You need to have a summary statement about yourself and your experience to give to potential employers. In Australia, this is usually called a Curriculum Vitae - CV for short. It literally means a 'story of my life', though it's best to avoid the whole story! You may also see it referred to as a Resume.
A CV / resume is important because it can determine whether you will get an interview or not.
Typically, a CV contains the following:
- Essential personal information - your name and contact details
- Relevant experience - what you have done which could have prepared you for the job. Make sure to include any voluntary work or school work experience
- Any qualifications you have - eg School Certificate, First Aid Certificate, Life Saving Certificate, especially if relevant to the position
- Any outside interests which might have a bearing on the job - eg Youth Group leadership activities
- The names and contact details of at least two referees
There is a basic CV Maker built in to this website.
To begin, start by jotting down a few dot points about your skills and qualities. Take your time; do this over a few days. Don't be too shy or modest about your accomplishments (but don't tell lies or falsely brag either!)
Work through the dot points, and amend, combine, cull or add to them. The idea is to come up with no more than a dozen points, listed in order of importance. They should tell a potential employer immediately who you are and why you have submitted your CV These should take up no more than two-thirds of the first page. More says you are padding it out, less indicates you don't have much to tell.
The rest of your CV should then be about your work history and achievements.
Some things to bear in mind:
- Present your achievements, rather than duties undertaken
- Concentrate on presenting a concise but comprehensive account of roles, responsibilities and achievements in the most recent past (two to three years)
- For experience prior to the past two to three years reduce the descriptions and consider using dot points to abbreviate them. Most employers don't really care much about what you were doing four or more years ago, so don't waste their time padding it out.
The easier you make the CV to read, the more chance you have of getting an interview. A CV is your way of "selling" your skills and qualities to an employer and showing them why you should get past the first stage and be invited for an interview.