What is a Resume?

A resume is the first step to a job. Resumes get you interviews, which may in turn get you job offers.

A resume:

• Is a personal advertisement of a candidate's best capabilities and experiences
• Captures an employer's attention and distinguishes a candidate from other jobseekers

What makes a good resume?

• Concise, brief and to the point
• Emphasises your skills and accomplishments
• Professionally presented: i.e. well typed out, neatly formatted with standard margins, no usage of fancy fonts, dramatic graphics or fancy coloured paper
• Accurately written with no spelling, grammatical, punctuation or typographical errors

How long should a resume be?

• As a rule of thumb, it should not exceed two pages of an A4-size paper

Can the same resume be used to apply for all the jobs?

• Tailor the resume to fit the job. Highlight the most relevant accomplishments, skills and experience for that specific position

What is the next step after completing the resume?

• Look for at least two other people to look over the final draft. Read it again the next day before sending it out with the cover letter

Sample Resume:


What is a cover letter?