TAGS: Customising Resume or CV Perth, Australia | Cover letter Perth, Australia | Write Resume or CV for Job Criteria | Resumes that get you interviews Perth, Australia
Why customising your Perth
CV or Resume
is a must
When was the last time you updated your Resume or CV? I'd hazard a guess it was the last time
you were out of work and needed to apply for a job. While it is important to keep your
Resume or CV up to date - it's always hard to remember what you've done when you are in a
rush to send in an application. The problem is - you will struggle to stand out
from the crowd in Perth's tight job market with a generic Resume or CV.
Master Documents and Customised Resumes or CVs
Having a 'master' CV or Resume is important, but failing to customise it for each job you are applying can mean the difference between getting to the interview stage or not in today's Perth job market.
What a customised Perth CV or Resume should contain
A customised CV or Resume should contain the important keywords and phrases an employer is looking for in a prospective candidate for Perth jobs.
What is a Master Resume or CV?
Most people have a single Perth CV or Resume which lists everything they've ever done since they left school. This is the document we call your Master CV / Resume. Once you have completed something significant, add it to your master document. Do not trust your memory, write it on your Resume or CV as soon as you have completed something important so you don't forget it. An alternative to the master CV or Resume is your LinkedIn profile. If you have Linkedin it might be easier to keep this one up to date as this is where recruiters and head hunters look for prospects.
Our memories are fickle, and it can be easy to forget significant projects we have worked on, our achievements or training courses we've been on.
Why you should never send a Master Resume or CV to an employer
This master CV / resume should never be sent to a prospective employer. And the why is important.
Your CV / Resume is not a one size fits all document, as we mentioned you should have a master document and you should then customize different versions of this master for an employer's Selection Criteria. Even government and academic roles will need an element of customisation even if they ask for a full CV.
This is not about fudging the truth, rather ensuring you have the correct mix of keywords and key phrases in your Resume or CV and cover letters that relate to each position you are applying for here in Perth. These words are easy to find. Simply read the job description and advertisement and you will find them listed as Selection Criteria for the ideal candidate.
How to customise your Perth Resume or CV
If a prospective Perth employer asks applicants to have experience in a particular type of software, then they want to see that information in your CV or Resume as well as your Job Application (Cover Letters, Forms and Statements Addressing the Selection Criteria). They want you to state that you are familiar with it, how much experience you have with it, where you used it and how long ago. And it is the same for each of the selection criteria. While you may not have to send in a statement addressing the selection criteria with your Resume or CV and cover letter, you will still need to "address" these points in your job application.
Customising Resumes or CVs for Applicant tracking software (ATS)
Did you know that some employers use applicant tracking software and behavioural based psychometric questionnaires to check Resumes and cover letters supplied in your application for keyword density for a designed set of parameters? Well many do and Resumes without the correct "word density" will be rejected.
Can you afford to be rejected by a Perth employer because of a lack of basic information such as this?
Why do organisations use software to do the initial weeding of applicants? In this tight Perth job market, where there are hundreds of applicants for each job it can be a very time consuming and labour intensive job to go through each Resume or CV and cover letter individually, so they get the computer to do the initial work for them. If you have ever wondered why you are specifically asked to submit your application online, well now you know. Please bear in mind that sometimes they will ask you to fill in your job history and other information listed on your Resume or CV into their online form. This is because they are looking for the right mix of keywords and phrases and will reject any application with missing fields.
Applicant Tracking Software and keywords
Only those Resumes or CV's with the correct keywords and keyphrases will pass this first test.
Employers want you to succeed because they want to hire the best person for the job. So they will tell you what words they are looking for in your Resume or CV because they've given you the wording in the job ad (their selection criteria). Yes really.
Read the advertisement, the job application package and any other information relating to the role, very carefully. Go through the information with a notebook and pen and / or a highlighter pen. Write down or highlight the re-occurring words or phrases. You should pay particular attention to 'Essential' and 'Desirable' Selection Criteria. Applicants are usually selected to attend an interview if they are deemed to have met ALL of the 'Essential' selection criteria and most (if not all) of the 'Desirable' selection criteria as well.
Finalising your Resume, cover letter or e-note and job application
You've re-worked your Perth Resume / CV; it now contains the right mix of keywords and phrases. Now it is time to do the dumb check.
Spell check and proof read (not the same thing) Homonyms - "correct" word, wrong context - boot (could mean a pair of boots or the boot (trunk) of a car... Then you have the usual grammatical errors - It's, its ... There, their, they're - all mean very different things, and if used incorrectly can prove you:
- do not have good eye for detail
- do not have good written communication skills
- appear to be lazy with regards to your writing, and everything else too?
Dumb Check your Resume or CV and Cover Letter
Spell check and grammar check your Perth Resume or CV, Cover Letter / e-note. This should not need to be said - however, the amount of times I have received applications from people who did neither, or used SMS speak is frightening. Remember too the homonym problem ... right sounding word, completely wrong context - Imagine going for a 'bored' role ... for instance, where there will be lots of bored meetings. Now the meetings may well be boring, but you are hardly going to get to sit in on them if you get that word wrong. Or how about missing off a letter - Edit Cowan for instance. Edit is a correctly spelt word, just in the wrong context for this university. Or how about Batchelor of Science. I'm sure you are now getting the picture. Dumb check your Resume or CV and cover letters.
Get someone else to edit / proof read your Perth Resume or CV, Cover Letter / e-note; especially if you don't think you are capable of doing it yourself - and let’s face it, we can be our own worst enemy when it comes to selling ourselves, so give this job to someone you trust. But then get a second opinion; we want to ensure we give ourselves the best chance of getting through the written application (Resume or CV and Cover Letter) stage and into the interview.
Remember to follow the instructions, make sure you send / give them exactly what they want and ensure the Perth Resume or CV and Cover Letter Application gets to the right person in time. Yours may be the best Resume in the pile, but if it arrives the day after closing date you have just wasted your time. Also remember that if you are emailing the Resume or CV and job application and you have a Hotmail or other 'free' email address - always phone and ask if they received it. Emails sent via Hotmail tend to end up in the junk folders.
A final word on sending job applications through, do not leave things to the last minute. The internet can and does go down, browsers don't always work in the same way, your computer clock may be out, or what happens if you missed the vital point about time zones. The job might be here in Perth, Australia, but what happens if the head office is in Queensland?
Simply order a gig (pricing button below) and within 24 hours I will contact you by email or phone. We will work together to hone your CV or Resume until you are 100% satisfied. You can then opt for extra services if you need them.
TAGS: How to write CV Perth, Australia | What do you need in a resume | Team Lead CV | Resume vs CV
