curriculum vitae

A curriculum vitae (CV) is a brief, written description of your education and quali cations. It is sent to potential employers to summarise “who you are” as a candidate. Typically, a CV is sent alongside your cover letter. Therefore, the information in these two documents must be consistent.

Although there are many acceptable ways of drafting a CV, the most widely used format is the ‘reverse-chronological approach’. With this approach, you rst present your most recent work experience and educational accomplishments and then move backward through your other achievements. A common mistake many students make when drafting a CV is attempting to embellish their achievements or the length of time spent with a particular employee. Such actions should be avoided, partly due to the ethical component, but also, as an interested employer, will likely cross-check the information you provided them.

To di erentiate your CV from the hundreds, if not thousands, of applications an employer may receive, you must structure it in a visually pleasing way. Undertaking this simple step will allow employers to identify the key aspects of your CV that di erentiate you from the other candidates.

In particular, paragraphs should be kept to three to four lines and bullet points should be used logically. By doing this, employers can quickly identify the critical parts of your CV.

Personal Details

In this section, typically at the top of the CV, you will include your primary contact details: full name, phone number, and email address. Depending on the position, you may also wish to include your LinkedIn pro le in this section.

Career Overview

A summary of each position should be provided. In this summary, you should include the responsibilities in the role and any essential skills you developed from this position. If applicable, it may also be suitable to include any ‘achievements’ from this position, either speci c awards you received, or times you were “uno cially” awarded for the work you completed. Many jobs on your CV may not have a direct nexus to a legal job; however, when drafting your description, it is helpful to consider aspects of the position that may be transferrable to a legal role. For example, if your previous role was as a bartender, in your ‘role description’, you could mention how the position developed your communication skills.

Education

Your educational history should be outlined, including both high school and university. This should include key relevant dates, as well as any accomplishments. Often students will elect to include a detailed description of their high school academic results, particularly their ATAR and awards. Listing the high school subjects you received a band six may be suitable.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Your description of your extra-curricular activities in your CV can be your opportunity to highlight your personality outside of a purely academic context. It is advisable to include any volunteering experience, sporting experience, or leadership positions you believe would be suitable to include. Importantly, you must refrain from constraining yourself only to include organised activities you have undertaken. Often listing unique hobbies or interests will allow you to highlight your personality and character to the employer, allowing you to di erentiate yourself from the other applicants.

Referees

When including referees, they may be included at the bottom of your resume. Alternatively, you can instead state ‘referees are available on request’. It is best to include two or more referees.

Proofreading

Various CV review methods should be utilised, including asking a trusted friend or family member to review your resume or utilising software provided by the university. Additionally, various computer programs, such as Grammarly, can be used to ensure you have used the correct grammar and spelling in your application. Reading your CV aloud to yourself is also often helpful to ensure the information and grammar included are correct. Furthermore, you should ensure you can answer any questions about any parts of your CV. You should not include any work experiences that you only have a vague recollection of, or that were insigni cant.

Differentiate Yourself

A prospective employer will likely be looking through an array of applications. Therefore, you need to nd ways to make yourself stand out. This is particularly important when drafting your cover letter, although it is also relevant to your CV. While drafting your CV, consider whether this would di erentiate you from another candidate.

Structure

There is often a tendency when drafting a resume to include extra-curricular achievements, or other non-academic accomplishments, at the bottom of the document. This should be avoided, as these achievements often enable you to stand out from other applicants. Therefore, if you have achievements that you are particularly proud of (e.g., signi cant sporting achievements), it may be suitable to include this towards the top of your resume.