RESUME FORMAT:

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths)

NAME
Contact details
Provide contact details only; no other personal information such as age, marital status.
For international students:
Residency – if planning to work in Australia and you have PR, then mention it here; if you
have work rights in Australia but not PR, you might say ‘Valid Australian visa for full-time
work in Australia’
Languages – indicate fluency in English and other languages

PROFILE (optional)

A profile is a snapshot which pulls together key information about you, with particular
emphasis on what is relevant to the position. You might mention for example, your
qualifications, experience, key skills / attributes and/or professional areas of interest. The
profile usually winds up with a statement about your career objective. A profile should be
very brief – if you try to mention too much, it becomes a sort of list rather than a snapshot
See attached for examples of how to present a profile.

OR

OBJECTIVE (optional)

An objective should indicate the sort of role in the sort of industry that you are seeking. The
statement should make a connection to your career interests and/or plans. You might refer
to some of the skills you have to offer, but the focus is on what you are looking for and where
you’re headed. This needs to be compatible with the position and organisation you are
applying to. See attached for some examples.

EDUCATION
Tertiary
Dates Institution
Name of Course/Qualification (in bold)
 .........................
 .........................
 .........................

List each tertiary level course separately, starting with the most recent.
Use dot points for more detail about your courses
Might include - Major, other relevant subjects eg Breadth; GPA (if strong); exchanges;
scholarships; student rep roles (academic); relevant project work or major assignments.

*Honours Thesis should be listed under the relevant qualification. You should format the
thesis title like the rest of your resume and use the dot points to describe the research and
techniques you used. See example below:

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*Honours Thesis or Research Project

Honour’s Thesis: “Title of Thesis”

 .........................
 .........................
 .........................

Secondary
Dates Institution
Name of Course/Qualification (in bold)
 ...........................
 ...........................
 ...........................

Use dot points for more detail

Might include - ATAR, Year 12 awards, any significant leadership or specialist roles if
relevant eg Editor – School magazine

RESEARCH OR INDUSTRY PROJECTS (for relevant courses)

Final year Engineering Project: “Title of Project”

 ...........................
 ...........................
 ...........................

For more technical degrees such as Engineering and ICT, projects could be listed as a
separate heading starting with the final year long project and include other semester long
projects from penultimate year. You should format each project like the rest of your resume
and use the dot points to describe the research and techniques you used.

COMPUTER SKILLS (for relevant courses)

Programming Languages: JavaScript, Java, PHP, Python, Perl, Visual Basic

Operating Systems: Linux, Windows, Unix
Applications: Matlab, Maple, Statspro, MS Office
Security: Antiphishing, Antispam, antispyware, Encryption,
Firewalls, etc
Web: HTML, Dream Weaver, Flash, Photoshop
GIS: ArcGIS, Network, Spatial and 3D Analysts, use of digital
maps and georeferenced data

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EMPLOYMENT (core)

Dates Employing Organisation

Job Title
One or two lines giving a snapshot of the organisation and its work
(optional)
 ................................................................................
 ................................................................................
 ................................................................................

List jobs in reverse chronological order

Use dot points to list tasks carried out - using statements starting with a verb eg
 provided customer service…..
 prepared information for clients……
 conducted phone surveys.....
Use past tense if job is not current; present tense if current

Try to include some outcomes where appropriate eg ‘conducted phone surveys and achieved
a consistently high response rate’. This information about outcomesis best integrated with
task statements, rather than a separate section. Where possible and appropriate, quantify
outcomes.
Where you have an achievement which is substantial and is not tied to one particular task eg
gaining a promotion, winning a work performance award,, you might include an
‘Achievements’ subheading.

VARIATION: If you have relevant industry experience – internships, relevant part-

time or voluntary experience etc - consider using a heading such as Relevant
Experience, Course-related Experience or Industry Experience where you include any
paid and/or unpaid experiences which are clearly specific to the field. Include other
employment under Other Employment, and other extra-curricular activities under
‘Other Voluntary and Extra-curricular Activities’.

VOLUNTARY WORK

You can use the same format as for Employment section ie dates, role or job title and
organisation, and dot points to describe what you do/did. Remember that voluntary work
can be just as valuable as paid work depending on its relevance to the application.
Do not include this section if you have no voluntary work experience.
If your voluntary work and your extra-curricular activities are in similar areas, you can
combine the two sections as: Voluntary and Extra-Curricular Activities

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES and INTERESTS

One section is sufficient to incorporate extra-curricular activities and interests as they tend
to revolve around the same areas. Particularly if you have a lot of activities, organise
activities under subheadings eg Community Engagement, Music, Sport, Positions of
Leadership, International Development, Philanthropy/Fundraising, Contributions to Campus
Life, Cross-cultural experience, etc,….. This helps the reader to ‘make sense’ of who you are –
more easily than a long list of unrelated bits and pieces.

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KEY SKILLS (optional)

A Key Skills section is optional. For applications where there is an application form with
questions about skills, or a selection criteria document, it is less important to include a skills
section.

