The Resumé

BY SARA TEMPLETON

More often than not, the first thing that you, as a prospective employee, will be judged on when you are looking for new work is the humble resumé.

Obviously the way in which you conduct yourself in an interview is very important too, but a resumé is the first line of attack.

What employers want to read on your resume

Contemporary advice on resume writing appears to fly in the face of what employers actually want to read in a candidate's CV, according to a survey of employers.

Aussie Resumes, a professional service that specialises in preparing resumes and cover letters, surveyed 2,000 organisations specifically to ask HR managers, line managers and even managing directors about what they want to see included in an applicant's resume.
Tara West, Aussie Resumes' senior writer, told CareerOne that key areas covered in the survey included how long the resume should be, what personal information should be included and whether or not to include the names and contact details of referees.

On the subject of resume length, the majority of employers surveyed rejected the accepted wisdom that CVs should be no longer than two pages.

Ms West said 82 per cent of respondents regarded the two-page resume as an American format that did not provide Australian employers with the detail they required. She said that the preferred length was three to four pages and up to six pages for a top-level executive.

Whether or not to include a birth date is another prickly issue.

A growing number of job seekers are choosing not to include their date of birth on their resume, as is their right under privacy and anti-discrimination legislation.

However, only three per cent of the employers surveyed said they didn't want to see a candidate's birth date.

The rest most certainly did. One employer said the reason was that "if applicants don't supply their date of birth most employers assume they are hiding something negative."