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Create ResumeA strong student resume in Australia should show three things quickly: what you are studying, what work or volunteer experience you have, and why you are ready to be trusted in an entry level role. You do not need years of experience to write a good resume. You need evidence of reliability, communication, learning ability, customer awareness, teamwork, and common sense.
When I review student resumes, I am not expecting a corporate career history. I am looking for signs that you can turn up, follow instructions, deal with people respectfully, learn quickly, and represent the employer well. That is the real purpose of a student resume. It should be simple, relevant, easy to scan, and honest.
A good student resume is not about making yourself sound more experienced than you are. That is where many students go wrong. They try to sound like senior professionals, then the resume feels forced, vague, and slightly dramatic. No hiring manager believes a Year 12 student has “driven operational transformation across customer facing environments”. Please do not do that to yourself.
A good Australian student resume should be clear enough that a recruiter or hiring manager can understand your fit in 20 to 30 seconds. That means your resume needs to show:
Your current education
Your availability if relevant
Any paid work, volunteer work, school leadership, placements, internships, or extracurricular experience
Skills that match the type of job you want
Evidence that you are reliable, teachable, and work ready
A clean structure that works for applicant tracking systems and human readers
For students, the best resume format is usually a simple reverse chronological resume with education near the top. If you do not have much work experience, you can place education, skills, and relevant experience before employment history.
The structure I usually recommend is:
Name and contact details
Short professional summary
Key skills
Education
Work experience
Volunteer experience, school leadership, projects, or extracurricular activities
Certifications, licences, or additional training
For most student jobs in Australia, the person reading your resume is not looking for perfection. They are looking for low risk. That sounds blunt, but it is true. Employers hiring students often worry about availability, maturity, communication, confidence, and whether the person understands basic workplace expectations.
So your resume should quietly answer those concerns before they become doubts.
Availability, if useful for casual or part time roles
This structure works because it respects how recruiters actually read resumes. We do not read from top to bottom with a cup of tea and a soft emotional soundtrack. We scan. We look for fit, risk, relevance, and basic credibility.
If your resume hides your strongest information halfway down the page, you are making the reader work harder than they need to. And in recruitment, the harder you make it, the easier you are to skip.
Use this template if you are a high school student, university student, TAFE student, recent school leaver, or student applying for part time, casual, internship, retail, hospitality, admin, customer service, tutoring, childcare, warehouse, or entry level roles.
Your Name
Suburb, State
Phone Number
Email Address
LinkedIn, portfolio, or website if relevant
Write two to four lines that explain who you are, what you are studying, the type of role you are seeking, and what you can offer.
Example
Motivated university student currently studying a Bachelor of Commerce, seeking a part time retail or customer service role. Strong communication skills, reliable availability, and experience working with customers through volunteer and school based activities. Confident learning new systems, working in team environments, and handling tasks with care and professionalism.
Choose six to ten skills that genuinely match the role. Avoid stuffing this section with random words.
Customer service
Communication
Teamwork
Time management
Problem solving
Cash handling
Microsoft Office
Point of sale systems
Attention to detail
Reliability
Degree, Certificate, or School Level
Institution Name, Location
Expected completion: Month Year
Include relevant subjects, achievements, projects, or leadership activities if they support the role.
Example
Bachelor of Business
University of Technology Sydney, Sydney NSW
Expected completion: November 2027
Relevant areas of study: Marketing, business communication, consumer behaviour, management foundations
Job Title
Company Name, Location
Month Year to Present
Start each bullet with what you did, supported, handled, organised, assisted, prepared, communicated, maintained, or improved
Focus on practical tasks and useful outcomes
Include customer service, teamwork, systems, responsibility, and reliability where relevant
Example
Retail Assistant
Cotton On, Melbourne VIC
March 2025 to Present
Assisted customers with product selection, sizing, returns, and general store enquiries in a busy retail environment
Processed sales using the point of sale system and handled cash, card payments, and receipts accurately
Restocked shelves, maintained fitting room standards, and supported visual merchandising during peak trading periods
Worked with team members to manage queues, meet daily store priorities, and maintain a positive customer experience
Use this section if your unpaid experience shows useful workplace skills.
