Northern Victoria - Albury, Shepparton, Bendigo, Wangaratta, Benalla, Cobram and Yarrawonga

Mark Ryan	Mobile: 0429 580 035 Phone: 03 5483 7425	Email:
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What you need to know about résumés, key selection criteria (KSC) and cover letters

In these documents:

•  the résumé/CV focus is YOU
•  the selection criteria responses’ focus is the POSITION
•  the cover letter focus is the EMPLOYER.

The best applicants get interviewed; not necessarily the best candidates.

 

Résumé/CV

Its sole purpose is to sell YOU strongly enough to secure an interview. To do that, it must make an impression, be attractive, relevant and concise. It’s your story, well told. Although CVs for some positions require more detail than a résumé, both must describe your skills, your achievements, and all your positive qualities that can benefit a prospective employer; as relevant to a particular position.
All résumés necessarily must be different. The focus—and therefore structure and content—must be different for school leavers, unemployed, university graduates, early career, mid career, mature career, career break and changing career.
A résumé/CV responding to an advertised position should be tailored specifically to that position and not contain information that is irrelevant to that position. If there is no advertised position it must be tailored to a typical desired position.
Australian and New Zealand research found that recruiters most appreciated in résumés/CVs:

relevant experience

relevant qualifications

format

This research also found that recruiters are put off by spelling, punctuation and grammatical mistakes because they indicate that you are careless, lack attention to detail and weren’t prepared to make the effort to ‘get it right’.

 

Responses to selection criteria

Position ‘selection criteria’ are requirements of public sector and many private sector organisations to which an applicant must respond to be considered for a position. Each response is ‘scored’ by the employer so that every part of each criterion must be thoroughly answered using relevant factual support; that is examples of situations when you demonstrated that you can satisfy each criterion. Responses should be addressed in a document separate from your résumé and less detailed criteria that appear in advertisements should be treated in the same way; either in a separate document or in the cover letter.

 

Cover letter

Research indicates that a cover letter should always accompany a résumé unless specifically advised otherwise. It’s the first part of your application that an employer sees so you can:

•  say why you want that position with that company and how you ‘fit’
•  summarise your suitability
•  comment about relevant issues not directly covered by the selection criteria
•  attract attention and stand out from applicants who don’t provide one.

Let me help you with your:

•  Résumé: well written and attractively formatted to sell who you are and what you can offer an employer. Not just skills but who you are and your personal qualities
•  Cover letter that specifically hits your desired target and ensures you stand out from the crowd
•  Responses to Government Selection Criteria that answer the critical questions

Give it your best shot; call or email me and I'll call back at my expense for an obligation-free chat about your needs and how I can help.

 

How I can help you

If you really want that position, it makes sense to invest in marketing yourself as strongly as possible. Successful Résumés has specialised in marketing people into interviews for nearly 17 years. We know how to write documents that will maximise your chances of being selected. It all starts with us getting to know you and talking to you about where you have been, where you are now, where you want to go and, very importantly, who you are. I can interview you by phone, via Skype or in face-to-face: whatever suits you. If in person, I shall arrange a venue as close to your place of work or home as possible.

Me

 

Before joining the Successful Résumés Australia group I was a lawyer and practice partner. This has been invaluable in honing my interviewing skills and in strategically documenting scenarios and responses. For the past five years I have worked as a business writer in Northern Victoria.
Establishing Successful Resumes Northern Victoria & Albury has provided wonderful synergy to my continuing business writing practice. My local knowledge and love for the region enables me to provide an especially knowledgeable service to my clients whether they are setting out in their employment career, changing direction or moving upwards.

 

Mark Ryan
LLB, Dip Professional Writing

Telephone: 0429 580 035
or 03 5483 7425

 

 

 

 

Business writing that works

If writing documents is not ‘your thing’, then read on.

‘Document’ covers any written words for business or personal purposes. For any document to effectively serve its purpose—providing information or direction—it must:

•   be organized and sensibly structured
•   feature correct spelling, punctuation and grammar
•   use plain English
•   feature readable formatting

As well as writing and preparing documents I also interview to discuss their content and your requirements. If business documents whose purpose is to influence and achieve positive results are written professionally they provide a competitive edge because they are easier to read, make sense, state your position clearly and demonstrate that you care.
I can do these things because I have twenty-four years legal practice experience interviewing clients to gather relevant information to prepare affidavits (sworn court statements) that required supporting facts, letters and agreements. I also have completed a Diploma of Professional Writing from the Australian College of Journalism. Examples of documents that I write are:

•  letters: say what’s intended and presented professionally to promote your business
•  policies and procedures: formalise ‘what’, ‘how’ and ‘who’ in your business operations; provide clarity and certainty
•  job descriptions and Fair Work Act workplace agreements: spell out your employees’ duties, rights and obligations
•  health and safety documents: formalise compliance with OH&S legal obligations
•  tenders, expressions of interest: put the case clearly with structure, substance and logic
•  government grant applications: supported by the Australian Business Centre Guide
•  reports: provide efficiency, clarity, understanding, acceptance and action.
•  business plans: clarify your business strategy for investors, potential partners or lenders
•  marketing information: delivers your message effectively in the fewest possible words.

Ring me for an obligation-free chat about how I can do your business writing for you. We can contact by phone, on Skype or in person; whatever suits you. For over twenty years I was a practising lawyer, a partner of a legal practice and director of a finance lending company. My experience interviewing and strategically documenting responses was ideal for business writing. For the past five years I have worked in freelance business writing.