[geordiemouse]

I am from England and have recently relocated to the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia after spending the past 2 years traveling. To supplement my travel I worked in hospitality. Now I'm settling down I am looking to return to my roots in an administrative role.

However, I am really struggling to find work. I have been here over a month and haven't gotten anywhere. I am concerned the reason may be my "foreign" qualifications I have listed on my resume. I have GCSE's and A-Levels, and whilst they're excellent grades they don't really translate to an Australian employer.

Is there anybody here who has qualifications from one country working in another? Could somebody maybe offer some advice on how I might tackle this? I am able to write pretty strong cover letters, so I really believe it is my resume that is the issue.

Thank you
Gm

[tickle]

You could be making that one part of your resume too complicated. I really don't believe that Australia would consider UK educational credentials 'foreign' in any way. After all, they have the same educational system, as does Canada. All they really need to see is schools/colleges/universities attended and pertaining contact numbers or e mail addresses.

Tick

[tickle]

well, actually, Tickle, once again you are wrong. The qualifications do NOT translate, have been through this process myself, the only way to get round the issue is to take equivalancy tests. My degrees don't translate the same either.

You have only posted twice, and you are telling me 'once again, you are wrong'. What other time that you have seen in your short space of time here was I wrong. I usually post to the medical board, Buttery as I am a healthcare professional. I don't mind being wrong in this regard, but to the best of my knowledge, being Canadian and living in Europe for a number of years, posting resumes and getting jobs, I was giving information to the best of my knowledge.

Would you like to make yourself perfectly clear with your statement ?

It is good that you came forward with this information, Buttery, it will help our OP.

Tick

[tickle]

you may believe all you want, but you are still wrong ....

What am I believing ?

Tick

[Wondergirl]

I've been helping people (including new immigrants) with resumes and cover letters for 25+ years. Why are you including your grades? And certainly on your resume you can "translate" anything "foreign" into the local patois.

I would think, for you, a strong resume would be functional and skills-based, not chronological, by the way.

[Wondergirl]

If he/she is in Australia, the time difference is 12 hours?

[Fr_Chuck]

First why are you putting "grades" on a resume, if you resume is over one page long, it is too long,

They need to be brief, even somewhat limited, just to catch their attention to get a call to come in. If asked about grades ( and you know in 30 plus years no one ever asked me if I was first or last in a class) all they care is if you have a degree or training.

If there is something unknown, make a note on that item what it is similar to there.

[geordiemouse]

I should explain I used the word foreign in a pretty loose sense, hence the quotation marks. By foreign, I simply meant not Australian as they don't have GCSE's or A-Levels like we do in the UK.

As for the including my grades, it never occurred to to not include them. I guess I've always been proud of them. I am definitely going to go back to the drawing board as it were and restructure the whole thing.

Thank you
Gm

[Wondergirl]

Being proud of grades doesn't give you permission to put them on a resume. As FrChuck said, a resume is simply a 'summary' (the meaning of the word) to get your foot in the door for an interview. Grade school, high school, and grades have no place on the resume if you've had jobs and gained experience.

[geordiemouse]

I wasn't aware I needed permission to put anything on my resume. I was merely trying to explain my thought process behind including my grades. I felt my good grades supported my work experience by demonstrating I could apply myself, prioritize work loads to reach dead lines and essentially show off a little.

I have come across many conflicting schools of thought when researching writing resumes so I am very grateful for your feedback and I take on board what you have all said.
It is supposed to be a summary and making I am working on adjusting my resume as we speak.

Thank you
Gm

[Wondergirl]

I wasn't aware I needed permission to put anything on my resume.

"Needing permission" is a sort of idiom. I'm sorry that you got the wrong idea.

There are better and more effective resumes, and there are resumes that don't accomplish what they are supposed to and waste the reader's time. I wanted you to avoid the latter.

Best wishes with your resume.