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Advice

Writing an awesome resume

Getting on the road to employment can be really tough, so we’ve asked the experts what they think makes the big difference. The third part of our series shares some helpful hints to write an awesome resume from Ernst & Young. 

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Learning about resume writing and practicing new skills at Ernst & Young, July 2016

Resume writing… at some point we’ve all got to do it. And we’ve got to keep on doing it throughout our careers, adapting it to new opportunities, including new experiences, shaping it so it lands you that dream job. The thing is, what makes an awesome resume? There’s lots of confusing and often conflicting advice out there coming from a wide range of sources. Ultimately, it really depends on what industry you’re aiming for; a graphic designer’s resume is going to look pretty different from an accountant’s. Or at least, we hope it would!

We’ve teamed up with our partners at Ernst & Young, who hosted a fantastic session on resume writing as part of our recent 3-day residential University Pathways Program for Year 10 students, to give you some top tips and helpful hints to make your resume an awesome one.

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What’s HOT

Bearing in mind that many are at the very beginning of their road to employment, the Ernst & Young (EY) crew were keen to emphasize the importance of  having a diversity of skills and experiences in order to impress the top dogs. Showcasing your volunteering or part time work alongside your studies is a really good way of demonstrating what transferable skills you can offer to a future employer.

They dropped these pearls of essential wisdom in order to create a bang tidy resume:-

      • What to include – personal info, work experience, career goals, extra-curricular volunteering, student societies, sports – employers love to see a diversity of of experiences. Just make sure they’re relevant – playing PokemonGo! probably isn’t the best thing to put on there!

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    • Do your homework – read up on the company’s values, ideas and work so that you can mirror language, skills and ideas in your resume and prove to them that you are proactive and suitable for the role.
    • Match your resume – fit your resume to the job description, comparing and linking to your own personal experiences. If you want to earn extra brownie points, make sure you develop any skills where there are gaps – it’ll look super impressive and give you something to talk about in an interview.
    • Proofread answers – check for any typos or bad grammar; creating a good first impression is very important and many people get let down by a lack of attention to detail like this.
    • Be clear, concise and honest – don’t over-complicate things, apply the KISS principle (KeepItSimpleStupid) at all times and don’t get caught out later down the line or in an interview by embellishing too much!
    • Update regularly – make sure you update your resume after every new experience or project whilst it’s fresh in your mind – this will save you time later down the line and ensures you have an accurate record of your experience to date.
    • Active words – start each dot point with an active word like “created” or “implemented” – it sounds more dynamic.

What’s NOT

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However they were NOT so hot on a few things:-

  • Coloured fonts – deemed unprofessional and distracting. Bear in mind that this is just Ernst & Young and this is not definitive. If you’re in a more creative field, then coloured fonts and graphic design features might be just the thing to demonstrate your creative flair. But for many of you who are applying for jobs in traditional areas, then listening to the wise words of Ernst & Young is probably a winner.
  • Photos – again, this often a case of personal preference but Ernst & Young definitely weren’t keen on seeing your latest selfie!
  • Dates of birth – removing your age from a resume is a good idea as it also removes any conscious or unconcious bias associated with your age, level of expertise and thus suitability for the role.
  • Spelling errors / long sentences – a big no no for all the obvious reasons. Resumes need to be clear, concise and easy to read for the recruiter. Spelling areas shout sloppy and long sentences are complicated to read.

Thanks to Ernst & Young for hosting the interview session for our University Pathways Program. 

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How to ace your first interview

Getting on the road to employment can be really tough, so we’ve asked the experts what they think makes the big difference. The second part of our series shares some wise words and interview advice from Ernst & Young to help you ace your first interview. 

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Interview advice from Ernst & Young

As part of the University Pathways Program we visited Big 4 firm EY (Ernst & Young) with a bunch of Year 10 students who are just sussing out how to navigate the confusing maze of life to get on the road to university and meaningful employment. To kick things in this two part session, we were taken to Level 23 with panoramic views of the city symbolically setting off the scene.

