Migrant Jobs Services

Resume questions and advice are the perennial grist of job seeker concerns.

Literally millions of pages have been written about resumes and much of it is DEAD WRONG. As a result over 90% of resumes that I see are guaranteed to get thrown in the bin.

Answer some simple questions …

How many interviews do you get from the resumes you send?

If your job interview hit rate is less than 30% then where is the problem?

Short and simple answer - You have a bad resume

Why? Because you followed bad and outdated advice from people who just don’t know diddly squat about resumes.

Am I biased? Of course I am.

My income and my job depends upon candidates being selected for interview on the basis of a resume alone. If candidates don’t get interviews and then job offers - I don’t get paid. I learned real fast what works and what doesn’t.

And … I simply get really angry at the rubbish resume and CV advice that gets churned out every single day. All without a hope of getting you what you want.

Do I want you to buy something from me? It would be nice - but just don’t spend money with idiots who only push paper - ask them to prove you will get more interviews and guarantee it.

Don’t buy anything from me - but do yourself a favour and read all the free advice here about resumes and follow it - you have got nothing to lose except rejection!

Get your resume right today - read on below for selected articles or search at the top right of this page for everything resume related.

Migrant Resumes - What’s In? - What’s Out?

Last modified on 2009-07-04 00:03:06 GMT. 3 comments. Top.

This checklist is an ongoing update to the elements that should be included or excluded from a resume.

If you have a question about something that is not here please contact me and I will update the checklist.

Rules

• Positively discriminate for yourself
• Don’t tell lies
• Leaving out information is not lying
• If a resume element does not absolutely ensure you will be selected for interview then leave it out

Ins and Outs

Address - Street, Postal: Reasons to leave it out: They are not coming to visit you. Some employers prefer employees to live close to work - use a friends address. Some employers think if you live too far away you won’t be suitable - you don’t know how far away is too far for them. Address is not a job competency and employers make too many bad decisions about candidates on the basis of their address - leave your address out. Reasons to leave it in: If your resume has lots or even some info that indicates either you are a migrant or could possibly still be overseas then leave your local address in. This way employers will reject you based only on an (false) assumption that you are not local.

Company Names: Names of past employers in your employment history should be anglicised as far as possible. Your resume is not a ‘legal’ document it is a marketing document. For instance ‘XYZ Pte’ could be rewritten as ‘XYZ’.

Country - Birth: Never include your country of birth.

Email Address: Always use an ???.au, gmail.com or yahoo.com email address. I recommend gmail, it’s the best free email you can get. Use a largely Anglo or cryptic name. See the entries on the site about the importance of the name you use in your job applications.

File Format: Always convert your resume and cover letter to PDF. It is universally readable, consistent and maintains all your fonts, graphics, layout and formatting. Word docs are a much less preferred second choice.

IELTS Score: Never include your IELTS Score

Jobseeker ID: Never include your Jobseeker ID.

Language: If the job absolutely specifically requires second language skills then include your proficiency with that language only. Otherwise do not write anything about your other language skills. Especially never write anything about your English language proficiency.

Length: How long should a good story be? The page count or length of your resume is not important and is completely irrelevant. The content of your resume is important must be compelling from the first to the last word. Compelling, relevant, interesting content that appeals to the employers desire for profit, success and pleasure will make them read page after page. Take as much room and as many pages as necessary to sell yourself - just make it relevant.

Name - Personal: Only include your first and last name, no other initials. Shorten and or Anglicise names where possible and appropriate.

Nationality: Never include your nationality.

Number of Pages: See Length.

Passport Details: Never include any details or mention of your passport information or numbers.

Photographs: Generally no. More info coming soon.

Qualifications - Assessment: Never include your qualifications assessment/recognition documents or mention that your qualifications have been assessed, recognised or equivalated.

Qualifications - Institution of Study: Generally you should not include overseas institution names unless it is a seriously well recognised name such as Harvard, MIT, Oxford, Cambridge etc. Always include the names of Australian institutions.

Referees: I usually recommend to never include any referee details at all. Overseas referees should never be included. Local employer referees details may be included if you want, but I don’t recommend it. Never include any referee details that are not work related. Just don’t mention referees at all or if you feel you must then say “Supplied on request”.

References - Copies: Never include copies of written references.

Visa Status: Never include your visa status, category, number or work rights.

Working Rights: Never include any details of your working rights.

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