember to tailor your resume to each job application by altering the content and selecting the style that best communicates how and why you are the right person for the job. Your resume is your personal sales document, so invest the time to make sure it says all the right things about you.

When should I use it?

Here are a few situations where a chronological resume style is often appropriate:

Impressive career history

You've worked for some impressive organisations, perhaps you've moved up quickly through the ranks, or maybe you're proud of the transitions you've successfully made along the way. A chronological resume style makes all these things stand out!

Loyalty, duration and stability of employment

You've held each of your jobs for at least a year, preferably two, and you have few or no gaps in your career history. The chronological style highlights how much time you've spent in each role, and makes it obvious when you've been out of the workforce. If you are a stable, reliable performer, now is the time to communicate it!

'Traditional' employment

You've become experienced through paid employment (rather than volunteer work, school assignments or through other experiences).

Career progression

You're moving up the career ladder in your field. The duration and type of positions you've held clearly tell the reader that you've got the ability, desire and skills to do the job!

Prestigious employers

When the names of your past employers carry a lot of weight in your field, it makes sense to use them to your advantage! A quick scan of your chronological resume will reveal that you've been employed by some really impressive organisations!

Conservative industry

In some industries employers really don't like receiving functional and combination resume styles. What matters to them is knowing how long you've worked in each particular role, how fast you've moved up the ranks, the path your career has taken and many other useful pieces of information that become obscured if you choose one of these alternate formats.

You plan to use a recruiter or a job board

Recruiters also typically favour a chronological resume style for the reasons outlined above. Some online job boards that ask you to enter your information into their custom-designed forms only accept data in a chronological format.

Essential information for your resume

Make sure you've included this essential information in your resume!

Essential information

• Contact details
• Profile
• Education
• References

Contact details

State your contact details clearly at the beginning of your resume. Include your name, address, phone numbers, email address and any other significant identifying information such as the online address of your work portfolio.

Example

Created with the WorkLifeGroup CV Manager

Profile

Also known as 'accomplishment summary', 'professional profile', 'summary profile'.

Your Profile statement is a snapshot of your most marketable attributes relevant to your target role. Consider it the executive summary of your resume. A well written Profile is designed to engage the reader's attention and give them a reason to keep reading. Be concise to capture the essence of your resume and objective in no more than 10 lines, and create a strong, positive impression by using active language. Avoid irrelevant buzzwords and cliches and keep your tone professional and enthusiastic.

Example

Created with the WorkLifeGroup CV Manager

Click to read the full guide and learn how to write a fantastic resume profile statement!

Education

Include education relevant to your target position. Omit certificates, short courses, other 'non-core' and partially completed qualifications if they do not relate to your application. If applying for a position as a financial analyst and have 10 years work experience, the 'responsible liquor service' qualification you received while bartending at College can be safely left out of your resume.

Include the name of your school or college, any majors and minors studied, awards received, relevant extracurricular activities you undertook (especially for recent graduates, in lieu of actual work experience), and years of attendance.

Note to graduates: employers will often use your GPA or overall educational score as a measure of your ability and intelligence in the absence of any substantive work experience or achievement history. If you include this score, then choose the one that looks the best on paper. Follow your Profile statement with the Education section, if you cannot demonstrate any significant, relevant work experience.

Example

Created with the WorkLifeGroup CV Manager

References

It is customary to include a section containing details about who your referees are and how they can be contacted.

It is very common to include a heading for this section and to only include the words 'available upon request'.

This is to make sure that your referees aren't bothered unnecessarily by a recruiter looking to spruik for business, or any other nosy party that obtains your resume and wants to investigate you without your knowledge.

Send the name, phone number and email address of each referee in an email or attachment to an email when asked by the recruiting or hiring manager. This will give you the opportunity to brief each of your referees on the opportunity you are seeking, and to let them know to expect a call.