UPP participants at Level 23, EY, Melbourne CBD

UPP participants at Level 23, EY, Melbourne CBD

The first session was all about interview skills and how to sharpen up your tool kit in preparation for any future interviews, be they for a part time job, a university position or that first grad role on the far horizon.

According to our pals at EY there are two types of interview most commonly used to select awesome new candidates for roles in a company; they are discussion based and behavioural based interviews. We’ll give you a run down of each along with some hot tips on how to ace your first interview.

Discussion based interviews

Discussion based interviews centre around talking about you and include questions around your resume, work experience, goals and motivations. An example question might be something like “so tell me more about your weekend role at Coles?” or “you say you are motivated by personal development opportunities, why is this?”

This means you will have to brush up on your personal story, experience, career goals and be ready to talk about them and answer any interrogative questions about anything you’ve included on your resume.

Some hot tips for acing a discussion based interview are:-

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  • Know your resume: this one’s pretty simple, but very crucial. Familiarise yourself with what you’ve included, why you’ve included it and be able to talk confidently and competently about it.  Remember it’s all about telling your personal story.
  • Link your skills to the position description: make sure you are the ideal candidate for the role by mirroring language, skills and key words from the position description and talk about these in the interview.
  • Answer questions completely: make sure your replies are comprehensive and cover all aspects of the question.
  • Sell yourself: this is your moment to shine and to show off all that is wonderful and amazing about your personal and professional skills in order to persuade the interviewer to hire you. Talk up your experiences and ideas. Be your own cheerleader.
  • Know what you want: set clear objectives about what you want from the role and why you are applying. You will be asked about this!
  • Silence is OK! this is self-explanatory but honestly, don’t feel the need to fill every gap with words. A well thought out answer is always better than a hurried one. If you need time to think just say “please could I have a moment to think”.
Group work during UPP session, July 2016

Group work during UPP session, July 2016

Behavioural based interviews

Behavioural based interviews use past experiences to predict future behaviour.  The interviewer will ask you to talk about your experiences, share an anecdote where you have demonstrated certain skills skills or ask how you have reacted to a particular situation. An example question might be something like “can you tell us about a time when you demonstrated great leadership skills?” or “how would you respond to a difficult and uncooperative team member?”

This means you will have to think of some good examples of where, when and how you demonstrated key skills before the interview – these may come from professional situations, school, part time work or volunteering opportunities.

Some hot tips for acing a behavioural based interview:

        • Find a relevant example of skills used to obtain an outcome: go through your resume and pick out your key skills, then think about some examples or situations you were in where you really demonstrated them to other people.
        • Use a variety of examples to draw from: be sure to have a range of situations up your sleeve; talking about that one time at your part time job which demonstrated teamwork, negotiating, using initiative and everything else under the sun, will not show the diversity of your experience!
        • Give detail  but keep it concise: there’s a balance between setting the scene and going into painful detail. Practice with someone else in order to get the balance right.
        • Use STAR technique: this is a great way of getting all the details in. STAR stands for Situation you were in Tasks required Action taken in response to situation Result of the action taken)

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Thanks to Ernst & Young for hosting the interview session for our University Pathways Program. 

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How to be a personal branding machine

Getting on the road to employment can be really tough, so we’ve asked the experts what they think makes the big difference. The first part of our series is about personal branding. 

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What is personal branding?

Does it matter? How do I use it to my advantage? These are all questions that might come up for you. James Freemantle from Red Gum Communications has the answers! He recently shared his ideas, approaches and top tips in an engaging and dynamic workshop at NAB Village with a group of curious Year 10 UPP students.

