Brisbane North Institute of TAFE
Overseas Qualified Engineers
Tips on how to create a great looking CV
by Anita Lamb-Nicholls
Your future – Our focus
Brisbane North Institute of TAFE
• Recruiters will spend less than 30 seconds
looking at your CV, so it has to be
clear, concise and consistent!
• You don’t want to end up
or, in The
Shredder!!
Brisbane North Institute of TAFE
• Layout is very important – it needs to be clear and
easy on the eye
• Avoid unnecessary text and punctuation – less is
more!
• Dates need to be clearly listed so they can be
scanned quickly and easily - on left hand side
• Size 10/11 Arial is a good, standard font – make
sure all same colour – black
• Avoid heavy underlining
Brisbane North Institute of TAFE
• Qualifications on first page
• Correct name of qualifications –
e.g. Master of Engineering (not Masters)
• Name of qualification first – institute second
2001 – 2003 Bachelor of Engineering
University of Queensland
Brisbane, Australia
• Separate your formal qualifications from
additional training or certificates
• Make sure your headings match the content
Brisbane North Institute of TAFE
• Phone number spacing
0415 415 934 or (07) 3333 2222
• Spacing – be consistent, set a pattern and
stick to it throughout
• Professional Affiliations – use current, not
outdated ones
• Dot points – don’t use full stops on end
• Footer – name and phone number
Brisbane North Institute of TAFE
• Use correct grammar – action verbs
- past tense for previous experience
- present tense for current roles
• Don’t include: photo, age, date of birth,
nationality, marital status or religion
No!
Pick me!
Pick
me!
Or me?!
Brisbane North Institute of TAFE
Skills listed should be transferrable, not
specific only to that role eg. ‘Showering,
toileting and feeding aged patients’…or
‘helping customers to decide what topping
to have on their pizza’
• Think: leadership qualities, an ability to
work in a team, an ability to work
autonomously and responsibilities that
demonstrate you have a position of trust
• Skills should be measurable not just listed
Brisbane North Institute of TAFE
• Apply specifically for each role –
have one generic CV and then
change each version to suit the role
you are applying for (keep a record
of each version!)
• Use language from the job
advertisement
Brisbane North Institute of TAFE
• Interests / extra-curricular activities – think team
activities!
• Referees – supplied, or available upon request
• Importance of Australian referees
2-3 referees, if possible (think about
volunteering!)
• Have the contact details for your referees
ready and available – it’s about making it
easy for the recruiter!
• Difference between ‘referee’ and ‘reference’?
Brisbane North Institute of TAFE
Brisbane North Institute of TAFE
• Standard headings:
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Personal Details, including visa status
Career Objective (an aspiration statement – what do you want to achieve in your career?)
Career Overview (if you have had professional experience)
Education/Qualifications/Educational History
Summary of Key Skills
Employment History
Additional Employment History
Additional Training
IT Software Skills
Professional Affiliations
Key Achievements
Interests / extra-curricular activities
Referees
Brisbane North Institute of TAFE
Final Tips
• Be consistent! Attention to detail is important!
• Spell check
• Get someone else to proof read it
• Word Options – Proofing – spell/grammar
check
• Before you send it - Close your document
down, and reopen it to make sure there’s no
squiggly lines
Good luck! 