If you are looking for some part time work, or you have left school and you are wanting to transition into full time employment, it is important that you create a resume that will market you successfully to employers and recruiters.
Below are some answers to frequently asked questions relating to school leaver resumes that will assist you to create your own resume masterpiece.
How long should a school leavers resume be?
Don’t worry too much about how long your resume is, so long as your resume, only contains information relevant to the employer. That is, if it runs over two pages or more, that is fine – as long as the information is relevant and to the point.
However if you have over three pages, this is probably too long for a school leaver, so it is important to cull out material, that is not relevant to employer.
Ask yourself whether your information is relevant to the employer, and is it something the employer would be interested in. If it does not pass this criterion, then remove the information.
How important is presentation?
Presentation is critical, as your resume is the only impression the employer has of you. If it is poorly laid out, or difficult to read then it can make a really bad impression. If it is well formatted and looks professional, then you will make a great first impression.
Remember, when formatting your resume, be consistent in design treatments, be conservative, and avoid starting too many consecutive lines with bullets, add white space, break up lengthy paragraphs, balance the resume top-to-bottom and left-to-right and use no more than 2 font styles.
To help you out with the task, get access to 5 free resume templates, when you subscribe to our free career newsletter, “Boost your Career”.
I don’t have any paid work experience, so what should I include in my resume?
If you don’t have any paid work experience, it can sometimes feel like you don’t have any relevant experience or skills. However, must school leavers underestimate how many skills they have acquired at both school and outside of school. For example:
- Did you win any school awards?
- Did you get involved in additional curricula activities (both at school and outside of school)?
- Have you done any voluntary work?
- Did you assist family members in their business?
- Did you do work related experience through school?
All of these activities might not have been paid work, but they do highlight a range of skills, from the capacity to do simple administration work, your reliability, honesty through to your ability to rapidly learn new skills.
Most employers realise that school leavers don’t have loads of experience, but if you highlight those skills obtained in other activities, then you will be able to present yourself as an individual that has loads of skills to offer, in spite of having no “official paid work experience”.
Should I include a resume objective?
I’m usually not a fan of resume objectives, but for school leavers it can be an effective way of showing that you are keen to pursue a career or job, in a specific sector or organisation.
If you decide to use a career objective, make sure that you don’t create a generic, one-fit-all type of objective statement, such as “to obtain a job that will provide me with experience”.
You might not care what you do, as you just want a job, but remember an employer does care, so make sure you shape your objective to meet the requirements of the employer.
So, when shaping an objective, ensure that the objective meets the requirements of the employer, by noting the position you are targeting, the skills you have and what specific value you bring to the employer. For example:
“To obtain a position as an entry level clerk (the specific position), which will utilise my literacy, numeracy and computer skills (the skills you have) and strong client focus and interpersonal skills” (the additional value you bring to the employer).
For more information on resume objectives, check out our article on resume objective samples.
Should I include hobbies and interests?
If you are a school leaver with little or no experience, it can sometimes be really useful to include your hobbies, as it will show you to be an enthusiastic and well rounded individual.
However, you need to be really selective with what hobbies you include, as including hobbies can sometimes be detrimental to your application.
For example, if you included motocross riding, there might be a perception that you could easily get injured and need time off work, which is not so great for your application. However including motocross might be really relevant, if you are applying for an apprenticeship, as a motorbike mechanic.
In short there are no hard and fast rules. The key is to ask whether the hobby might be perceived in a negative light. If you don’t think it will be viewed negatively, then include this information, as it provides evidence of your dedication and individual strengths.
Check out our article – Should you include hobbies and interests on your resume.
How much detail should I provide about my education and school life?
As a school leaver you should document everything that provides evidence of your ability to work as part of a team, your dedication, academic ability and reliability. So include the following details within your resume;
- Any awards
- Any leadership positions (e.g. captain of a sporting team)
- Any additional curricula activities, such as membership to an orchestra, sporting team, or drama group.
Under the Education title, include the start and finish dates, the name of the school as well as qualifications received and subjects taken. If you have great exam results include your result. If your exam/qualification results were really bad, just include the subject headings.
What referees should I use?
Select referees that are not personal referees, because while your best friend, sister, or Uncle Harry might give you a glowing review, an employer is not going to take these references seriously.
If you are struggling to provide work related referees, alternatives are someone that has supervised you in a volunteer role, or a teacher, or coach that can comment on you as a person and on your performance.
If you have a great written reference, then a great trick is to clip a short excerpt from the written reference and include it in your resume. But don’t go overboard - just use a short, sharp and succinct statement.
AND remember, get prior permission from your referee and ask if it is OK to use them.
Are there any really great examples of school leaver resumes?
To help parents and school leavers, we have posted a great school leaver resume examples for you.
Example One: School Leaver Resume - seeking apprenticeship
Should I include a cover letter with my resume?
Absolutely yes! Always submit a cover letter outlining exactly what you can offer an employer. For more information on how to write a quality cover letter, check out our resource pages on writing cover letters.
Best of luck with your job-hunt!
Relevant Articles and Resources
|
/images/header_left.jpg)
/images/header_right.jpg)
/images/btn_job-search.jpg){kind=small}
/images/btn_career-change.jpg){kind=small}
/images/btn_on-the-job.jpg){kind=small}
/images/btn_find-jobs.jpg){kind=small}