So, let’s think about branding. The definition of a brand is the promise of providing a consistent experience to a consumer. Personal branding isn’t too dissimilar. James explains personal branding as the alignment of the way you present yourself with the way others experience you. There are three ways of communicating: visually, verbally and vocally. All are equally important in terms of defining an interaction, a relationship and in defining individuals. To demonstrate this, the students participated in an activity where they had to deliver a word with an action and correct voice tone in order to deliver the word with impact and sincerity.

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James Freemantle, Red Gum Communications presentation; align your visual, vocal and verbal messages.

Does it matter?

In one word: YES! The choices we make with our body, face and voice have a big impact on those around us. How do you cause other people to feel when they meet you? How do they remember you? How can you take control of the impression people have of you? How do you WANT to be experienced?

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How can I use it to my advantage?

When you’re meeting someone for the first time, think about your habits of communication that create an impression of who you are, make someone remember you or to take action as a result of interacting with you. Think about what you can do to make this a better experience. In addition to this, think about your default response to a particular situation.  Pretty confronting hey? But really useful in order to hone your personal brand and create a good impression. Other tips that James was keen to highlight to the students for maximum effect were body language, breath and voice as these are all things that influence outcomes.

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UPP participants, team leaders and staff at NAB Village with James Freemantle, July 2016

Action & feeling goals

We’re about to get serious and talk about goal setting but this is important. We’re going to think about action goals and feeling goals. So first things first, let’s get things clear: an action goal is something you want to achieve in the short term. A feeling goal is the emotional context of the action goal or how you will feel when your action goal has been reached.

Imagine if you were going for a job interview – your action goal might be to create a positive, memorable impression and your feeling goal would then be feeling connected to the interviewer and having your comments affirmed with body language.

Have a think about how YOU can put all these ideas into practice and refine your own personal branding and use it to achieve greatness and success.

James Freemantle works for Red Gum Communications and is a personal branding expert.

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Five reasons we should all give volunteering a crack

Hey, hello, what’s up? My name is Nayuka and I have a confession, I am a volunteering addict.

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I have loved volunteering for as long as I can remember. I got my first taste when I was 9. My Mum volunteered at our local nursing home and I would go along and play bingo, instead of getting money though, we would get chocolates (that might not sound like much but if you are pushing 70 and have diabetes, chocolate is a huge deal.)

I’m 25 and although the kind of volunteering I do now is very different, I still get the same kick out of it. Just in case you needed an excuse to give back a little, I’ve got five for ya!

It makes you feel good

Yes, we should all be altruistic saints and do it for the love of humanity but there’s something in it for you. I’m not talking warm and fuzzies (although there definitely is that) but legit science tells us it is good for our health. This article by our mates at Pro Bono piqued my interest.

You meet other legends

I made one of my best friends while I was volunteering. Because we met volunteering, we already knew we had at least important thing in common. Since then we’ve run workshops together, shared victories and commiserations, sat on panels together and a whole bunch of other random things that you normally don’t get to do with your best mate.

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Shout out to my bff Millie Telford. Here’s us looking super cute before speaking at a panel together.

Skillz

I did a volunteer internship in my first year at uni. I was bright, fresh and full of first year enthusiasm. Through this internship I picked up really valuable campaigning skills that I have been able to apply to my professional life such as personal narrative and communication.

Opportunities

I get to work with young Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people for a living. As a young Aboriginal woman myself, this is a dream gig for me. I got my foot in the door through volunteering.

After spending a few years on the volunteer youth scene, I was approached by someone and was asked if I would volunteer at a camp with 50 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people. After falling in love with the feeling of seeing young people transform in front of me, I hounded the organisation until they gave me the job, Since then, I have sat on a board, attended UN climate change negotiations and a whole bunch of other rad stuff all because of volunteering.

It makes the world better

According to Volunteering Australia, in 2010 volunteers contributed $25.4 billion to the Australian economy. This is huge but I’m more interested in the other contributions volunteers make.

Volunteers fight fires, brighten up kids days at hospitals, campaign for positive change, challenge systems, re-vegetate degraded land, create publications, teach and so much more. They literally make the world go round and here at Doxa, we are thankful for the important work volunteers do everyday!

