Employment Tips

• How to write a resume

• Contact Information: full name, suburb or location (you don’t need to include your full address), phone number and email address (remember to create a professional email address using your proper name, not a silly email or nickname). Don’t include your date of birth, gender, religion or martial status. You can include a small professional headshot photo, but this is not necessary and can sometimes be seen as a negative.  
• Education and qualifications: list your most recent qualification first and then go backwards by date, including; university degrees, high school certificates, VET certificates, short courses, licences and any other forms of training. If you are a recent high school leaver you can provide an overview of the subjects you studied, you don’t need to list your grades, but if you won any academic or school awards be sure to include them. Also include any additional activities you participated in such as drama club or sports for example.
• Employment and Work History: this can include both paid and unpaid volunteer or internship roles. Include your job titles, the company name and dates you works there (years and months ok). In a couple of sentences describe what you did in each job. Using the questions ‘Who, What, Why, Where, When and How?’ can help you to break the information down into useable pieces. Make sure to include any achievements, results or outcomes you achieved in the role, such as; creating a new process to save time or money for the company, creating a new program or receiving positive feedback. 
• Competencies and Skills: list all your skills and strengths, not just the ones acquired through work. It sometimes helps to group skills together under headings, such as ‘Computer Skills’ or ‘Communication skills’. Additionally, it helps to describe these skills in action, rather than just listing a word, such as ‘beginner level word processing skills using Microsoft word’ instead of just saying ‘Microsoft word’. 
• Referees: these are your past employers or supervisors who can recommend you to a new employer. If this is your first job using a respected and trusted person who knows you well and can endorse you personally, this should not be a parent or a friend. Examples include; a teacher or principal, a sport coach, a church leader, someone you have volunteered with or a respected community member. You need to talk to your referee’s first and ask for their permission to use them. You don’t need to list their names and contact details on your resume, just write ‘referee contact details available on request’ and then you can provide the list to a potential employer at the interview. Make sure you give the referee a copy of the job advertisement or description that you are being interviewed for, so they can be prepared if contacted by the employer. 

Applying for a job

•  Make sure your resume is up to date. Also have a generic cover letter prepared that you can edit and tailor to each job you apply for. 
• Make sure you are getting the best out of your online search, create job profiles so employers can find you. Check your keywords are set up to match your skills and training and what kind of jobs you are looking for.
• Don’t forget to look local too, hit the road around your local community many small businesses still advertise jobs vacancies in their business windows or hang a poster up on community boards outside shopping centres. If you are looking for retail or hospitality roles, print your resume out and drop into local businesses, introduce yourself to the manager and let them know that you are looking for work. Also many businesses use online Facebook community pages to advertise vacancies too. You might feel confident enough to put a post up and advertise yourself as a job seeker looking for work.
• You can also register with recruitment, labour hire and temp agencies.
• There are also a large number of volunteer organisations across Australia and locally you can register with to get volunteer experience.
• If you are receiving support payments from the government, you may be required to register with a Workforce Australia provider (more info below), who can help you with job search and finding employment. 
• If you are enrolled in uni or TAFE, the also provide free career and internship support to help get you working in industry sooner. 
• Reach out to your friends, family and local community, using your existing networks and word of mouth is known as ‘the hidden jobs market’ and is still one of the most effective ways to get a job, especially entry level work. 
• Practice, practice, practice – there is no shame in putting yourself out there and talking about your skills and experience in a positive way, but it can feel uncomfortable to begin with – practice how you will talk to a potential employer and practice answering interview questions to try and break down some of these barriers. 

Interview Tips

• Prepare and practice your responses, make sure you can clearly explain everything stated in your resume and cover letter. Think about why you want the job and to work for that organisation. Do some additional research on the business by looking on their website or social media so you have a good idea about the product or service they offer.
• Think about responses to some common interview questions, such as;
  • Can you tell me about yourself?
  • Why do you want this job?
  • Why would you be a good fit in this business?
  • What are your strengths?
  • What are your weaknesses? (it is a good idea to have a skill you would like to develop further in mind as a response to this question)
• Have some examples in mind on when you demonstrated a particular skill or showed initiative which lead to a good result. Use the STAR method to respond:
  • S – situation
  • T – task
  • A – action
  • R – result 
• Make sure you arrive at least 10 minutes before the scheduled interview time, so you are not rushed and can sit, relax and gather your thoughts. 
• Dress appropriately depending on the job. For a more relaxed work environment, such as an outdoor trade or hospitality, neat, clean smart casual clothes are fine, but for a corporate or office environment business attire is required. Make sure yourself and your clothes are clean and fresh, without any overpowering fragrances. 
• Turn off your mobile phone. 
• Speak clearly and confidently. Listen and pay attention to the interviewers.
• In more formal employment environments it is common to be interviewed by a panel of 3-4 people. In smaller businesses it is usually a one on one interview with the owner or manager.
• Think about 1 or 2 questions you would like to ask about the job or business if you get a chance. This might be along the lines of ‘What opportunities for professional development or training exist?’ or questions about the organisation. 
• In the interview use professional language, don’t swear. Limit or avoid any discussion about politics, religion, race, negative experiences in past positions, talking about personal issues or discussing in detail other interviews you have had.  

If you don’t get the job, make sure to ask why and for feedback to help you improve for next time.

There are a range of great and freely available templates on MyFuture: Click Here

Seek.com has a practice Interview Builder tool for you to use to rehearse your interview skills and responses: Click Here.