Hi all needing advice in regards to resumes, preferably from people who work in recruitment/HR. What is the go these days? Do you put your date of birth, do you put your full address, do you put our full work history right back to your first job??? As I'm getting older (early 40's) I'm finding it harder to even get to the interview stage. How do you stand out from the crowd. I paid to have my resume redone about 8 years ago and it was total shit, I can't afford to fork out $100 to have it redone again especially if it's going to be crap. Any suggestions would be appriciated.
2 Replies
No don't put your date of birth, address is up to you but I usually put the suburb and state, with work history you usually give details for the last couple of years. I've seen resume where the last 3-4 jobs have full details and breakdowns of what they did and then they will have just the company name and position for the rest. But you only really need the last 5-10yrs worth of work on there.
It is hard to stand out when companies can receive hundreds of applications per job. I'd suggest searching online for ideas and ways to stand out. DONT put a photo on your resume! Overseas they do this but it's not common in Australia and some companies have software that will not let your resume go through if it has a photo. Try highlighting your strong points, what you are good at and your achievements at other jobs. Try different layouts and placement of info. Also make sure you have a cover letter that highlights what they are asking for in the job ad. Reference past experiences to show you can do what they need. But sadly with most positions having excessive amounts of people applying, everyone feels it's hard these days. Best of luck with your search.
Hope this helps :)
My hubby was having the same issue applying for a shitload of jobs on seek but wasnt getting anywhere. He then just googled resumès and its completely different to the one he had. Using a template of google he redid his himself and at least now he is getting phonecalls and hopefully will lead to a better job.