A Key Skills section can be useful when you don’t have obviously relevant experience but you
have acquired relevant skills in a variety of other contexts. It is not a substitute for an
Employment section – you still need to include detail about your work experience.

Focus on most relevant and significant skills (‘key skills’) – more is not necessarily better. Use
dot points.

Skills might include generic skills from your University course, skills specific to your major,
skills acquired through work experience or extra-curricular activities, or skills acquired in your
personal life.

Always include computer skills and languages. If you are not including a Key Skills section
include them as Other Skills.

When describing skills, don’t just list broad skill areas (research, communication); give some
detail about the specific skills which make up the skill area. For example – with research skills
– what does research entail? what can you actually do?

 Research - using a range of sources including………., able to evaluate sources, and

summarise and synthesize information from many sources
 Writing – able to write in a variety of styles and media including academic writing,
blogging, professional emails, media releases and creative writing, for a variety of
purposes/audiences including………

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS (optional)

List any professional memberships. These include student memberships of professional

associations, or memberships of student professional associations.
If you do not have any memberships, leave out this section.

REFEREES (core)

It is usual to give 2 referees. Include: name, relationship, and contact details.

Best to provide details with your application rather than ‘referees available on request’ – this
can appear as though you haven’t made the effort.

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PROFILES – Some examples
A profile is a snapshot which pulls together key information about you, with
particular emphasis on what is relevant to the position. You might mention for
example, your qualifications, experience, key skills and/or attributes. The profile
usually winds up with a statement about your career objective.

Profiles can presented as: full sentences, abbreviated sentences or dot points:

Bioscience example:

A Bachelor of Science graduate with honour’s in Biochemistry, experienced in a

laboratory environment through undergraduate studies and honour’s thesis. I’m
skilled in setting up equipment and carrying out experimental work. I am highly
organised and competent to work collaboratively across a range of projects in a large
shared laboratory, I am keen to commence my career in a research environment
where I can contribute towards the advancement of medical knowledge.

OR

Bachelor of Science graduate with honour’s in Biochemistry, experienced in a

laboratory environment through undergraduate studies and honour’s thesis. Skilled
in setting up equipment and carrying out experimental work. Highly organised and
competent to work collaboratively across a range of projects in a large shared
laboratory. Keen to commence my career in research where I can contribute towards
advancing medical knowledge.

OR
 A recent Bachelor of Science graduate with honour’s in Biochemistry
 Experience in a laboratory environment through undergraduate studies and
honour’s thesis
 Skilled in setting up equipment and carrying out experimental work
 Highly organised and competent to work collaboratively across a range of
projects in a large shared laboratory
 Keen to commence a research career and contribute towards advancing
medical knowledge

Engineering example:

I am a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) student with summer vacation experience

within the automotive industry, as well as general labour in construction. Through
engineering studies, I’ve gained experience in designing residential and commercial
structures and in identifying technical design problems and proposing solutions. I am
highly organised to work collaboratively across a range of project activities and have
an analytical mind and keen interest in design, evaluation and risk assessment of
load-bearing structures. I am passionate about commencing my career in structural
engineering within the aerospace field.

OR

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Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) student with work experience in automotive and
construction industries. Course-related skills in residential/commercial structure
design, and in identifying technical design problems and proposing solutions. Highly
organized and collaborative to work across project activities with a keen interest in
design, evaluation and risk assessment of load-bearing structures. Passionate to
begin career in structural engineering within the aerospace field.

OR
 A Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) student with summer vacation experience
within the automotive industry as well as general labour in construction
 Experienced in designing residential and commercial structures through
engineering studies
 Well-honed skills in identifying technical design problems and proposing solutions
 Highly organised to work collaboratively across a range of project activities
 An analytical mind and a keen interest in design, evaluation and risk
assessment of load-bearing structures
 Passionate about commencing my career in structural engineering within the
aerospace field

OBJECTIVES – Some examples

An objective indicates the sort of role within the sort of industry or sector you are
seeking. The statement should make a connection to your career interests and/or
plans. You might refer to some of the skills you have to offer, but the focus is on
what you are looking for and where you’re headed. This needs to be compatible with
the position and organisation you are applying to.

Seeking a graduate role in the field of educational and entertainment software

publishing where I can apply my software engineering qualifications to create
engaging content for today’s digital, yet mobile learners.

Seeking a career-entry role with a non-government organisation which will enable

me to work on environmental policy to make the most of my skills in policy analysis,
research and writing, and my great commitment to environmental advocacy.

Seeking a Research or Technical Assistant position in a medical laboratory where I

can apply my strong analytical and technical skills to support researchers in carrying
out project requirements.

Pursuing a position as Clinical Trials / Administrative Assistant as an opportunity to

apply my strong ability to multi-task and prioritise work effectively, and further
develop my skills and knowledge in clinical trial operations.

Seeking a Graduate Statistician role with a medical or clinical research facility, where
I can apply my number crunching skills in forecasting industry trends and patterns.
Further information http://careers.unimelb.edu.au/student/applying_for_work/resumes

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