Volunteer Role or Activity
Organisation or School Name, Location
Month Year to Month Year
Explain what you contributed
Show responsibility, teamwork, organisation, communication, or initiative
Keep it relevant to the job you want
Example
Student Mentor
Brisbane State High School, Brisbane QLD
February 2024 to November 2024
Supported younger students during orientation activities and helped answer questions about school routines
Assisted teachers with organising group activities, attendance lists, and classroom resources
Built confidence communicating with students, parents, and staff in a respectful and professional manner
Include anything relevant to Australian employers.
Responsible Service of Alcohol
Responsible Conduct of Gambling
Working with Children Check
First Aid Certificate
Police Check
Food Safety Certificate
White Card
Driver Licence
Barista training
Only include certifications you actually hold. If you are currently completing one, write “In progress”.
This is useful for casual, part time, hospitality, retail, and shift based roles.
Example
Available Monday, Wednesday, Friday evenings, Saturday all day, and Sunday mornings. Additional availability during university holidays.
Mia Thompson
Parramatta NSW
0400 000 000
Reliable Year 12 student seeking a casual retail or customer service role. Strong communication skills developed through school leadership, volunteer activities, and team based projects. Confident speaking with customers, following instructions, managing tasks during busy periods, and learning new systems quickly. Available evenings, weekends, and school holidays.
Customer service
Verbal communication
Teamwork
Time management
Cash handling
Problem solving
Organisation
Attention to detail
Reliability
Microsoft Office
Higher School Certificate
Parramatta High School, Parramatta NSW
Expected completion: November 2026
Relevant activities: School fundraising committee, peer support program, business studies, English, mathematics
Casual Cafe Assistant
Local Bean Cafe, Parramatta NSW
January 2025 to Present
Greet customers, take orders, process payments, and assist with takeaway and dine in service during busy periods
Prepare basic food items, restock display cabinets, and maintain clean front counter and seating areas
Communicate clearly with kitchen and service staff to support accurate orders and smooth customer service
Follow hygiene procedures, cleaning schedules, and workplace instructions to maintain safe service standards
Fundraising Volunteer
Parramatta High School Community Day, Parramatta NSW
August 2024
Assisted with setting up stalls, welcoming visitors, and answering basic questions from parents and students
Helped manage product displays, customer queues, and payment collection during peak times
Worked with other student volunteers to keep the event organised, friendly, and efficient
Selected for peer support program to assist younger students with school transition
Consistently received positive feedback from teachers for reliability and participation
Helped raise funds for school community initiatives through event support and promotion
Food Safety Certificate, completed March 2025
First Aid Certificate, in progress
Available Tuesday and Thursday evenings, Saturday all day, Sunday mornings, and additional hours during school holidays.
When I look at a student resume, I am not trying to catch the candidate out. I am trying to work out whether the person is likely to be suitable, reliable, and worth progressing.
The strongest student resumes usually show small but important signals. They are not always flashy. In fact, the most useful details are often very practical.
I notice whether the resume is easy to read. If the formatting is messy, inconsistent, or overloaded with decorative design, it creates unnecessary friction. A student resume does not need to look like a magazine layout. It needs to be readable.
I notice whether the candidate has explained their experience in workplace language. For example, “helped at school events” is okay, but “welcomed visitors, managed queues, assisted with payment collection, and helped maintain a clean event space” is much stronger. Same experience, better framing.
I notice whether the skills are supported by evidence. Everyone says they have communication skills. The stronger resume shows where those skills were used, such as customer service, tutoring, volunteering, team sports, leadership, group projects, or community events.
I also notice whether the resume feels realistic. If a student resume sounds too polished in the wrong way, it can become less convincing. Employers are not expecting you to have managed a department. They are expecting you to show potential, responsibility, and a decent attitude.
That is the line to walk: confident, but not inflated.
If you have no paid work experience, your resume is not empty. You just need to stop thinking that only paid jobs count.
Employers are looking for transferable evidence. That can come from school, university, sport, volunteering, family responsibilities, community involvement, coursework, group projects, competitions, internships, placements, or informal work.
