We all start our career somewhere with a blank piece of paper. No matter what stage you are at, senior executive or university graduate, your resume is still your sales document. You need to tailor your resume throughout your career to incorporate as many transferrable or life skills and examples or evidence of these to demonstrate your suitability for the position of interest.

When you begin to write your resume – consider how the resume of a competitor will look and then think about how you can make yours stronger. It is equally important to show logic and the reasoning behind your application – know why you are applying and interested in this job. It is not sufficient enough to simply apply.

As a school leaver or university graduate you have little or no work experience to demonstrate your strengths and skills for a particular position. However, you do have a number of other skills and indicators which demonstrate why you are a strong applicant for the job. Before you attempt to write your resume, you should conduct an assessment and consider the following areas:

Key areas:

Skills

Which key skills have you gained at school, home, through volunteer or community programs and hobbies? An example may be, you enjoy and play a significant amount of team sport and you are often commended for your skills in this area. You could then note “team player” as a skill. Another example might be, that you are a local scout leader. A key skill you might identify is “mentoring” or “leadership” skills. As you can see, it becomes easy to identify skills which are transferable from other areas of your life into valuable organizational skills.

Interests

Have you enjoyed studying a particular subject, hobby or discipline? This is a good starting point when considering jobs which may be of interest for you. For instance, if you enjoy sport and being outdoors then perhaps a good job for you maybe a basketball coach or mountaineer? If you enjoy writing, perhaps journalism is a possible career path? Interests and hobbies also enable the reader to get to know you a little more and it may provoke a talking point when you meet for interview.

Technical competencies

Computer, numerical, written skills – perhaps you have completed a thesis, been involved in building models or conducting qualitative or quantitative surveys? You may like to also include relevant training, courses or certificates you have attained.

Practical work experience

Have you had the opportunity to work in casual or part time employment? Or have you held voluntary positions? What did you do when acting in these roles? What skills did you gain, even if only briefly. The awareness you have and the fact that you have taken the initiative will set you ahead of your competition so include it on your resume.

Academic results

If you have had any particularly good results you should include the details of these results on your resume. Once again, they differentiate you from your competition.

Ready to write?

Now consider what or who you will be are applying to. Select the points and skills you have identified which will sell you most for this position – don’t fall into the trap of including everything you can think of. You want your resume to be a strong case and entice the reader to read the entire document. If your resume is generalist or too long, you will not appear as the strongest applicant.

1. Make it easy for the reader to skim through your details – create headings and subheadings which will help draw attention and make it easy for the reader to identify your key skills. Under such headings you should provide examples or evidence.
2. Length – You ideally want your resume to be 2-4 pages. The earlier you are in your career the shorter your resume will be. To keep it concise and short you may choose to leave out certain areas or skills. Once again, including only those areas which sell you into this position will help to do this. Think – does this build a case for why I am the most suitable applicant? If the answer is yes, include it; if not then do not include it. Most important details should be on the front page of your resume.
3. Referees – you should have up to 3 referees for an entry level position. Choose people who know you in a professional or personal manner – those who will be able to sell you into the position of interest and make sure that they know your plans and the details of the role you are applying to. If you do have previous work experience then including a referee from here will be highly beneficial.
4. Career objective and covering letter/email – include a brief paragraph on the top of your resume called your career objective and the details in this should be replicated in a covering letter or email. In such, include why you are applying to the position or company and your objectives for doing so. This will help the employer to understand your reasoning and that fact that you have thought about where you would like to be in the mid to long term also.

Writing your resume will never be an easy job but it is a very worthwhile one. Once you have completed it, start asking for feedback and be prepared to make changes where necessary. When it successfully secures you a new position – congratulations! File it away and begin your own CV portfolio.