Your future – Our focus

Brisbane North Institute of TAFE

Overseas Qualified EngineersTips on how to create a great looking CV

by Anita Lamb-Nicholls

Brisbane North Institute of TAFE

• Recruiters will spend less than 30 seconds looking at your CV, so it has to be

clear, concise and consistent!

• You don’t want to end up

or, in The Shredder!!

Brisbane North Institute of TAFE

• Layout is very important – it needs to be clear and easy on the eye

• Avoid unnecessary text and punctuation – less is more!

• Dates need to be clearly listed so they can be scanned quickly and easily - on left hand side

• Size 10/11 Arial is a good, standard font – make sure all same colour – black

• Avoid heavy underlining

Brisbane North Institute of TAFE

• Qualifications on first page

• Correct name of qualifications –

e.g. Master of Engineering (not Masters)

• Name of qualification first – institute second

2001 – 2003 Bachelor of Engineering University of Queensland

Brisbane, Australia

• Separate your formal qualifications from additional training or certificates

• Make sure your headings match the content

Brisbane North Institute of TAFE

• Phone number spacing

0415 415 934 or (07) 3333 2222

• Spacing – be consistent, set a pattern and stick to it throughout

• Professional Affiliations – use current, not outdated ones

• Dot points – don’t use full stops on end

• Footer – name and phone number

Brisbane North Institute of TAFE

• Use correct grammar – action verbs

- past tense for previous experience

- present tense for current roles

•  Don’t include: photo, age, date of birth, nationality, marital status or religion

Pick me!

No! Pick me!

Or me?!

Brisbane North Institute of TAFE

Skills listed should be transferrable, not specific only to that role eg. ‘Showering, toileting and feeding aged patients’…or ‘helping customers to decide what topping to have on their pizza’

•Think: leadership qualities, an ability to work in a team, an ability to work autonomously and responsibilities that demonstrate you have a position of trust

•Skills should be measurable not just listed

Brisbane North Institute of TAFE

• Apply specifically for each role – have one generic CV and then change each version to suit the role you are applying for (keep a record of each version!)

• Use language from the job advertisement

Brisbane North Institute of TAFE

• Interests / extra-curricular activities – think team activities!

• Referees – supplied, or available upon request

• Importance of Australian referees

2-3 referees, if possible (think about volunteering!)

• Have the contact details for your referees ready and available – it’s about making it easy for the recruiter!

• Difference between ‘referee’ and ‘reference’?

Brisbane North Institute of TAFE

Brisbane North Institute of TAFE• Standard headings:

• Personal Details, including visa status• Career Objective (an aspiration statement – what do you want to achieve in your career?)

• Career Overview (if you have had professional experience)

• Education/Qualifications/Educational History• Summary of Key Skills• Employment History• Additional Employment History• Additional Training• IT Software Skills• Professional Affiliations• Key Achievements• Interests / extra-curricular activities• Referees

 

Brisbane North Institute of TAFE

Final Tips• Be consistent! Attention to detail is important!• Spell check• Get someone else to proof read it• Word Options – Proofing – spell/grammar check• Before you send it - Close your document down,

and reopen it to make sure there’s no squiggly lines

Good luck!