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NYW 2016: Shelley Fenech’s advice for juggling university life

Advice and guidance for juggling university life from Shelley Fenech

The third in our National Youth Week 2016 blog series, where young people in our programs provide an insight into some of their amazing experiences.

Before you decide whether to read on – I must tell you that what I am about to say may save your sanity.

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University can be as busy or laidback as you want. But for when times get tough there’s some things you can do to help reduce your stress levels.

About Me

My name is Shelley Fenech, and I’m a third year university student. If you’re about to start university, or even if you already have, then the mistakes I have made along my academic journey will not be in vain because I can briefly share with you my story.

I have always liked being a busy person. However in 2015, for my second year of university, life became beyond hectic. To make things simple, here’s a list of what I was doing:

  • Full time university
  • Volunteering at the SES (where I took on an admin role as well as being an ordinary member)
  • 8 weeks of work experience ay my sponsor company through my cadetship with Doxa
  • Working at my casual job

I even successfully applied for an internship which meant on my mid-year holiday I was working 7 days a week. Madness! I had no time for myself, and this eventually led me into a dark period of depression. I no longer enjoyed the things I used to, and hardly cared about anything I did anymore.

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Becoming too busy can be detrimental to your health.

It was a really tough time for me, and it’s taken a lot of work to get me back to where I am now. That’s enough sadness for one piece! So, to ensure that you don’t endure what I did I’ve created a guide to keep your life well-balanced and happy. If you adopt even one or two things into your weekly rhythm it will do wonders.

Listen to the Home Slow Podcast

Brooke McAlary created and hosts the show, which is an amazing listen. She teaches you how to declutter and slow down your life. Listening to these episodes gave me the strength to take leave from my SES unit while I’m at uni.

Practice Mindfulness and/or Meditation

I cannot stress how important this is. Being self-aware is incredibly beneficial to your health, both mentally AND physically! Practicing mindfulness actually physically reshapes your brain for the better. There are loads of other benefits that I can’t fit here, so check out headspace.com/science. There are many apps that you can find to practice mindfulness, but I use the Smiling Mind.

Take up a hobby!

This could be anything like the trendy new adult colouring in books, or something as simple as knitting. Find something that you can do that takes your mind off your worries. The great thing about a lot of hobbies is you can do it while watching lectures! I like to take photos of sunsets and edit them – which led me to accidentally capture this awesome lightening photo!

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Captured in my town whilst on a jog

Read ‘How To Stay Sane’ by Philippa Perry

She’s an amazing psychoanalyst who has taught me to question my motives. Am I doing something to impress others or because it makes me happy? An amazing read that’s pretty short.

Go on a holiday!

I don’t think there’ll be many complaints here! Holidays are a great way to reboot.

Become physically healthy

Look, I know, exercise. It’s not for everyone. I have purposely not titled this recommendation as ‘Exercise’ because you don’t have to break a huge sweat to help your body feel better. Try yoga, or going for walks with friends or family. Foam rolling is also an amazing way to increase your flexibility and recover from exercise. And if you do it for long enough it feels like a great massage! You can pick up a foam roller for a cheap price at stores like Kmart or Big W.

Don’t cut off from family & friends

I don’t mean to say that you’ll cut off the people you love on purpose. It’s just something that can happen when you’re busy. Make sure to schedule in some time for the people who care about you. Phone call, quick coffee or skype call – whatever you can manage!

Keep track

You can do this through a diary or some kind of time management app. However, rather than just scheduling in work, assignments and other mundane things here’s a couple of things to also keep track of. To decrease negative self talk, write a positive thing about yourself for every negative thought you have. At the end of some days, write down something that happened that day. It can be interesting and fun to look back at the small things you forgot happened.
Those are just some of the things that can help you to maintain a lifestyle that isn’t detrimental to your health. I wish you the best of luck in everything that you do, and hope that you will undertake some of the recommendations that have helped me!

