Should I include a photo on my Australian CV?

Generally, no. Photos are uncommon in Australian resumes unless you work in industries where appearance is directly relevant, such as modelling or acting.

How many pages should an Australian resume be?

Most Australian resumes should be between 2 and 3 pages depending on experience level. Early-career candidates can often stay within 1 to 2 pages.

Do Australian employers prefer resume or CV?

“Resume” is more commonly used in Australia, especially in corporate and private-sector hiring. “CV” is more common in academia, research, and some government sectors.

What makes a CV ATS-friendly in Australia?

An ATS-friendly CV uses simple formatting, standard headings, clear keywords, and avoids graphics, tables, icons, or complex layouts that software may struggle to read.

Can I use the same CV template for every job application?

You can use the same core structure, but the content should be tailored for each role. Adjust keywords, achievements, and positioning to align with the specific job and employer expectations.

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CV Template Australia: Best Resume Format for Australian Job

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The reverse-chronological format is the most effective for most Australian jobs. Recruiters prefer resumes that clearly show recent experience, career progression, and measurable achievements.

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CV Template Australia: Best Resume Format for Australian Jobs

Use an Australian recruiter-approved CV template that is clean, ATS-friendly, achievement-focused, and tailored to the role. In Australia, most hiring managers spend less than 30 seconds on the first resume scan, so layout, relevance, and positioning matter just as much as experience. The best Australian CV templates prioritise readability, measurable results, and clear alignment with the job ad. Avoid graphic-heavy designs, generic summaries, and long responsibilities lists. Instead, use a modern reverse-chronological structure with targeted achievements, concise formatting, and keywords that match the role. This guide shows exactly what an effective Australian CV template looks like, what recruiters expect in 2026, what gets candidates shortlisted, and the mistakes that quietly destroy applications.

What an Australian CV Template Should Include

An effective Australian CV template is built around how recruiters and hiring managers actually assess candidates.

Most employers in Australia want fast evidence of three things:

•
Relevant experience
•
Capability level
•
Fit for the role and industry

That means your template must make information easy to scan quickly.

A strong Australian CV template typically includes:

•
Contact details
•
Professional summary
•
Core skills
•
Professional experience

Create this Resume Use This Template

Best CV Format for Australia

The reverse-chronological format remains the standard across Australia.

This means your most recent role appears first.

It works because recruiters care most about:

•
Your current capability
•
Your recent achievements
•
Your latest level of responsibility
•
Industry relevance

Functional resumes rarely perform well in the Australian market unless there is a very specific reason, such as complex career transitions.

Hybrid resumes can work for senior professionals, project-based specialists, consultants, or candidates with highly technical backgrounds.

For most job seekers, reverse chronological is still the safest and strongest option.

Create this Resume Use This Template

Australian CV Template Structure Recruiters Prefer

Contact Details

Keep this section simple and professional.

Include:

•
Full name
•
Mobile number
•
Professional email address
•
LinkedIn profile
•
Location (suburb/city only)

Do not include:

•
Date of birth
•
Marital status
•
Photo
•
Nationality unless relevant
•
Full street address

Photos are uncommon in Australian resumes outside specific industries.

Professional Summary

This section is one of the most misunderstood parts of Australian resumes.

Recruiters do not want vague personality statements.

They want immediate positioning.

Your summary should quickly answer:

•
What you do
•
Your level
•
Your industry expertise
•
Your strongest value proposition

Weak Example

“Hardworking professional with strong communication skills seeking new opportunities.”

This says almost nothing.

Good Example

“Project Coordinator with 6+ years’ experience delivering commercial construction projects across Sydney valued up to $18M. Strong background in stakeholder management, scheduling, contractor coordination, and budget tracking within Tier 2 environments.”

This instantly establishes relevance and capability.

Core Skills Section

Australian recruiters often scan the skills section before reading experience.

This section helps both ATS systems and human reviewers.

Include:

•
Technical skills
•
Industry tools
•
Methodologies
•
Relevant soft skills only when meaningful

Avoid generic filler like:

•
Team player
•
Hard worker
•
Fast learner

Instead, use skills tied to hiring outcomes.

Good Skills Example

•
Stakeholder engagement
•
Financial reporting
•
Salesforce CRM
•
WHS compliance
•
Contract negotiation
•
Tender preparation
•
Agile project delivery
•
Workforce planning

Professional Experience Template

This is the most important section of the resume.

