Everyone is pressed for time these days. So you have limited time to draw the reader’s attention. To ensure they read yours from beginning to end, we recommend you follow these tips:-

1. Make it easy to read – clear and simple with no fancy fonts or graphics
2. List your work experience with most recent position first and then follow in a chronological manner
3. Put in timelines for your various positions otherwise we don’t know when and how long you held each position
4. List reasons for gaps in between positions. Once again, we don’t know unless you tell us. So, if you’ve travelled, had children or whatever, tell us.
5. A very important area to cover is your Achievements. So along with your duties/responsibilities, list your achievements for each position
6. Computer skills are very important for many positions. So list down your computer skills and what level they’re at – basic, intermediate etc
7. Career objectives are not necessary. Some people find this the hardest area to complete. Who’s going to write anything negative anyway? So simply leave it out unless you have a statement to make
8. Hobbies & interests are also not necessary. Most people have similar interests i.e. sports, reading, family, music, travelling. So unless you have something out of the ordinary or which may be relevant to your work, leave it out
9. Not many businesses/employers are household names. So, give a brief outline of who they are and what they do. This is especially relevant with overseas businesses
10. Don’t just write a long list of attributes/skills. Anyone can do this e.g.
    • Ability to work independently
    • Good communication skills
    • Good organisational skills
    • Team player
    • An eye for detail

    All sounds nice but if you’re going to do it, then at least substantiate some of it.

11. When you’re applying for a position interstate or far from home, explain in your cover letter why you are applying for it e.g. your partner has obtained a new position so you are moving there in a couple of weeks , moving to be with family etc
12. Finally, when writing a cover letter, do make sure it’s addressed to the correct person and for the right job. Otherwise, it looks like you don’t really care. Also, list your expertise relevant to the job criteria.