Whether you’re new to Australia, or have lived here your whole life, it’s critical to understand what an Australian resume should look like if you’re seeking a job here.

You only have to do a quick internet search to discover so much conflicting advice on how to write a resume. This is because resume requirements differ depending on the country.

As a career coach, I’ve written and reviewed hundreds of resumes to help clients successfully land their ideal job in Australia. In this guide you will find all my top tips on how to write an Australian resume.

What’s the difference between a CV and a resume in Australia?

You might have noticed that in Australia, “CV” and “resume” are often used interchangeably. Generally speaking for Australian job applications they mean the same thing.

Rather than getting stuck on what the document is called in the job ad, the most important thing to do is to make sure you include relevant information, make it easy to read, and ensure it is an appropriate length.

What font is best for resumes?

The best fonts for resumes are Arial, Calibri, and Verdana. The best size is 11pt. You can use 10.5pt or you can shrink the margins if you really need to fit more content without adding more pages.

My favourite font to use is Calibri because it is the easiest on the eye and it allows you to fit a tiny bit more text in your resume without sacrificing quality.

Using a suitable font is essential to make your resume easy to read. If a hiring manager needs to read 150 resumes in a day, any that are difficult to skim read will be quickly thrown on the “no” pile. Remember, you have around six seconds to make a good impression, so make it count.

How do I make my resume stand out?

To make your resume stand out, use a clear banner with your name in capitals at the top of the first page. This helps the reader to not only see your name, but to remember it. You can also include your preferred name in brackets. For example: “YOGENDRA (YOGI) SHARMA”.

Don’t include a heading saying “Resume” in the body of text. There’s no need to waste valuable space on stating the obvious. Just make sure you include your name in the document file. For example, “Yogi Sharma Resume Sep 2023”. This naming convention helps recruiters save your resume in their database.

For resume formatting, I suggest using a blue or gold colour for your section headings and employer names. This makes it easy for time-poor hiring managers to quickly scan your resume.

Should I include my address on my resume?

No, you don’t need to include your home address or suburb on your resume. In fact, leaving your address out means that a potential employer can’t discriminate against you based on where you live.

You only need to include critical contact information - your phone number and email address.

You can include your LinkedIn URL but I only recommend this if your profile is up to date and matches your resume. Around 85% of HR people will look at your LinkedIn profile. It’s better to not have a LinkedIn profile than to have an outdated one.

Make sure your email address sounds professional. Don’t use one like “hotlips@gmail.com”. And if possible don’t have an email address that includes your year or date of birth. Age discrimination is a real issue for both young and old job applicants.

How do I write my resume career objective?

It is critical to know how to write your career objective for your resume. This should be the first section of your resume under your name and contact details. This section can also be called your “personal profile”. Either heading is fine.

Including your career objective on your resume helps hiring managers to know the type of role you are looking for. If you’re not clear, your resume will be excluded pretty quickly. Hiring managers need to know what you’re looking for so they can match the right candidate to the role. This is particularly important if you have previously undertaken different types of roles or worked in different industries.

When you write your career objective, it’s best to use a human voice. This grabs the reader’s attention, and helps them to get to know you as a person, rather than as a resume. Leave out the boring business jargon and tell them honestly about your interests and the type of role you are looking for.

Your career objective should only be about 3 or 4 sentences long. You can grab attention in the first sentence by name-dropping some big companies you’ve worked for, how many years of experience you have, and why you’re passionate about the industry. In the second sentence tell them about the value you bring, or your niche area and your strengths and interests. In the third sentence, tell them about the type of role you are seeking, and be specific rather than general.

Here is an example of how to write your resume career objective or personal profile statement:

How many jobs should I include in my resume?

You should include all jobs in your resume and list 1-5 achievements under each job. You can add a brief sentence explaining what each company you’ve worked for does if it’s not obvious by the name.

Even if you only did a job for a few months and were then promoted or changed roles, you should list each role because it shows the employer how your career has progressed. Listing multiple roles at one employer can actually be an advantage because it shows you were a hard worker and promoted easily.

How do I include career gaps in my resume?

You must address career gaps in your resume. In Australia, hiring managers are usually pretty good with accepting you were on a career break to travel, study or care for a family member. Generally speaking, a career gap of six months or more can be including in your resume like this.

Don’t worry, people are not likely to ask you about this as it could be an emotional conversation they don’t want to have. Most people are respectful and just want the assurance you weren’t lazing around.

How many projects should I include on my resume?

If your role was ‘project-centric’, like construction, telecommunications or engineering, it’s best to summarise your projects as achievements under each job in your resume. If you are applying for project management type roles, make sure you describe how big your previous projects were, the duration and whether they were finished on budget. Here is an example of how to write about projects in your resume:

How far back should my resume experience go?

Generally employers are interested in your most recent roles, because let’s face it most jobs you did 15 years ago have been dramatically changed by technology. So you should stick with including your job history going back no more than 10-14 years. In fact, the further you go back, the more you leave yourself open to age discrimination.

It is a great idea to show a “Career Summary” table on the first page of your resume to provide an overview of the many roles you’ve undertaken and to entice them to read further. Recruiters who are time poor will appreciate this.

Here is an example:

Be sure to list the city, state or country where each job was. This means the employer can verify your employment and doesn’t lead them to think you are hiding something.

How long should my resume be?

In Australia, it’s best to keep your resume to four pages. Some people prefer to keep it to three, but my clients have not had trouble with four pages. Some employers will tell you in the job ad the maximum number of pages they will accept. In this case, make sure you follow their instruction. You can also add your full name and page numbers to the footer of your resume. It’s one more way to stand out from your competition.

If you’d like to see all these tips in action, have a look at my range of free Australian resume examples. These example resumes all helped someone get a job interview.

If you need help with your resume, email me at robin@impowercoaching.com.au to book a free 5 minute resume review to talk about how your resume can be improved to land your ideal job.

How to write your resume – an Australian guide