Most candidates fail here because they write task lists instead of evidence.

Recruiters want outcomes, not job descriptions.

Each role should include:

•
Job title
•
Company name
•
Location
•
Employment dates
•
Short context statement if needed
•
Achievement-focused bullet points

Australian CV Template Example

Sarah Mitchell

Sydney, NSW

0412 000 000

sarah.mitchell@email.com

linkedin.com/in/sarahmitchell

Professional Summary

Results-driven Marketing Manager with 8+ years’ experience leading digital campaigns across retail and eCommerce sectors in Australia. Strong track record increasing online revenue growth, improving customer acquisition performance, and managing multi-channel campaign strategy across national brands.

Core Skills

•
Digital marketing strategy
•
Google Ads
•
SEO and SEM
•
Campaign analytics
•
Stakeholder management
•
Budget management
•
CRM marketing
•
Team leadership

Professional Experience

Marketing Manager

Bright Retail Group

Sydney, NSW

January 2021 – Present

•
Increased online sales revenue by 37% within 12 months through integrated digital campaign strategy
•
Reduced customer acquisition costs by 24% through improved targeting and campaign optimisation
•
Managed annual marketing budget exceeding $1.2M across paid media, email, and SEO campaigns
•
Led a team of five marketing specialists across content, CRM, and performance marketing

Digital Marketing Specialist

Urban Commerce Co

Melbourne, VIC

June 2018 – December 2020

•
Delivered SEO strategy that increased organic traffic by 68% year-on-year
•
Improved email marketing conversion rates by 31% through audience segmentation initiatives
•
Managed paid social campaigns across Meta and LinkedIn platforms with ROAS consistently above target

Education

Bachelor of Marketing

University of Technology Sydney

What Australian Recruiters Actually Look For

Most candidates assume recruiters carefully read every line.

They do not.

Initial resume screening is usually pattern recognition.

Recruiters look for signals such as:

•
Relevant industry background
•
Stable career progression
•
Matching keywords
•
Seniority alignment
•
Achievement evidence
•
Communication quality
•
Commercial impact

They also look for risk.

Common risk signals include:

•
Unexplained employment gaps
•
Overly generic resumes
•
Poor formatting
•
No measurable achievements
•
Job hopping without context
•
Confusing career direction

Your template should reduce friction during screening.

ATS-Friendly CV Template Rules

Many Australian employers use Applicant Tracking Systems.

ATS software scans resumes for relevance before recruiters even review them.

An ATS-friendly CV template should:

•
Use standard headings
•
Avoid tables and graphics
•
Use readable fonts
•
Keep formatting simple
•
Include keywords naturally
•
Use Word or PDF format unless instructed otherwise

Do not use:

•
Icons
•
Text boxes
•
Complex columns
•
Skill bars
•
Graphic ratings

These often break ATS parsing.

Best Resume Fonts and Formatting for Australia

Formatting directly affects readability and recruiter engagement.

Best practice includes:

•
Font size between 10 and 12
•
Clear spacing
•
Consistent formatting
•
Professional fonts like Calibri, Arial, or Aptos
•
Margins that avoid overcrowding

Your resume should feel easy to scan.

Dense walls of text reduce interview conversion rates significantly.

How Long Should an Australian CV Be?

There is no universal rule, but practical expectations matter.

General guideline:

•
Early career: 1 to 2 pages
•
Mid-level professionals: 2 to 3 pages
•
Senior executives: 3 to 4 pages if justified

Australian recruiters generally prefer concise resumes.

Long resumes only work when every section adds value.

Tailoring Your CV Template for Australian Jobs

One of the biggest mistakes candidates make is using the same resume everywhere.

Australian hiring managers expect tailoring.

This does not mean rewriting the entire document every time.

It means adjusting:

•
Professional summary
•
Core skills
•
Keywords
•
Achievement emphasis
•
Industry language

For example, a resume for a government role may prioritise:

•
Compliance
•
Stakeholder management
•
Governance
•
Policy alignment

A private-sector resume may prioritise:

•
Revenue impact
•
Commercial outcomes
•
Efficiency improvements
•
Growth metrics

Same candidate. Different positioning.

Common CV Template Mistakes That Hurt Applications

Generic Professional Summaries

This instantly weakens positioning.

Recruiters see thousands of resumes with vague claims.

Specificity wins.

Responsibilities Instead of Achievements

Hiring managers already know what your role generally involves.