Example

Created with the WorkLifeGroup CV Manager

To learn about how to present your key achievements as well as guidance on what not to include in your resume, click to learn all about optional resume information.

How to write a great resume profile

A vibrant and well written profile statement can make your resume come alive. Learn everything you need to write an outstanding profile statement of your own!

What is a profile statement?

A profile statement, also known as a 'career summary', 'summary of qualifications', 'personal profile statement' or 'profile summary', is an essential element of the modern resume. Use your profile statement to grab the reader's attention and provide a snapshot of the unique qualities you bring to the role.

A profile statement is really a distilled version of your cover letter, designed to articulate your strongest and most relevant skills and achievements in a compelling and vibrant way, to help you stand out from other applicants.

Apply the same principles to the creation of your profile statement as to your resume:

• Articulate your strongest and most relevant skills and achievements
• Use crisp, concise language to clearly articulate why your value offering is unique
• Describe your professional experience and make clear the position you are seeking

Infer your career objective

The inclusion of a career objective in a resume is the subject of some debate amongst practitioners. While one side argues that it is quite acceptable, the other argues that including a career objective can make you sound self-absorbed. Employers typically do not care what you want; they are concerned with what THEY want.

An alternative is to infer your career objective in your personal profile statement. Consider how the opening sentence from this profile grabs your attention and summarises this candidate's career focus, while also capturing the candidate's career objective succinctly, in a subtle way:

• 'Target-driven sales director, proven to outperform budgets and grow revenues...'

This statement implies that the candidate is seeking a role as a sales director or similar, where she can contribute to increasing revenue (music to the ears of most employers!).

Profile statement example

Here is an example of a well written profile statement for a sales director applying for similar role in a related industry:

• 'Target-driven sales director, proven to outperform budgets and grow revenues. Demonstrated ability to adapt to new industries and dramatically improve revenues in underperforming sales teams. Motivated to deliver exceptional customer service proven to result in successful business outcomes'

Apply this formula to write a powerful profile statement

• Describe what you want by communicating who you are and what you can offer 'target-driven sales director...'
• Communicate your functional attributes and outcomes you can deliver 'deliver exceptional customer service', 'grow revenues'...
• Highlight personal characteristics but always provide examples to support your claim
• Use active language (verbs that communicate action, such as 'delivered, adapted, attained, coordinated, effected etc.)

An example of a poor profile statement

• 'My objective is to secure a sales director role in a medium-sized business in the health sector. I am seeking career advancement and opportunities to improve my skills. I have extensive sales experience and have led teams. I am highly motivated to succeed'

Note how this profile Summary sounds flat and lifeless. Generic skill claims such as 'highly motivated' have no power if not supported by outcomes and evidence. The focus on what 'I' want sends very different message to the first candidate's focus on 'what they can deliver' to their employer.

Include a hard-hitting, attention grabbing profile in your resume and show the reader what you'll bring to their organisation.

Clean up your resume!

You've worked hard to create a high-impact resume. Don't dilute it with irrelevant information.

Here are some items best left out of your resume, or included with care. Check with a local recruiter to determine how acceptable these are in your local job market.

Activities, hobbies and interests

• Sipping pina coladas and getting caught in the rain may be your favourite hobbies, but that's no reason to include them in your resume, unless you know that the hiring manager shares your interests.

Photo

• Appropriate only in some resumes, notably those prepared by models, airline staff and hospitality staff
• In some countries they are prohibited on the grounds of discrimination
• Don't include a photo unless you are sure it is required

Age and date of birth

• While it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of age, it can and does still happen, meaning it's best to leave it out (unless you're sure it help your application).

Unrelated past jobs

• Unless you graduated recently, don't include jobs you held during school unless they are directly relevant to your target role.
• The same applies to jobs held very early in your career. Reduce these to one line detailing the company, position and dates, or consider omitting them completely.

