AUSTRALIANCOVERLETTERANDRESUMEGUIDELINES

GeneralGuidelines

Keepyourfonttypeandsizethesameinbothyourcoverletterandresume.

Beconciseanduseattentiongrabbingwordsthereaderwillspendroughly8seconds
readingyourCVand5secondsreadingyourcoverletter.

Rememberthereaderwillbelookingatwhatyousayandhowyousayitthesedocuments
giveagoodideaofthecommunicationskillsoftheapplicant.

Yourcoverletterandresumeshouldworktogetherasapartnership,bothdeliveringa
powerfulmessageaboutwhoyouare.

Checkyourspelling,punctuationandgrammar

Usepastandpresenttensecorrectly

CoverLetterGuidelines

ACoverLetterisnotyourLetterofMotivationitisaprofessionaldocumenttargetedata
seniorexecutive

Addressyourletterto:
InternshipProgramOfficer
MacquarieInternational
MacquarieUniversity
NSW2109

WhileyourletterisaddressedtotheInternshipProgramOfficer,itistoapplyforaspecific
internship,nottheinternshipprogramgenerally.Therefore,thecontentneedstobe
targetedatthehostorganisation.Studyabroadandexchangestudentthisisnottheplace
towriteabouthowexcitedyouaretobestudyingatMacquarieorbeingabroadthereader
justwantstohearhowwellsuitedyouaretothejob.

Keepyourlettergeneralanddonotbetoospecificwithwhereyouwanttoworkandwhat
roleyouwanttodoasyoumayendupapplyingforsomethingquitedifferent.

Justwriteonecoverletter.IfyouhavewrittenthatyouwanttoapplyforaPRrole,butend
upapplyingforaMarketingrole,youcanchangetheletteratalaterdate.

Sticktoonepageinlength,withthreemainparagraphs:
1. Statewhatyouareapplyingforandwhatmakesyousuitablefortheposition.
2. Describeyourmostrelevantworkinghistorywithahandfulofmainpoints,oryour
course/traininghighlights.
3. Presentyourbestpracticalskillsfortheplacementandhowtheywillcontributeto
yourvaluethere.
Finishwithastatementonhowtocontactyou.Studyabroadandexchangestudentsthis
willgenerallybeviaemailasyouwillbeunlikelytohaveanAustraliannumberwhenyou
apply.

Donotmentionyoursorority/fraternityinyourCoverLetterastheydonotexistinAustralia
thereforeemployersdonotunderstandtheirsignificance.Youcouldnoteitinyour
Membershipssectionifyouwish.

Tailoryourstatementstoyouraudience,ensuringthattheexperienceandgoalsyou
mentionarespecifictotheinternshipprofileyouarelookingfor.Youmayhaveskillsin
otherareasbutasyouneedtokeepyourlettershortleavethemout.

DonotusewordslikeIlove...orIamreallyexcited...Imagineyouarereadingthisletterto
theCEOofYahoo!7bematureandprofessional.

Dontusevaguewordslikealot,plenty,variousetc.Grabyouraudiencesattentionwith
actionwords,eginitiated,coordinated,organised,demonstratedetc.
AlwaysendyourletterswithYoursFaithfullyifyouarenotaddressingsomeonebyname.

ResumeGuidelines

Thetoptwothirdsofyourfirstpageisprimerealestatesellyourselfheresothereader
continuesthroughyourdocument

Keepittotwopages

Dontaddaphotooryourdateofbirth

Dontuseasillyemailaddress

Whitespace(ienotext)isimportant,useitcarefullytoemphasizeimportantwordsor
information

Placethesectionswiththemostrelevantandimpressiveinformationfirst

CareerobjectivetoassistthereaderininterpretingandcontextualisingtherestofyourCV.
Focusonqualities,experience,shorttermgoalandlongtermgoal.

ProfessionalOverview
o Providea12linesummaryabouteachofyouremployerstosetthesceneforthe
reader.ThisisimportantasAustralianemployersmaynotknowanythingaboutthe
organisation.
o PositionSummarywhatwereyourresponsibilitiesintherole?
o Keyachievementswhatdidyouachieveintherole?

