Student resume template for your first job in Australia

What goes first when you haven’t had a job

Workforce Australia says that if your work experience is limited, your education can come ahead of your employment history. For a student that means: contact details, a short opening statement, education, skills, then what you’ve done outside the classroom, with any paid job after that.

One page is enough. Youth Central’s sample resumes for students with no paid work fit on a single page, and it says that’s fine when you’re just starting out. Headspace suggests that if your resume only just runs onto a second page, you reformat it back onto one.

Under education, give your school, the certificate you’re working towards (VCE, HSC, QCE, SACE, WACE or another) and your year level. Youth Central says results aren’t needed unless they show you suit the job, but a few achievements are worth a line each: class captain, SRC, awards, school teams.

For the opening statement, Youth Central suggests leaving out “I”: write “Served customers at…” rather than “I served customers at…”. Headspace calls it an objective and says you can move it into your cover letter if the ad asks for one.

Turn school, sport and volunteering into evidence

Experience doesn’t have to be paid. Workforce Australia counts volunteer work. Youth Central lists school work experience, placements and volunteering as things to use when you haven’t had a job, and its YouthNav guide counts informal help such as babysitting or mowing a neighbour’s lawn. Headspace adds helping out in a family business.

The template gives these their own section, set out like jobs: what you did, where, when, and two or three points. Write the points the way you’d describe a shift: what you handled, how often, how many. “Took cash and card payments at the club canteen every home game” proves more than “good communication skills”.

• Work experience placement: the tasks you did, who you helped and anything you were trusted to do alone.
• Volunteering: say how long and how often. A regular commitment shows you turn up.
• Sport and teams: training, captaincy, umpiring or coaching younger players.
• School events: stalls, fundraisers and productions, especially where you handled money, stock or people.
• Informal work: babysitting, pet sitting, mowing, tutoring younger students.

Say when you can work

Casual jobs run on a roster, so a manager’s first question is often whether your hours fit theirs. None of the government guides we read sets a rule on where availability goes. A line under your contact details, such as “Available weekdays after 4 pm, weekends and school holidays”, is a common way to do it. Only list hours you can really work around school, sport and exams.

The Fair Work Ombudsman says the minimum age to start work depends on your state or territory, and lists who to contact in each. Working during school hours usually means you’ve reached the minimum school leaving age or finished the minimum year of schooling, which states also set.

Certificates and checks young people often need

Workforce Australia asks for relevant licences and certificates, with when each one expires. For first jobs, these are the ones that come up most.

• First aid: give the course name and code, such as Provide First Aid (HLTAID011), and the date it’s valid to.
• Food safety: DoFoodSafely is a free online course from Victoria’s Department of Health. Passing its test gives you a certificate of completion. It isn’t an accredited qualification, but it shows a café or takeaway you know the basics of hygiene and allergens.
• Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA): NSW requires it for anyone who sells, serves or supplies alcohol. In Victoria, under-18s can do the course but must wait until 18 to serve, and can only do tasks at a licensed venue that don’t involve supplying alcohol. Check your own state’s rules before you pay for a course.
• Working with Children Check: needed for jobs like swim teaching, coaching or tutoring. In NSW, people under 18 don’t need one. Other states set their own rules, so check before you apply.

Referees when you’ve never had a boss

If you’ve never had a job, Workforce Australia suggests a character reference from a teacher, sports coach, neighbour or community group leader. Youth Central adds your work experience employer, a librarian or principal, and people you’ve volunteered for, and says it’s best not to use friends or family. If you’ve worked in a family business, Workforce Australia suggests finding a referee there who isn’t related to you.

Before you list anyone, ask them, check how they spell their name, and get their job title and the phone number or email they’d like you to use. Job Jumpstart suggests at least two, and Youth Central says two is usual unless the ad asks for a different number. Youth Central also suggests letting your referees know you’re job hunting so a call doesn’t surprise them.

Sources differ on contact details. Workforce Australia says to include them. Youth Central says you can give names and job titles and offer the details when asked. Headspace says to include referees if the ad asks for them. The template includes them, so a manager hiring quickly can call straight away.

Applying: in person, online and the cover letter

The Australian Government’s Job Jumpstart site suggests contacting employers directly even when they aren’t advertising, and asking them to keep your resume in case something comes up. In its employer surveys, 1 in 5 vacancies were filled by word of mouth rather than an ad. If a business only takes online applications, use its form.

Youth Central describes a cover letter as a one-page introduction and says half a page can be enough. Use it for anything specific to that job, so your resume can stay much the same across similar applications.

You may be asked to do a trial shift. The Fair Work Ombudsman says an unpaid trial is only allowed for as long as it takes to show the skills needed, from an hour up to one shift, and you should be told beforehand that it’s unpaid.