The mistake many students make is writing “No experience” in their own head before the employer has even reviewed them. That mindset leads to a thin resume. Instead, ask: where have I shown responsibility, communication, effort, organisation, or trust?
You can include:
School leadership roles
University group projects
Volunteer work
Sports team involvement
Tutoring or mentoring
Helping with a family business
Community events
Fundraising activities
Coursework related to the job
Internships or work placements
Babysitting, pet sitting, or informal paid work
Creative, digital, or portfolio projects
The key is to translate these experiences into workplace value.
Weak Example
Helped with school fundraiser.
Good Example
Assisted with organising a school fundraising event by setting up stalls, welcoming visitors, handling basic enquiries, and supporting payment collection during busy periods.
The good version works because it gives the employer something to evaluate. It shows communication, organisation, customer interaction, teamwork, and responsibility. The weak version makes the reader guess.
Never make the reader guess.
Student resumes often go wrong in the skills section because candidates list every positive trait they can think of. “Hardworking, motivated, passionate, friendly, organised, punctual, enthusiastic, dedicated.” Lovely. Also completely forgettable.
The skills section should match the job.
For retail roles, focus on customer service, communication, cash handling, product knowledge, presentation standards, teamwork, and reliability.
For hospitality roles, focus on customer service, food safety, multitasking, cleanliness, speed, teamwork, and working under pressure.
For administration roles, focus on attention to detail, Microsoft Office, data entry, written communication, organisation, scheduling, and confidentiality.
For internships, focus on research, analytical thinking, communication, teamwork, software tools, coursework, project work, and problem solving.
For tutoring or childcare roles, focus on patience, communication, responsibility, planning, empathy, and child safe awareness.
This is where many candidates misunderstand ATS systems. They hear “use keywords” and then dump a pile of keywords into the resume. That is not strategy. That is noise.
Use relevant keywords naturally, then prove them in your experience section.
You do not need to rewrite your entire resume for every job. But you should adjust the top third of your resume for the role you are applying for.
The top third matters because that is where the first screening decision usually starts. A recruiter wants to know quickly whether your background matches the role. If you make them dig, you lose some of your advantage.
For each application, adjust:
Your professional summary
Your key skills
The order of your bullet points
Any relevant achievements, coursework, or certifications
Your availability if the role depends on shifts
For example, if you are applying for a retail job, your summary should mention customer service, availability, communication, and working in a team.
If you are applying for an internship, your summary should mention your degree, relevant coursework, projects, tools, and career interest.
If you are applying for a hospitality role, your summary should mention fast paced environments, customer service, hygiene, teamwork, and availability.
This does not mean pretending to be someone different. It means making the most relevant parts of your background easier to find.
That is what good resume tailoring actually is. Not rewriting your personality for every employer. Just reducing the employer’s effort.
Most student resume mistakes are not dramatic. They are small things that create doubt.
The biggest mistake is being too vague. “Worked in a team environment” tells me almost nothing. What kind of team? What did you do? What was the setting? What responsibility did you have?
Another common mistake is using a childish or unprofessional email address. Your email does not need to be fancy. It just needs to be appropriate. Use your name where possible.
Students also often include too much personal information. In Australia, you generally do not need to include your date of birth, marital status, nationality, full home address, photo, or personal identification details on a resume. Keep it professional and relevant.
Another issue is overdesigning the resume. Canva templates can look nice, but some are not ATS friendly and many waste space. If a hiring manager is reading 80 resumes for a casual role, they are not admiring your pastel sidebar. They are looking for fit.
I also see students undersell unpaid experience. They write one tiny line about volunteering when that experience is actually the strongest evidence they have. If you managed people, money, customers, schedules, events, children, stock, content, or responsibilities, explain it properly.
The final mistake is copying generic resume phrases from the internet. Recruiters can spot them quickly because they all sound the same. “Highly motivated individual with a passion for excellence” says almost nothing. Be specific. Specific is safer, stronger, and more believable.
A student resume should be focused. You are not trying to tell your whole life story. You are trying to give the employer enough relevant evidence to invite you to the next stage.
Include information that helps the employer assess your suitability.
