In step one, you recorded the basic details of your career history into your document; each company name, position title, and dates of employment. The next step is to set out the scope of your past experience.
Contents
Where you have you worked?
Firstly, for each organisation, provide a one-to-two-line description to set a scene and give context. For example, what the organisation does and its size. Include details relevant to your role.
This is not compulsory. If you worked at McDonald’s for example you can skip it. We all know McDonald’s. Same, for other recognisable brands. Don’t waste space on your resume explaining something that will be obvious to the reader and isn’t about you.
If though, for example, you worked at ‘Focus Partners’ the business name alone doesn’t give context. What do you think this organisation does? You couldn’t be 100% sure, that is why you should provide some more information.
FYI, Focus Partners is a chartered accountant and financial planning firm located in regional NSW.
A brief description could simply be: Focus Partners are a chartered accountant and financial planning firm.
Let’s assume you are the Office Administration Support Officer. Then you could update to:
Focus Partners, a team of seven Accountants and four Financial Advisors, deliver accounting and financial planning services.
By adding the size of the team, you give a sense of how many people the Office Administration Support Officer assists.
What were your accountabilities?
Next, directly under each role in your experience section briefly cover the scope of your position. Make sure you frame this as part of your overall career story. If it adds to your story; explain how you came to be in the role and why you were hired.
The purpose of this information is to provide the hiring manager insight into the scope of your experience. Aim for three to four lines.
You don’t need to list every task you did. Instead, provide a broad overview and highlight specific tasks if they are a requirement of the role you are applying.
Here are examples:
Clinical Lead
Promoted to provide clinical supervision to six Child Health Nurses within the Early Child Parent Services Division. As Clinical Lead, I was accountable for the timely assessment and allocation of support services for vulnerable families. Additionally, I managed a caseload of 25 active clients.
Dump Truck Operator
Safely operated 980K Cat Loader to achieve the target output of 2-5K tonnes of crushed rock daily. Maintained piping and water pumps to irrigate the site. Performed equipment inspections. Identified and reported hazards.
Accounting Intern
I was selected from over 200 applicants to complete a 12-month internship. Working alongside the Senior Auditor, I reviewed financial statements for accuracy and completeness. Under the guidance of the Senior Auditor, I also determined if transactions were reported following accounting principles.
Senior Team Leader
Overseeing five Team Leaders in the Community Care Department, I was accountable for the achievement of performance targets to safeguard our ongoing funding. This role had a people leadership and reporting focus and involved the formulation of procedures and work instructions.
(You will note, I have used both first-person implied and first person to write these examples. Either approach is appropriate. For more information See: Resume Writing Conventions)
If you have had similar roles, try to avoid the same phrasing or repeating tasks. Once the hiring manager knows you have experience ‘reviewing financial statements’, they don’t need to know you did this in every role.
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Examples
Use the position description or job ad for the role you are applying to guide you to the responsibilities or tasks to highlight. Make sure each item listed in responsibilities on the job advertisement or within the position description appears on your resume. For example, here is a job ad for a Parking Ranger.
PARKING RANGER
The role will involve enforcing local legislation while patrolling on foot or in a vehicle. Duties include but are not limited to issuing infringements regarding parking, abandoned vehicles, illegal dumping, building site compliance, animal control & complaints investigations. The primary focus of the role will be on educating the community about relevant laws and restrictions.
First, edit this description into a list of tasks and update it to the past tense.
Enforced local legislation while patrolling on foot and in a vehicle.
Issued infringements for parking, abandoned vehicles, illegal dumping, building site compliance, animal control and complaints investigations.
Educated the community on relevant laws and restrictions.
Assuming you have a similar experience, you should place each of these statements within the descriptions of your past roles.
If you do not have this exact experience, select examples from your experience that match closely the skill set required and mirror the keywords. For example, you could add:
Enforced compliance with health and safety legislation and policy.
Handled customer complaints and undertook conflict resolution.
Educated colleagues on relevant laws/or procedures.
Here is an example of a Payroll Officer advertisement
PAYROLL OFFICER
You will have:
Experience in payroll administration
Understanding of superannuation, taxation, salary sacrifice and payroll related legislation and reporting requirements
Understanding of human resource legislation and requirements
Proven capacity to maintain a high degree of confidentiality
Working knowledge of computer applications including MS Office, Reckon Accounts and Attaché
These tasks should appear in your description of your experience. For example, here is a description of a previous role that covers these points.
Payroll Officer
Promoted to Payroll Office following completion of my Administration Traineeship, I performed payroll administration according to human resource legislation using Attaché. I responded to staff enquires with accurate information on superannuation, taxation, salary sacrifice and payroll legislation and reporting requirements.
In this example, I would also include an achievement story that incorporates the confidentiality aspect.
A Brief Note on Resume Writing Conventions
The examples provided within this article and throughout this website apply varying degrees of ‘resume writing speak’ or resume writing conventions.
Resume writing conventions are the writing rules that apply specifically to resumes. A set of conventions, that in some cases, disregard grammar rules.
They include writing in first-person implied, leaving out articles (a, an, the), and using short sentences.
Your resume should have an authentic voice. Therefore, the best approach is the one that feels genuine for you.
Next Step: Achievement Stories
Alternatively, if you need assistance writing your resume, you can complete a quote request.
