Graduate resumes: more than academic

COMMUNICATION OVER GRADUATION!

Graduate Outlook 2007, a survey of recruitment trends in Australia and New Zealand found the top three key selection criteria for recruiting graduates were:

• communication skills
• critical reasoning and analytical skills/problem-solving/local thinking/technical skills
• passion/knowledge and industry/drive/commitment/attitude.

Academic qualifications ranked fifth!

The top three least desirable characteristics were:

• poor attitude, work ethic and approach
• lack of interpersonal and communication skills: written, oral and listening
• lack of leadership skills.

To show recruiters that you have these skills, you must give examples of positions and/or situations where you have demonstrated your communication skills: both oral and written.  For example, participation in or contribution to University clubs or causes, community organisations, holiday work (paid or unpaid), social or sporting clubs. These examples can also demonstrate other qualities/attributes that typically appear in position descriptions: such as work ethic, organisation, management, ability to work under pressure, attention to detail and team skills.

Make your resume stands out from the crowd by addressing these criteria.

STAND OUT from the crowd

Successful Résumés Northern Victoria & Albury

183 Wharparilla  Road Echuca Victoria 3564

Email: northvic@successfulresumes.com.au

www.successfulresumes.com.au/northvic.html

Telephone/fax: 03 5483 7425 / 0429 580 035

Resume Relevance is everything!

‘Generic’ or ‘basic’ resumes are a waste of time

Australian and New Zealand research found that recruiters most appreciated in résumés:

• relevant experience
• relevant qualifications
• quality format.

In other words they want to see resume relevance to the available position.

The sole purpose of a résumé is to sell YOU strongly enough to secure an interview.

To do that it must make an impression and show relevance: that is, describe your skills, your achievements and all your positive qualities that can benefit a prospective employer: that are relevant to the particular position.

Your resume responding to an advertised position should be tailored specifically to that position and exclude information that is irrelevant to that position.

If you want a new resume with no particular position in mind, find a ‘job description’ in the ‘positions vacant’ that matches (as closely as possible) the position that you want and then prepare your resume accordingly. To be relevant, your resume must use the words used in the job description.

Finally it’s official! Recruiters are put off by spelling, punctuation and grammatical mistakes because they indicate that you are careless, lack attention to detail and aren’t prepared to make the effort to ‘get it right’.

REMEMBER Resume Relevance Is Everything!

Make sure you have a relevant resume here.

STAND OUT from the crowd

Successful Résumés Northern Victoria & Albury