They care about:

•
Performance
•
Results
•
Scale
•
Impact

Poor Formatting

Messy layouts reduce credibility.

Your resume represents your communication skills.

Keyword Stuffing

ATS optimisation should still sound human.

Overloading keywords damages readability.

Overdesigned Templates

Highly graphic templates often perform worse in real hiring environments.

Clean and professional almost always wins in Australia.

Should You Use a Free CV Template?

Free templates can work if the structure is strong.

The problem is not whether the template is free.

The problem is whether it supports recruiter decision-making.

Many free templates fail because they prioritise design over hiring outcomes.

A good template should:

•
Support ATS readability
•
Highlight achievements clearly
•
Make scanning easier
•
Create strong positioning fast

The best-performing resumes are usually simpler than candidates expect.

Australian Resume vs CV: Is There a Difference?

In Australia, “resume” is the more common term across most industries.

“CV” is still used in:

•
Academia
•
Research
•
Medicine
•
Government sectors in some cases

For most corporate and private-sector roles, resume is the preferred terminology.

However, many Australians still search “CV template Australia”, which is why both terms naturally appear across hiring discussions.

What Hiring Managers Notice First

Hiring managers often review resumes differently from recruiters.

Recruiters screen for fit.

Hiring managers screen for capability and business value.

The first things they usually notice are:

•
Job titles
•
Employer relevance
•
Career progression
•
Commercial achievements
•
Leadership scope
•
Industry alignment

This is why strategic positioning matters more than fancy design.

A clean resume with strong evidence consistently outperforms visually impressive resumes with weak content.

Advanced Resume Positioning Strategy

Strong candidates do not just describe experience.

They position themselves strategically.

That means aligning resume content with:

•
The employer’s likely pain points
•
Team requirements
•
Seniority expectations
•
Commercial priorities

For example:

A finance manager applying to a scaling company should emphasise:

•
Process improvement
•
Forecasting
•
Commercial partnering
•
Growth support

The same finance manager applying to a mature enterprise environment may need to emphasise:

•
Governance
•
Compliance
•
Audit readiness
•
Risk management

Resume strategy changes based on hiring context.

This is where most candidates lose competitiveness.

Best File Type for Australian Resume Submissions

Unless instructed otherwise:

•
PDF is usually safest for formatting consistency
•
Word documents may be preferred when ATS parsing is important

Always follow the application instructions exactly.

Failing to follow submission instructions can immediately reduce shortlist chances.

Final Recruiter Advice on Australian CV Templates

The highest-performing resumes in Australia are usually:

•
Clear
•
Focused
•
Achievement-driven
•
Tailored
•
Commercially relevant
•
Easy to scan

The goal of a CV template is not to look impressive.

The goal is to get interviews.

That requires strategic positioning, recruiter readability, ATS compatibility, and evidence of impact.

A clean, recruiter-focused resume consistently outperforms complicated templates that prioritise visuals over substance.

CV Template Australia: Best Resume Format for Australian Job

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ATS-Friendly Resume Templates

Build Your Resume in 2 Minutes

FAQ

What is the best CV template format for Australia?

Should I include a photo on my Australian CV?

How many pages should an Australian resume be?

Do Australian employers prefer resume or CV?

What makes a CV ATS-friendly in Australia?

Can I use the same CV template for every job application?

Build Your Resume in2 Minutes

CV Template Australia: Best Resume Format for Australian Jobs

What an Australian CV Template Should Include

Best CV Format for Australia

Read more similar articles

Australian CV Template Structure Recruiters Prefer

Contact Details

Professional Summary

Weak Example

Good Example

Core Skills Section

Good Skills Example

Professional Experience Template

Australian CV Template Example

Professional Summary

Core Skills

Professional Experience

Education

What Australian Recruiters Actually Look For

ATS-Friendly CV Template Rules

Best Resume Fonts and Formatting for Australia

How Long Should an Australian CV Be?

Tailoring Your CV Template for Australian Jobs

Common CV Template Mistakes That Hurt Applications

Generic Professional Summaries

Responsibilities Instead of Achievements

Poor Formatting

Keyword Stuffing

Overdesigned Templates

Should You Use a Free CV Template?

Australian Resume vs CV: Is There a Difference?

What Hiring Managers Notice First

Advanced Resume Positioning Strategy

Best File Type for Australian Resume Submissions

Final Recruiter Advice on Australian CV Templates

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