Gaps

• Any gaps in your career history will be noticed and questioned. Pre-empt questions or potential discrimination by explaining any significant gaps with a one-line explanation

Generic skill claims

• Limit generic claims like 'highly motivated', 'high achiever', 'excellent communication skills' and so on.
• Demonstrate these qualities by highlighting your achievements. Your qualities should speak through your experience.

Other irrelevant information

• Don't include details about your family, such as your spouse's name or the names and ages of your children.

Exceptions

It can sometimes be effective to appeal to the biases or personal preferences of the hiring manager, if you know what these are.

Example

Joel is applying for a position with BT Funds Management as a financial advisor. Joel's friend who works at BT has assured Joel that the hiring manager prefers to hire candidates with a strong sporting background. In the manager's mind, successful sportspeople are self-motivated, disciplined and motivated to succeed; traits that correspond to those found in successful financial advisors.

In this situation, Joel makes a point of including details about his sporting achievements, to stand out from other applicants.

As always, these recommendations are generalisations. Always obey the conventions of your local job market. In some countries it is appropriate to include some of this information. If in doubt, check with a local recruiter; they're a great source of information about how your local job market works.

Resume formatting tips

Use this handy reference guide to make sure your resume looks perfect!

The basics

• Contact details

Include your name contact details clearly at the top of your resume 

• Font

Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri or any simple font, size 10-12 point. Be consistent throughout, as multiple fonts look messy. 

• Use headings

Begin each section with a simple heading for easy scanning 

• Leave space

White space helps you resume to look clean, and organised 

• Justify & align

Justify text for neat presentation, and align all headings 

• Use good paper

Use paperstock that feels good to touch, preferably in simple white 

• .PDF format

Email your resume in .pdf format to preserve formatting and content upon delivery 

• Simple formatting

Use bold and underline sparingly and rarely at the same time 

• Page numbers

Include in the header or footer 

• One side printing

Print your resume on one side of the paper only 

• Spelling

Double and triple check. Would you hire someone who can't spell, or who can't be bothered checking their own resume for correct spelling? 

• Grammar

The same rules apply to grammar, as apply to spelling. If in doubt, have someone that you trust check and correct your resume. 

Exceptions

In creative industries, it is common and accepted practice to enhance the presentation of your resume with colour, graphics and other visual devices, to reflect your creativity and design skills.

Resume Length

There are no universal rules for how long your resume should be. Keep in mind that the purpose of a resume is for you to secure an interview, at which time you can delve into detail about your career history. Leave no doubts as to your capability and interest, while preserving some information for your meeting.

The following lengths should serve as a guide:

1 - 2 pages is a reasonable length for graduates and applicants with relatively little work experience, or when changing careers where you have only limited relevant information to convey.

3+ pages is typical for senior executives or those with extensive career experience and accomplishments.

Consider using an addendum / appendix for additional information.

Language

Use active language to tell what you did, and the result of your actions.

Examples of poor language

• Implemented compliance procedures
• Drafted new HR policies
• Prepared management reports

These statements tell what you did, but fail to impress the reader because they don't say how well you performed your duties.

Examples of better language

• Implemented new business procedures resulting in effective compliance with AASB101.
• Designed new HR policies resulting in decreased staff turnover and higher engagement
• Delivered management reports to deadline to increase decision making effectiveness

Use action verbs to convey a sense of energy, action and achievement.

Here are a few examples to get you started:

• Corrected
• Founded
• Led
• Researched
• Analysed
• Advised
• Addressed
• Created
• Generated
• Gathered
• Maintained
• Reduced
• Managed
• Reorganised
• Operated
• Delivered
• Mapped
• Guided
• Devised
• Reported
• Designed
• Aided
• Resolved
• Improved
• Headed
• Represented
• Monitored
• Illustrated
• Developed
• Helped
• Negotiated
• Reviewed
• Budgeted
• Identified
• Scheduled
• Directed
• Ordered

Functional and combination resume guide

Part 1: What's a functional resume? What's a combination resume? Do I need one? You'll find answers to these questions and more in this handy guide!