KeySkillschoosethoseskillsmostrelevanttothepositionandlistinorderofrelevance.
Foreach,provideaspecificexamplethatclearlydemonstratesyourlevelofcompetencein
thisarea.

IntereststhisisyouropportunitytoputsomepersonalityintoyourCV.Usenomorethana
coupleofexamples.

Followingareexamplesofacoverletterandresumetohelpyoucreateyourown.
Thisresumeisentirelyfictitiousandrepresentsastyleandcontentguideonly.Toremovethetext
boxesandadaptthesesampledocumentsforyourownrequirements,clickontheborderedgeof
theboxandhitdelete.

Keepthesameheaderin
yourcoverletterasshown
inyourresume.

12UniversityParade
RichmondNSW2753
0406100100
sam.taylor@university.edu.au

12June2010

InternshipProgramOfficer
MacquarieInternational
MacquarieUniversity
NSW2109

Donotbetoospecificintheareaof

internshipyouarelookingforasyoumay
DearSir/Madam,
endupapplyingforaslightlydifferentfield.

IwouldliketoapplyforaMarketingInternshipwithyourpartnerorganisation.Thisopportunityholdsgreat
interest for me as I would like to pursue a career in marketing and public relations when my Bachelor of
Cultural Studies degree is complete. I am confident that this Internship opportunity will provide me with
valuablepracticalexperience,industryexposureandthenetworkofcontactsIneedtorealisemygoalsfora
futureinthisarea.

I have sought to maximise my opportunities within the framework of my Degree and throughout the
Universityduringmystudieshere.MyparticipationintheGlobalLeadershipProgramhasprovidedthemeans
tomeetwithkeyindustryspokespeopleandbuildonmypublicspeakingskills.Ihavealsoenjoyedbeingable
tomentorandsupportotherstudentswithintheFaculty.

This Internship will provide me with a competitive edge when I embark on my career in the Marketing
industry.Ihopethatmyrecordofachievementswiththeorganisationwillreflectmyvaluetotheteamduring
mytimethereaswellasthetrainingIgainedfromtheexperience.

Please contact me on the mobile number above to discuss my application further and arrange an interview
appointment.

Ilookforwardtomeetingwithyou.

Ifyourstudiesandworkexperienceare

closelyrelatedtotheInternshipyouare
Yoursfaithfully,
applyingfor,keepthedetailneatandto

thepointtomaintainimpact.
SamTaylor

Havelittleornoworkexperienceor

nothingrelevanttoyourinternship?Focus
Encl.Resume
onyourtransferableskills,experienceand

contributionwithintheUniversity,andbe
enthusiasticabouttheopportunitytodo
aninternship.

Usethisheadernearyour
nametoinsertyouraddress
andcontactdetails,keeping
themoutoftheway.

SamTaylor
CareerStatement

12UniversityParade
RichmondNSW2753
0406100100
sam.taylor@university.edu.au

Yourcareerstatementshouldmention
yourbestqualities,anyrelevant
experience,currentplanandgoals

Organised,adaptableJournalismstudentwiththreeyearsexperienceinradioandprintjournalism,seekingacadetship
opportunitywithalargemetropolitannewspaperinordertogainagreaterunderstandingofeditorialcompositionand
newspreparation.

Education

20082011

BachelorofCommunicationsStudies(Journalism)

MacquarieUniversity,Sydney

2007

HigherSchoolCertificate
StMargaretsCollege,Sydney

Remove/insertsectionsdependingonwhat
appliestoyou.Putthosesectionsfirstthat
demonstrateyourskillsthemost.

ProfessionalOverview
May2008Present

Editor

MacquarieUniversityNewspaper,Sydney

TheMacquarieStudentNewspaperisabimonthlypublicationforstudentscoveringcurrentaffairs,campusnewsanddiscussiontopics,
aswellasrelevantinsightsintotravel,employmentandculture.

