Resume Builder

Longer is fine here — and for a government role, the selection criteria are the application.

Your résumé
Exactly as you want it read. No photograph, no date of birth and no marital status anywhere on this form — that is deliberate.
One line. A parser often reads this as your most recent job title.
A city is enough. A full street address is no longer expected and gives away more than it needs to.
Three or four lines. Optional, but it is what a recruiter reads before deciding whether to read the rest.
Most recent first. Reverse chronological is the expected order in all five markets.
One achievement per line. Leading dashes are stripped. A number in the line is worth more than an adjective.
Commas or one per line. Plain text on purpose — a skills bar chart contains no text and parses as nothing at all.
One criterion per line, each answered with evidence. Required for most APS and state government roles; the advertisement sets the word limit. Leave it empty for a private-sector application.

How this is worked out

The first thing to unlearn if you have been reading American advice: the one-page rule does not apply here. Three to four pages is common in Australia and is not a defect. Australian résumés carry more detail per role — what the role involved, the size of the team, the systems used — and a two-page document from a senior candidate can read as underdone.

The second thing is selection criteria. For most Australian Public Service and state government vacancies, the résumé is only half the application. The other half addresses the criteria in the candidate pack, one by one, with evidence.

Each vacancy sets its own format and its own limit — some ask for a statement against each criterion, some for a single "pitch" of a stated length. The advertisement and the candidate pack override everything, including this page. What this tool does is give the section a home in the document and keep it as machine-readable as the rest.

The usual answer shape is one claim, then the evidence for it, with a number in it. "Achieves results: closed 62 audit findings ahead of a public-sector procurement deadline" is an answer. "I am results-driven" is not.

And the machine-readability part, which is the same everywhere: one column, no tables used for layout, no text inside images, standard headings, real selectable text.

A worked example

Sample entered
three roles, two qualifications, twelve skills, three criteria
Bullets per role
4, 3, 2
Sections produced
Professional Summary, Experience, Education, Skills, Selection Criteria
Estimated length
1 page
Exported PDF
1 page — A4, which holds four more lines than Letter
Convention here
3–4 pages is common and is not a defect, so the sample is short for this market
Format checks clear
11 of 11
Extra check on this page
selection criteria addressed
Columns
1
Fields for photo or date of birth
none — there is no way to add one

Why the one-page rule is imported advice

Most résumé advice on the internet is American, and the single-page rule travels with it. In Australia it is simply wrong. A three-page résumé here is ordinary; four is unremarkable for someone senior or for a public-sector application, where the expectation is that you account for your experience rather than pitch it.

The difference is what a role entry contains. An American bullet is a compressed claim. An Australian one usually says more about context — the size of the team, the systems, the stakeholders, the scale of the thing you were responsible for — because the reader is checking whether you have done work of this kind at this level, not skimming for a hook.

This page still shows the estimated length and still flags a document that has run past four pages, because past four it is usually padding rather than detail. But it does not treat page two as a warning.

Selection criteria: the part that is actually being marked

For an APS or state government role, the panel scores your response against the criteria. A brilliant résumé attached to a thin criteria response loses to an ordinary résumé attached to a strong one, because the criteria response is the instrument the panel is required to use.

The reliable shape is situation, action, result, in that order and compressed hard. Name the situation in a clause, spend most of the words on what you personally did, and finish with a result that has a number in it. "Led a four-person team through the rebuild of a national-scale checkout, delivering on time and cutting median load time by 61%" is doing all three in one sentence.

Two failure modes account for most weak responses. The first is describing the team's achievement rather than yours — panels are scoring you, and "we" is invisible to them. The second is asserting the quality instead of evidencing it: "I communicate with influence" is the criterion restated, not an answer to it.

Referees, and the Australian habit of listing them

Listing referees on the résumé itself is more common in Australia than in the US or the UK, and for government roles it is often expected — the pack will usually say. Two is the normal number, and at least one should be a recent direct supervisor.

"References available on request" is a line that occupies space and conveys nothing; everybody knows references are available on request. Either name them, with their role and how they know you, or leave the section out entirely.

Whichever you choose, ask first. A referee contacted without warning is a referee giving a lukewarm reference, and the panel will hear it. This tool has no dedicated referees field — add them as a final skills or summary line if the pack asks for them, or keep them in the covering document.

What happens to what you type

Nothing is transmitted. Your résumé is held in your browser, the PDF is composed in your browser by a library served from this site, and this page makes no external request at all. No account, no email gate, no watermark on the file.

That is worth more than usual for a criteria response, which often describes internal projects, named systems and organisational problems in more detail than a résumé would. It is not information to hand to a free web service in exchange for a template.

The cost of the promise is that nothing is saved when the tab closes. Use the copy-link button to keep your entries in the URL, or export the PDF and keep the file.

Assumptions and sources

Selection criteria and APS applications
Australian Public Service Commission, "Cracking the code" — the APSC's guidance for applicants on applying for an APS job, including how applications are assessed against the criteria. https://www.apsc.gov.au/working-aps/joining-aps/cracking-code checked 2026-08
Word limits and formats
Set by each vacancy, not by a national rule. The advertisement and the candidate pack are authoritative and override any general guidance, including this page.
Length convention
A convention rather than a rule, and stated as one. Three to four pages is common in the Australian market; this tool flags a document past four pages rather than past two.
Discrimination in recruitment
The Australian Human Rights Commission covers federal anti-discrimination law as it applies to employment, including recruitment. https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/employers/workplace-discrimination-harassment-and-bullying checked 2026-08
ATS behaviour
Not sourced to a standard, because there is no standard. Applicant tracking systems are commercial products, they differ, and most publish no parsing specification.
Not covered
Cover letters, one-page pitches with their own vacancy-specific limits, academic CVs, and anything about what to write rather than how to format it.
Rates current as of August 2026 — verify before relying on this. This is a document builder and a format checker, not career advice. Selection criteria requirements and word limits are set by each vacancy — read the advertisement and the candidate pack, which override any general guidance including this page.
Questions

What people ask about Australian résumés

How long should an Australian résumé be?

Three to four pages is common and is not a defect. The one-page rule is American advice that travels badly — a two-page résumé from a senior candidate can read as underdone here. Past four pages it is usually padding, which is where this page starts flagging it.

What are selection criteria and do I have to address them?

For most APS and state government vacancies, yes — the panel scores your response against them and it is the instrument they are required to use. Each vacancy sets its own format and word limit in the candidate pack, which overrides any general advice including this page. Private-sector roles usually do not ask for them.

How do I write a criteria response that scores well?

Situation, action, result — compressed, with most of the words on what you personally did and a number in the result. The two common failures are describing the team's achievement rather than yours, and restating the criterion as an assertion: "I communicate with influence" is not an answer to a criterion about communicating with influence.

Should I list referees on my résumé?

More often than not in Australia, and usually yes for government roles — the pack will say. Two, with at least one recent direct supervisor. "References available on request" is a wasted line. Ask them first: a referee contacted without warning gives a lukewarm reference and the panel hears it.

Will this get me past the ATS?

Nobody can promise that, and anyone who does is selling something. Applicant tracking systems differ, most are not documented, and many are configured per employer — so no format guarantees passing any particular one. What this does is remove the format failures that are known to break parsing: multiple columns, tables used for layout, text inside images, non-standard section headings and rasterised pages. The rest is the writing.

Where does my employment history go?

Nowhere. Everything is held in your browser, the PDF is written in your browser, and this site makes no external request of any kind — you can confirm that in your browser's network tab. There is no account, no email gate and no watermark on the file. Your employment history is exactly the sort of thing that should not be uploaded to a free web service.

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