What is a functional resume?

If a chronological resume style doesn't immediately tell the reader why you suit your target role, then a functional or combination style could be a better choice.

You can create a functional resume by identifying the key areas of experience and skill required in your target role, and presenting your own experience grouped according to these headings.

This style can be a great way to show an employer how your accumulated knowledge, skill, competence and experience are a match for those required in your target role.

What is a combination resume?

Sometimes, presenting your work history in chronological order isn't the most effective way to sell your capabilities. This is true for example if you change career direction and apply for jobs in new industries or job functions. To an employer in a new industry, the names of your past employers and the names of the positions you have held may be meaningless or misunderstood.

A combination resume is a compromise between the pure functional and chronological resume styles. It presents your skills and experience grouped by functional heading, and supplements this with a brief employment history. The functional skills presentation shows why you are suited to the job, while the employment summary gives the reader insight into how you have arrived at this point in your career.

Employers are often keen to know about the positions you've held and companies you've worked for in the past, even if they aren't directly relevant. The functional style is often criticised because it leaves this important information out. For these reasons, the combination resume is more common than functional style.

When should I use them?

Both styles are often appropriate in these situations:

Career change

You're looking for a job in a new industry or function and plan to use your skills, knowledge and competencies to build your case for employment.

Unrelated or irrelevant experience

If you've worked in roles that have no relevance to your target role, or your work history might not be understood (and therefore undervalued) by an employer, it can make sense to focus the reader's attention on your skills rather than on where you worked in the past.

Career gaps

If you've been unemployed for an extended period or there are other gaps between jobs that you really don't feel like explaining in detail, then a functional style can be effective because it does not show the dates of your previous employment.

Frequent job change

Again you can obscure the fact that you've held many positions or have jumped from role to role in a short period of time, by using a functional resume stlye.

Overqualified / age

A chronological resume style would draw undue attention to your aggregate work experience or total years in the workforce, which may result in you being discriminated against.

Conservative industry

The alternative functional resume and combination resume styles are not well received in your industry, employers instead preferring a chronological resume style. This is often true of industries like banking, law and accouting.

Underqualified / early career

You are a student or otherwise are in the early stages of your career, and would like to include evidence of your skills not gained from traditionally paid employment, such as through volunteer work, college association participation and so on.

Remember, if there are aspects of your career that are not flattering, a judicious choice of resume style can help to get you through the pre-screening process and into an interview. Just remember that you'll probably be asked about the details of your past employment (which you should answer truthfully!), so you might not escape having to explain why you've moved jobs frequently etc.

Optional resume information

Consider including a career objective, your key achievements and professional memberships when tailoring your resume!

Career objective

A career objective is a short statement of your desired position or career direction. It should focus the reader's attention on your career goals and aspirations. If written well, it can give your application power by demonstrating that you are focussed and working to a well-considered career plan.

Example

Created with the WorkLifeGroup CV Manager

It needs to be meaningful and add value to your resume, which means it should be specific and personalised to each specific job application.

Avoid generic statements like 'seeking a challenging position with a dynamic company', as they convey no useful information.

Alternative to a career objective

Some experts propose that a career objective is appropriate and acceptable, while others claim that it focuses undue attention on what the candidate wants, rather than what the employer wants.

An alternative to including an objective statement is to phrase your profile summary in a way that makes clear the position you seek.

Example

Created with the WorkLifeGroup CV Manager

This approach still communicates your objective while focusing how you can be of benefit to the employer.

Key achievements

Also known as 'achievements', 'accomplishments' or 'key accomplishments'.

Sometimes it is appropriate to elevate some or all of your achievements to the front page of your resume following your profile statement to capture the reader's attention and focus it on your most marketable points. As always, ensure that the achievements you choose reflect what the requirements of the position.