Harry Heyworth

Guide to Job Applications

STRUCTURE
This document is designed to cover the fundamentals, so there will likely be components that you have already
covered in your CV and job applications. I recommend printing this document off and going through each dot
point as a checklist, ticking each if / when you have completed it.

CV
A CV is designed to do two things: Give an overview of your skills/job-relevant attributes, and make the CV-
reader interested enough in you to put you through to interview round. Remember both of these rules when
writing up everything in your CV.

Have a ‘framework’ CV that you are happy with. I’d recommend naming it so it is evident that this is NOT the CV
that you submit to your job application directly – e.g. “John Smith TEMPLATE CV”. You will use this CV as the
framework for every job application, slightly changing it in regard to the job title.

It needs to fit the following criteria, all within 2 pages maximum:

• Based on a universally styled template – i.e. can be applied to both creative style jobs and more traditional
jobs. If you are adamant that you are only applying to one style of job (e.g. graphic design) then you can
make a more creative styled CV.
o There are a bazillion templates online. Find one you like and use that. I like this website for
finding them https://www.cvtemplatemaster.com/cv-template/
• Separated into clear and distinctive components – I’d recommend, IN THIS ORDER:
o Personal Details
§ Name
§ Citizenship(s) – good for roles requiring travel
§ Contact information – email and phone number WITH area code (+61 for Australian
mobiles).
o Professional Experience
§ Name of role
§ Name of institution
§ Very small description of your employer (in all likelihood the person reading your CV
will not know who your old employee was / what they do. In one sentence give a
summary of the business’ practice)
§ Dates
§ An overview of your role and the responsibilities / skills it taught. Bold the important
bits. Very important that it is not just descriptive, but actually provides insight into what
you got out of the experience – i.e. Highlight the skills you utilised AND developed

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§ Don’t be afraid to use jobs for your parents’ businesses / jobs for friends of friends
here. Even if you got a job the ‘easy’ way, it is impressive that you had the initiative to go
out and source it. Makes you stand out.
o Education
§ Normally high school and above. You can include primary school if it is a very highly
regarded / well connected institution (which, for most of us, is unlikely)
§ Dates of education
§ Grades achieved at each institution
§ Do NOT include details of awards etc. These are for the next section.
o Awards
§ The awards section is kept distinct as, psychologically, it’ll seem more impressive having
a compiled list of all your awards and accreditations as opposed to having them scattered
across the page(s).
§ Include any notable awards you have received from school, university, local government
etc.
§ This can include grants, newspaper mentions, anything to make you stand out.
Queener’s, thinking Wyvern medals, Rhetoric prizes, Cam Brown Fund
o Leadership and Community Service
§ Similar to the ‘professional experience’ section, but orientated around non-professional
roles. Keep this section small in comparison to the professional experience. This could
be volunteering to teach at a local primary school, a pastoral position at Queen’s etc.
o Sporting
§ I’m in two minds about this, but if sport is a big part of your life it may be useful to
briefly note any achievements here. This can be specifically important to American
firms, who highly regarding any sporting accolades.
o Skills and Interests
§ Imagine this as your ‘personality’ section. What makes you different / how can you
express your personality through the CV? Answer that question and write it here. Did
you learn competitive roller-derby? Note it here. Can you perform stage-quality magic?
Note it here. Again, you want the CV-reader to be interested enough in you to want to
meet you face-to-face.
o Publications
§ If you have had any academic publications, include them here.
§ For Queeners, think about Aedificamus.
o Note that ‘Summary’ is NOT a component of the framework CV. This is because your summary
should be changed slightly according to the job description. One of the biggest lessons learnt
from talking to job recruiters is that hardly any of the applicants actually make the effort to show
how their skillset fits the skillset required by the role (as advertised – there will usually be a
‘skills’ section in each job briefing). Use the Summary section to fulfil this. More on this later
• Stylisation Tips
o Bold the most important bits:
§ Grades
§ Degree Name
§ Institution names
o Do NOT use acronyms / lingo that is unique to your institution:

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§ H1 / H2 etc. from UniMelb means nothing to someone who didn’t study there. Write
down the ‘universal translation’ – “First Class Honours”, “Second Class Honours” etc.
§ WAM. Write out Weighted Average Mark, not WAM, as again, others may not
understand this.
o Ensure your language / rhetoric is consistent throughout. If you choose to use the third person /
a different linguistic style, ensure that is does not deviate throughout the CV
o Avoid paragraphs of text where possible. The only sections that should include longer style
rhetoric are the summary section and the professional experience sections. Bullet points are
much more efficient. You’re dreaming if you think that the CV-reader will spend more than a few
minutes going through your page(s). Reduce their cognitive load AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE

‘Summary’ Section

• The summary section is your ‘one-liner’. Think elevator pitch. It is likely the first (main) thing that the
CV-reader will read, and thus you need to focus it on the application.
• THEREFORE, no ‘summary’ should be the same. Every job is slightly different, so every summary should
be slightly different.
• Easy steps to writing your summary:
o Include a VERY brief introductory sentence / half-sentence. This could by “A dual-national
(English / Australian) University of Melbourne student who…
o And then you start mirroring the skills listed on the job application website. For instance, if your
role is a sustainability-consulting known for a being heavy in data-crunching, your sentence
could continue with “…enjoys applying their degree in Politics to large-scale data analysis
orientated around climate issues”.
o List your aspirations (in a non-corny way). E.g. “A graduate role as an environmental analyst
will ideally act as preparation for positions of general management in the Australian
sustainability sector”
• In my personal CV I have two separate summaries, one with a ‘unaltered’ version, containing details that
remain constant throughout my CVs (degree, university, grade) and then the customisable summary for
the above criteria (or other information deemed necessary).

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JOB APPLICATION PROCESS

For large scale consulting / banking etc., it is a game of volume. A friend of mine once applied for a mid-year
position at one of the Big 4 consulting firms, and got rejected. Then, for the summer program he re-submitted the
same application (didn’t change a word aside from updating grades). Didn’t need to re-sit the aptitude test or
anything. And guess what, he got the job.

You can spend hours on a singular application process and get rejected. Put the odds in your favour and make as
many applications as possible.

If, on the other hand, you are applying boutique then you are going to want to tailor your application even further.
Write a beautiful cover letter, ensure your CV is directly aligned with their goals, try to get in to meet some of the
team before they even open up for applications (foot in the door is INCREDIBLY useful). Or, as another friend of
mine did, send a postcard for each city that you travel to over your holidays. By the time said friend arrived back in
Melbourne, she was known throughout the office as the ‘postcard girl’ and was welcomed as an old friend. Sadly
the firm was downsizing during that point in time so she couldn’t get the role – but she made the right impression!

In terms of volume approach, use the spreadsheet that complements this word document to plan your approach.