Go forth and be happy,
Shelley.

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NYW 2016: Olivia Walker’s Top 10 Tips For Exchange

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Olivia Walker gives her top tips for an overseas exchange

The second in our National Youth Week 2016 blog series, where young people in our programs provide an insight into some of their amazing experiences.

The prospect of heading to a foreign country to undertake university studies is pretty daunting. Although the term visa may have you shying away from the idea, heading overseas on exchange is both a great way to build up your interpersonal skills and allow you to experience culture thus making you a more-well rounded person. Think exchange is something you might be interested in? Here are my top 10 tips to consider:

1. Destination

The biggest and most challenging thing people have trouble with is deciding where they want to go. Therefore, my number one tip is to thoroughly research the places you would like to travel to. In light of recent events, some areas are deemed unsafe to travel and having an understanding of these places is crucial. Also, think about what degree you are studying and what you plan on doing in the future. There may be certain destinations that seem on par with the future you. However, I always recommend choosing destinations that appeal to you as well as your career. Then hop on the Google machine and explore, if you can picture yourself there, then that’s the go.

2. Cultural Awareness

I cannot stress enough the importance of knowing before going! Firstly, it is super important to check if there are any vaccinations that are required entering that country. This brings me to my next point, ensure you have a good understanding of the medical system and health insurance policy as well as knowing the emergency contact number for your host country. Dialing 000 will do you no good in Costa Rica. Secondly, brush up on basic laws so that you don’t go around committing offences because, lets face it, being fined for chewing gum in Singapore is probably not the best way to start off a trip. In terms of cultural norms, doing your research and perhaps investing in a Lonely Planet travel guide for your host country will be the best way to go about. It is also important to consider behavior when overseas as certain hand gestures may be misinterpreted and could be offensive. Weather is another factor to consider. Down under we can get a variety do seasons in one day, but this tends to be a Melbourne special and therefore you should be thoroughly aware of what season you will be entering into and pack accordingly. If you are heading during winter it may be necessary for you to purchase snow boots, thermal gear, gloves, scarves and feather down goods to keep you warm. In warmer weather, comfortable clothing and plenty of sunscreen take precedent.

3. Language

Some people think that not speaking the language of the country you are entering is the be all and the end all. Wrong! Reading this blog means you are already gifted with the English language and pretty much anywhere in the world you will find the locals will have an English counter part. English is the worlds most spoken language and so getting around won’t be a big issue because after all. However, it may be handy to take up a language class before you jet set, that way you will feel more comfortable communicating and you will be able to add the talent of speaking another language, even if very minimal, onto the resume. Added bonus! For those of you who can only speak the native mother tongue there are many international universities that offer English courses. You will have the benefit of submerging yourself into another culture, without the struggles of leaning how to read, write and speak in another language. Sometimes your host university will have a language course you can take during o-week so that you understand the basics. For those that can speak another language why not boost your skills further and test your abilities by taking up a semester in that country. You will become even more fluent and more culturally diverse.

4. Safety

It may seem a bit controversial but when a lovely old lady at an international airport asks you to carry her bags think twice. When travelling anywhere it doesn’t harm to take extra precautions. Little things like where to hide money and securing a passport are just small considerations that can eliminate fraud and spending unnecessary money. Investing in things like Pacsafe gear with RFID technology that protects your cards and passports will set your mind at ease. There are also secure sock pouches where money can be stashed on your person to prevent theft. Also, taking out proper insurance for the duration or your stay is important. Make sure you take a thorough look at the policy and ask questions when you meet your flight agent. Lost luggage is very common so ensuing you are covered in an event where your luggage is lost is crucial. Another optional addition, just to be extra safe, is to carry an emergency contact card around with. This will be super important if injury was to occur to you. It is also important to keep a copy of the contact number and address of the closest embassy, this way if you encounter any problems along the way you can ring them immediately. This will be both comforting and super useful in times of need.

