Further tips on applying for a public sector role:
Your resume - also known as curriculum vitae or CV - is a summary of your qualifications, experience, skills and qualities. A resume needs to be clear, concise and neatly organised with content relevant to the role you are applying for.
Your resume should include:
- Education, qualifications and details of any courses or areas of focus that might be relevant to the role.
- Your work experience, paid and volunteer, with most recent experience first. For each job, include the role title, name and location of employer, and dates of employment. Briefly describe your role responsibilities and achievements for each job using dot points or a brief paragraph.
- Your skills and interests, for example computer skills, professional awards and recognition and membership in organisations.
- Names of referees.
Referees / References
Carefully consider who to nominate as a referee and brief them about the role you are applying/have applied for. Defence referees have been known to be more critical than civilian referees due to the differing style of professional development and feedback within Defence. It is important to keep this in mind when selecting your referees and brief them accordingly.
It might be a good idea to let your referee know what skills they should focus on if they are contacted. For example, if an applicant is moving from catering to admin, the referee may be asked to focus more on time management, accountability, adaptability and productivity skills rather than the applicant’s knife skills. You could also send your referees a copy of your cover letter.