PositionSummary

KeyAchievements

Feb2008May2009

Interviewandprofilespecialguestsforfeaturearticles
Coordinateadvertisingstreamsandpaymentswithcommercialpartners
Manageateamofsixinterviewandadministrationstaffoncontentanddeadlines
Participateincampusradiosegmentsthreemorningsaweek

Pickoutthemostimportant
Reachedtargetreadershipof4000inNovember2009
pointsofeachposition
Exceededadvertisingrevenuetargetsfor2009by150%
PromotedtoEditorafter2monthswiththeNewspaper

Tutor

ExcellentEssaysEtc,NorthRyde

Excellent Essays Etc is a small tutoring company established to help secondary school students with their assignment planning,
structure,grammarandspelling.

PositionSummary

KeyAchievements

Aug2006Nov2007

Meetwithclientsonafortnightlybasistoreviewassignmentprogressanddeadlines
Conducttrainingworkshopsonessayandshortanswercomposition
Supportjuniortutorswithclientneedsandtrainingplans
Reviewstudynotesandrevisionguidespriortoexaminationperiod

AchievedaBGradeaveragefromallstudentclientsinassignmentsubmissions
Introducedaclientdatabasemanagementsystem,reducingadministrationworkload
Receivedreferralsandrecommendationsfromlocalhighschoolteachingstaff
AwardedTutoroftheYearfor2008

SalesAssistant

ActiveSports,Caringbah

ActiveSportsisafitnessequipmentandclothingfranchise,with18storesacrosstheSydneyMetroarea.TheCaringbahteamconsisted
ofthreesalesstaff,twoassistantmanagersandastoremanager.

PositionSummary

Consultwithstorecustomersontheirfitnessplansandsafetyrequirements
Reviseinstoremerchandisingdisplayssubjecttopromotions,newlinesandsales

KeyAchievements

Performcountersales,returnsandexchangessubjecttocustomerrequirements

Learnttomanagecustomerdemandsunderpressure
Implementedowninventorytrackingsystemtoreducetheftandloss
ReceivedindustryrecognisedtraininginHealthandFitnessManagement

KeySkills
Communication

Organisation&Time
Management

Teamwork

AsEditoroftheMacquarieUniversityNewspaper,Icommunicatedwithadiverse
rangeofpeople,includingverballywithinterviewsubjects,advertisers,and
contributors,aswellaswritingarticlesandeditingthefinaldraftofthenewsletter.
Duringmytimeasatutor,Ihadtomanageandplanformytutoringaroundmyown
studyandwork,aswellascoordinateandsupportjuniortutors.Thisrequired
carefulplanning,prioritisingandtimemanagement.
OursalesteamatActiveSportshadambitioussalestargetstomeeteachmonth,
requiringtheteamtoworkcloselytogethertosupportandmotivateeachotherto
achieveourgoals.

AwardsandAchievements

2008
2006
2006

ExcellenceinFirstYearJournalism
MacquarieUniversity
DukeofEdinburghAwardBronze
InternationalYouthDevelopmentandAchievementAssociation
SeniorFirstAidCertificate
CentreforFirstAidTrainingandSurvivalSkills

FurtherTraining

2007

CertificateofKnowledgeinFitnessHealthandSafetyAwareness
ActiveSportsTrainingandDevelopment

Competencies

MicrosoftWord
MicrosoftProject
MicrosoftExcel
Italian
DataEntry

AdvancedKnowledge
BasicKnowledge
IntermediateKnowledge
AdvancedSkills
98%accuracy

6yearsexperience
1yearexperience
2yearsexperience
4yearsexperience
2yearsexperience

Includeanylanguages,computer
programs,orothertechnicalskills
youhaveacquired.

Memberships

Current

AgentforChange
MissionAustraliaStandUpforYouth
AssociateMember
AustralianInstituteforEducationalTutors

20072009

Interests
BuildingJapanesetreehouses
EntertainingfamilyandfriendsathomewithItaliancuisine
SkiingincentralNewSouthWales

Referees
Availableuponrequest

Bespecificwithyourinterestsgoing
out,eating,movies,music,friendsand
shoppingarenotintereststheseare
activitiescommontomostpeople