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5. Budget

Ok so we understand that heading to Milan on exchange is a bit of a fairy tail unless we have some support. Financial support that is! If you are anything like me having one scoop of gelati whilst in the middle of Rome isn’t quite going to cut it and so budgeting is very important. Depending on whether you undertake the exchange program through your university or not, the university may allocate certain amount of funds to go towards your trip. Where this isn’t the case and for extras like accommodation and basic living it’s important to start saving immediately. No one can be exactly certain on how much you would need but generally speaking allow up to 200 AUD a week. So for a basic semester exchange that works out to be at least $2,400. But don’t stress, by putting away $150 a week for 6 months you will be able to save over $3,500. Not bad after all!

6. Destination

Now, to live on the more lavish side of things always be on the look out for scholarships! Most university’s will have scholarships specifically for exchange but also look into any other scholarships that may apply. Broaden the network a bit and have a look at the local government and commonwealth government websites too. As Australia is very multicultural and like to promote international affairs, you may be able to receive special funding for your destination. The world is your oyster and with a scholarship under your belt, all the oysters will be yours.

7. Paperwork

Heading on exchange is very exciting and will provide you with the ultimate trip of a lifetime but this all comes with lots and lots of preparation. Most exchanges are semester durations and depending on which country you end up in this can be as long as 6 months. This means you will need to apply for a visa in order to stay over there. Visa applications can be made via the consulate or embassy of that country. Alternatively, you can head online to the country’s government website and lodge the application online with all the required documents and then send it straight to the countries representatives in Australia. Visas can be a little costly and take a fair bit of work so make sure to get started on this early. Passport applications can also take a few months and it is important to consider this when applying. There are also applications that will need to be made to the host university which will take time. Always start as soon as you possibly can to minimise the risk of planning a trip without having the physical passport.

8. Technicalities

It goes without saying that exchange will be a little slice of heaven and during your time away you will need to establish a home away from home. This includes pretty much everything you use in Australia being reformed in your new home country. Things including phone plans, bank accounts, internet and housing all need to be arranged. Most phone carriers here will charge large fees for roaming whilst overseas and thus it is must more cost effective to open up a new plan with an overseas supplier. We are all going to need some dollar whilst overseas and taking into consideration the exchange rate and withdrawal fees it might be worthwhile looking at opening up a bank account with a bank in your host country. Generally you will be able to find a branch in Melbourne where you discuss opening up an account prior to leaving. Accommodation can sometimes be arranged by the host university however in instances where it is not, look at university dormitories and student villages near by. Locking in a spot is a lot of back and forth communication and starting on this early is paramount.

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9. Seeing the world

While it may seem like you are living the high life whilst overseas in the back of your mind you have to remind yourselves that this is still a semester at university. That means there are still lectures, tutorials, assignments and exams to be completed. So while it would seem ideal to travel every movement you are on exchange practically speaking this may not always work. I would consider planning a trip before (or after) your semester begins. This will allow you to have the best fun away, gain a bit of cultural insight and grasp an idea as to what it is like living in your host country. Plan some time to get to known the area you will be living in and the university too. Once you have had your culture injection you will then be able to start uni all refreshed and ready to go. Bear in mind that there are semester breaks and long weekends so when you are ahead with your homework (or lets face it, just up to date) that you can jump on a bus and become a tourist!

10. Life on your own

This both the exciting part and the nerve racking part. Planning exchange is an independent task and rarely people head on exchange with their friends. But this doesn’t particularity mean you will be sitting alone in your dormitory on Saturday nights, in fact it probably means the opposite! There are great clubs and international communities to get involved in. You will meet so many new people and chances are, there will be others in the exact same situation as you. If you travel before hand you may even make friends that you can meet with during your time overseas. Not to mention with Facebook and Skye you will be able to stay connected to everyone who remains down under. You can make new friends and still keep in touch with your old friends, so its really a win win situation.

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