That usually means:
Your name and contact details
A short summary
Relevant skills
Education
Work experience
Volunteer work or projects
Certifications
Availability
Achievements if they are relevant
Leave out anything that creates clutter or risk.
That usually means:
A photo, unless specifically requested for a legitimate reason
Full street address
Date of birth
Irrelevant personal details
Primary school history if you are in high school, TAFE, or university
Generic hobbies with no relevance
Long paragraphs about your personality
References listed in full without being requested
You can write “References available on request” if you want, but even that is optional. Most Australian employers will ask for references when they need them.
What matters more is whether your resume gives them a reason to contact you in the first place.
For most students in Australia, one page is enough. Two pages can be acceptable if you have several relevant roles, internships, placements, volunteer activities, certifications, or projects.
The rule is not really about page count. It is about relevance.
A one page resume filled with useful evidence is strong. A two page resume filled with repeated phrases, oversized spacing, and generic claims is not.
If you are applying for casual retail, hospitality, fast food, tutoring, warehouse, or entry level admin roles, aim for one page unless you genuinely need more space.
If you are applying for internships, graduate adjacent roles, healthcare placements, education placements, or technical student roles, two pages may be reasonable if your projects, coursework, tools, and experience are relevant.
Do not shrink the font until the resume looks like a legal disclaimer. If the reader has to zoom in, squint, or emotionally recover after opening it, the formatting is working against you.
Many Australian employers use applicant tracking systems to manage applications, especially larger companies, universities, councils, healthcare organisations, banks, retailers, and graduate employers.
An ATS friendly student resume does not need tricks. It needs clean formatting and relevant language.
Use:
Clear headings such as Professional Summary, Key Skills, Education, Work Experience, Certifications, and Availability
Simple fonts such as Arial, Calibri, Aptos, or Times New Roman
Standard file formats such as Word or PDF, depending on the employer’s instructions
Job relevant keywords used naturally
Reverse chronological order where possible
Plain section layouts without text boxes, icons, graphics, or complicated columns
Avoid:
Heavy design templates
Important details inside images
Unusual section names
Headers and footers containing key contact information
Overloaded keyword lists
Spelling errors in job titles, tools, certifications, or qualifications
Here is the honest reality: ATS systems may help sort applications, but humans still make hiring decisions. Your resume needs to satisfy both. It should be technically readable and humanly convincing.
The easiest way to write stronger resume bullet points is to describe what you did, where you did it, and why it mattered.
Use this structure:
Action plus task plus context plus result or purpose
You do not need a huge measurable achievement for every bullet. Student roles often involve practical contribution, not dramatic business outcomes. That is fine.
Weak Example
Good communication skills.
Good Example
Answered customer questions, confirmed order details, and communicated wait times clearly during busy weekend shifts.
Weak Example
Team player.
Good Example
Worked with three team members to restock shelves, manage fitting room returns, and keep the store floor organised during peak trading periods.
Weak Example
Responsible and reliable.
Good Example
Arrived on time for early morning shifts, followed opening procedures, and completed cleaning and setup tasks before service began.
The good examples work because they show behaviour. Employers trust behaviour more than adjectives.
Before you send your student resume, check it like a recruiter would.
Ask yourself:
Can the employer understand my current study situation quickly?
Is my phone number and email correct?
Does my summary match the job I am applying for?
Are my key skills relevant to the role?
Have I included unpaid experience if it shows useful skills?
Are my bullet points specific, practical, and believable?
Have I removed personal details that are not needed?
Is the formatting clean and easy to scan?
Have I checked spelling, grammar, dates, and consistency?
Is my availability clear if I am applying for shift based work?
Does the resume make me look work ready, not just interested?
That last point matters most. Employers already know students are often looking for experience. What they want to know is whether you are ready to be trusted with the basics: customers, time, tasks, communication, and responsibility.
A good student resume does not pretend you are further along than you are. It shows that you understand what the workplace needs and that you are ready to contribute properly.
Written by Simar Malhi, a recruiter and headhunter with international recruitment experience. I write about CVs, job applications, hiring decisions, and the reality behind recruitment processes. My goal is to help candidates understand more honestly how employers, recruiters, and hiring managers actually select candidates.
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