Resume? Sorted!

Extract from Chapter 2: My Cousin’s Neighbour Said…

Ah, résumé advice. Everyone’s got some. Your mate who hasn’t applied for a job since the Rudd government. Your cousin who once temped in HR for six minutes. The neighbour’s nephew’s partner who’s “basically a recruiter.” And, of course, the internet, that bottomless pit of contradictory guidance and unsolicited opinion. So, before we get into what works in a résumé, let’s clear out the rot. Because if you follow some of this well-meaning nonsense, your résumé will read like a time capsule from 1993.

A résumé is not a summary of everything you’ve done.
It’s a positioning document—and how it’s read matters.

Résumé? Sorted. takes a more deliberate approach to writing one well, focusing on how experience is interpreted rather than just how it’s presented. It draws on years of real-world work to show what strengthens a résumé—and what weakens it.

Rather than templates or shortcuts, the emphasis here is on clarity, structure, and the decisions that shape how your work is understood. Inside, you’ll explore:

• What employers look for when they scan a résumé—and what they tend to skip
• How to move from listing responsibilities to demonstrating value
• Ways to write achievement-based content that feels natural and credible
• How to handle gaps, changes, and less straightforward career paths
• Practical considerations for LinkedIn, cover letters, formatting, and ATS systems
• Annotated examples that illustrate what works—and why

The key is about presenting your experience in a way that is clear, consistent, and easy to recognise.

Whether you’re building a résumé from scratch or refining an existing one, this offers a more considered way to approach it—so the end result feels both accurate and effective.