This document provides guidance on writing an effective resume, including the key components that should be included and examples of how to write each component specifically rather than generally. The key components recommended are personal details, objective, education, experience, accolades and awards, key skills, interests and hobbies, and references. The document emphasizes writing each component in a specific, detailed, and quantifiable way to clearly demonstrate one's qualifications and make it easy for employers to understand one's full potential.

1. WRITING
POWERFUL
RESUMES
Science without borders

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What should be included in a Resume
• Personal details
• Objective
• Education
• Experience
• Accolades & Awards, Associations
• Key skills
• Interests & Hobbies
• References

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Objective
Non specific: I want a software development position in the high technology industry
that can utilize my three years of programming skills and lead to a management role.
Specific: A position in software development requiring programming skills in
C++ gained from a degree in Computer Science and three years of
experience, helping technology companies deliver customer focused software.
Your resume should be written in a way that fully explains your skill
level, experience, education and objective. The more specific and detailed
you are, the easier it is for a potential employer to see your true potential.
Below is an example of a non specific objective as well as a specific
objective:

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Education
Non Specific Education Section
UBC, 1995
Vancouver, BC
BSc., Computer Science
Vancouver High School, 1991
Vancouver, BC
Diploma
Specific Education Section
University of British Columbia, 1995
Vancouver, BC
Bachelor of Computer Science, High Honors
Here you can see some more examples of specific versus non specific. The Specific
education section makes it easy for the recruiter to fully understand the qualifications
achieved by this candidate

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Accolades & Awards
Examples:
 First Aid Certificate
 Lifesaving Certificates
 Captain of ….
 Scholarships
 Chancellors Award
 Honors Student
 National representative on
sporting or other teams
 Major Military decorations and
ranks
 Employee of the Month
Your CV is a chance to showcase your achievements, awards and accolades. In this
section you can highlight your non technical skills. For instance being captain of a
sporting team can demonstrate leadership. An academic award can demonstrate high
achievement. Remember, Your CV is not the place to be modest.

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Work Experience
Non specific Professional Experience Description:
Widgets Digits Software
Intermediate Programmer
January 2008 to Present
Mountain View, VIC
•I programmed software.
•I tested software.
•I debugged software.
•I worked in a team.
•I trained new graduate hires to program and test software.
The work experience section is one of the most important parts of your CV as it gives
you the opportunity to prove that you have the required skills to perform in a new job
role. As with the other sections, you must be specific with your work experience.

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Work Experience
Specific Professional Experience Description:
Intermediate Programmer
January 2008 to Present
Widgets Digits Software
Mountain View, VIC
•Programmed award-winning educational software using the C++
programming language.
•Wrote quality assurance and software testing plans. Product shipped with
15 percent less customer support calls than previous versions.

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Key Skills
Communication - Deal with internal and external customers at all levels via telephone and email,
to ensure successful communication via actively listening and probing questions.
Problem solving – Able to resolve in-depth queries in a methodical manner independently and
with internal and external business partners to find appropriate resolutions, efficiencies and high
level of quality.
Team Player - Enjoy sharing knowledge and encouraging development of others to achieve
specific team goals.
Planning and organising - Refined planning and organisational skills that balance work, team
support and ad-hoc responsibilities in a timely and professional manner.
Systems knowledge - Peoplesoft and Oracle. Experience in preparing and analysing reporting
data for management accurately and to timescales.
When explaining your key skills you also need to be able to
demonstrate how you have used that skill. Some examples can
be found below:

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References
The final part of any good CV should be the references. There are two options when
writing references:
• Available upon request
Writing Available upon request gives you the flexibility to change your references for
each application without having to update your CV each time. It can also act as an
indicator of interest if a company asks for your referees
• List individually with email & phone number
If you list individually you need to ensure that the details you provide as up to date and
that the referees are aware that they may receive a call requesting a reference. It can
be very embarrassing and potentially cost you the opportunity if your referee is not
expecting a call.