Resume guidelines
FAQS for preparing your resume

These resume guidelines provide answers to common requests for resume advice about how to prepare that perfect resume.

Before we get started on specific advice here's a few things you should know if you haven't had to prepare a resume for a while:

• There is no single correct way to prepare a resume, or best type of resume. All the experts have their theories, and many of them disagree on even basic resume writing guidelines to follow.
• This means that there is a lot of conflicting advice about the best approach.

So what is the best approach? The answer is simple:

• Choose one of the resume styles that suits your present situation and career objectives.
• Recognise that you might need to prepare different versions of your resume to suit different purposes.
• It is likely that you will need to be continually fine tuning your resume to achieve desired results.

Resume guidelines - Frequently asked questions

Click on the links below to jump to the answers for questions you see below

• How many pages should my resume be?
• Do I have to let people know how old I am?
• Do I need to include my marital status?
• Do I specifically have to include my nationality?
• Do I include information about my hobbies and interests?
• Should I include my photograph?
• I have a disability, should I include this in my resume?
• Should I get my resume printed on special paper?
• What resume headings am I supposed to use?
• Are there any special do's or don't's resume advice I need to know?

How many pages should my resume be?

You'll find that there are a number of differing opinions among people who provide resume guidelines about the ideal number of pages in a resume. Requirements tend to vary a little according to the country in which you are presently working, or the country in which you want to work.

For example - in the U.S.A. there is considerable reference on the web to suggest that a single page resume is best. But.....dig deeper into this question and you'll find that some people recommend a two or three page document.

Search the web for advice relating to resumes for jobs in specific countries and again you'll see opinions differ.

The real answer to this question is.....it depends. Depends on what you ask?

It depends on your purpose - which is basically to promote/sell yourself sufficiently well to get that invite to be interviewed for the position. But, it also depends on what the employer or job advertiser wants as well.

Some job ads will give you a guideline e.g. "please send a single page resume"...... Or the ad might simply say "please send your resume..."

Unless you have specific advice otherwise from the employer or advertiser, decide on how many pages in terms of the content you must include to generate sufficient interest in you that they want to meet you.

What personal details do you include?

Let's look at these resume guidelines one by one:

Details of your age

Usually you will not include this. It is especially important not to include details of your age information if you are in any unsure if an employer will disregard your application because of how old you are.

There are exceptions to this - if you get the impression that the employer or recruiter is looking for a candidate in your particular age group, then you might consider including this information.

Remember however - in most Western countries there is equal opportunity, and anti-discrimination legislation or codes of practice which make it illegal for employers to discriminate on the basis of age.

Details of your marital or relationship status

Resume guidelines are also quite clear here - in Western countries anti-discrimination legislation means you are not required to divulge information about whether you are married, in a relationship, have children, or are single.

Details of your nationality

Generally there is little need to refer specifically to this in your resume.

Sometimes people with "foreign" names might decide to include this information.

They do this as a way of making sure that the employer knows that they are either a citizen or resident of the country, and are therefore eligible to work in the country.

Details of your hobbies and interests

Opinions differ about this. My personal view is that what an employee does in their own time is really their own business.

However, many employers and recruiters like to see this information because it presents a more broad view of the job candidate. Some like to use this information as a discussion point in the interview - usually as way of getting some conversation started at the beginning of the interview.

In terms of resume layouts, where do you include information about your hobbies? My suggestion is put it toward the end of the resume, it's back page stuff.

What about including a photograph?

This is becoming fashionable in some circles. In terms of these general resume guidelines my advice however is don't include your photo unless you are specifically asked to do so.

Or....if appearance is a key factor in the position, and then only if it is customary in the industry to include a photo in your resume.

Why no photo? In my opinion it can be used by an employer to discriminate against you. Better that they first get to see you in the interview.

Should I declare a disability?

The best resume guidelines in relation to disclosure of a disability are that there is no need to disclose if the nature of your disability doesn't affect your ability to carry out the requirements of the role.

Bottom line - can you actually do the job and deliver the required job outcomes?

If your disability doesn't affect your job performance then the focus on your resume is about what you can do.

The same rules apply as for everyone else - your resume is about selling your abilities, not your disability.

What resume headings do I use?

There are a range of commonly used resume headings.

The important thing to know is you can decide which are the most appropriate headings to use. There aren't "correct headings" that you must use, as such.

Resume headings are covered in detail in creating a resume

Resume guidelines - other Do's and Don'ts

Here's a brief summary of answers to questions you might have about other resume guidelines, resume layouts, or resume formats:

• If you are sending your resume through the postal service - keep it plain and simple - white A4 paper will do just fine. Don't worry about any fancy binding or special folder either.
• Pay close attention to resume layouts with good use of headings, white space and attractive but plain fonts - the visual appeal of the document is important in creating a good first impression.
• Which fonts? Times New Roman is a bit too plain I think - I tend to use Arial, Century Gothic, Verdana, Bookman Old Style. Don't mix up fonts in your document - use the same one throughout.
• Avoid too many bullet points - any more than 7 bullet points in a list and it's likely that the points lower in the list will be overlooked
• Be consistent with your use of tense when writing - use present tense to describe what you're doing currently, past tense for the past.
• Pay extremely close attention to good use of grammar, and make sure there are absolutely no spelling mistakes.

Other resume writing tips

Now that you've reviewed these basic resume guidelines it's time to think about the best resume layout and resume formats. Here are links to other information that will help you write a fantastic resume.

• creating a resume what headings to include
• resume layouts - how to decide which one to use
• how to write your statement of career objective
• how to write your career or professional profile
• how to write about your personal employment history