Resume for a Safety Job

Major tip

Recruitment & selection uses “Past behaviour predicts future behaviour” The idea is to give plenty of examples of where in the past you have successfully done the sort of things that you will be required to do in the new job. Say what you did, how you did it and what were the results.

Very important

When you see a job advertised analyse the ad to identify the required competencies and write down a dot point list. In your response talk about your experience with those competencies, preferably with concrete examples. Even if not specifically asked for, always include something on your communications and interpersonal skills and your ability to work in a team.

Writing a resume

The first thing you have to do is identify your skills relevant to the type of employment you desire. t. Give specific numbers and figures for your achievements. Show results.

Insert your personal details and contact information.

Put in your career objective, do not be too specific or you will limit your chances of getting the job that does not fit the bill exactly.

If you think it is appropriate put in an overview of your employment highlighting your major strengths and major achievements.

Briefly list the jobs you have had.

List your qualifications / affiliations.

List your skills-These may be technical skills relevant to the sort of jobs you want to apply for, written communications skills, oral communications skills, computer skills, leadership skills, put a lot of work into describing your interpersonal skills as employers see this as very important.

List all the jobs you have had in the last 10 years describing in some detail what you did and very importantly what your achievements were.

Carefully analyse the requirements of any position you apply for and tailor your resume to this.

As a general rule I would keep the resume to 3 or 4 pages for people who have been in the workforce for a number of years, do not make the job of reading it too hard for the potential employer.

Very important-Get someone to proof read what you have written.

The good books say you must tailor your resume to each job you apply for. Good job ads will specify what qualities the employer is looking for in applicants, in other words the selection criteria. With detailed selection criteria you should prepare a covering letter or response to selection criteria and say, with examples from your past work, how you meet the criteria. In these circumstances you may be able to get by with a generalised resume(still pays to go through the resume and make sure it meets the general criteria)

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George Robotham

George was a Legend in the Safety World who passed away in Sept 2013 but left us with a great legacy

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I have worked in OHS for most of my working life, many years in the mining industry including over 10 years in a corporate OHS role with BHP. Since leaving the mining industry I have worked in a variety of safety roles with a variety of employers, large & small, in a variety of industries. I was associated with my first workplace fatality at age 21, the girl involved was young, intelligent, vivacious and friendly. Such a waste! I was the first on the scene and tried to comfort her and tend to her injuries. She said to me “George, please do not let me die” We put her on the aerial ambulance to Rockhampton base hospital where she died the next day. I do not mind telling you that knocked me around for awhile. Since then I have helped my employers cope with the aftermath of 12 fatalities and 2 other life-altering events. The section "Why do Occupational Health & Safety" provides further detail but in summary, poor safety is simply very expensive and also has a massive humanitarian cost. My qualifications include a certificate I.V. in Workplace Training and Assessment, a Diploma in Frontline Management, a Diploma in Training & Assessment Systems, a Bachelor of Education (Adult & Workplace Education) , a Grad. Cert. in Management of Organisational Change and a Graduate Diploma in Occupational Hazard Management. I am currently studying towards a Masters in Business Leadership. Up until recently I had been a Chartered Fellow of the Safety Institute of Australia for 10 years and a member for about 30 years. My interest is in non-traditional methods of driving organisational change in OHS and I have what I believe is a healthy dis-respect for many common approaches to OHS Management and OHS Training. I hold what I believe is a well-founded perception that many of the things safety people and management do in safety are “displacement activities” (Displacement activities are things we do, things we put a lot of energy into, but which when we examine them closely there is no valid reason for doing them). My managerial and leadership roles in OHS have exposed me to a range of management techniques that are relevant to Business Improvement. In particular I am a strong supporter of continuous improvement and quality management approaches to business. I believe leadership is the often forgotten key to excellence in most aspects of life. I hold the Australian Defence Medal and am a J.P.(Qualified). I have many fond memories of my time playing Rugby Union when I was a young bloke.