US recruiters expect a one-page resume for most roles outside academia and senior executive positions. Australian resumes commonly stretch to three or four pages with full career history, tables of competencies, and a referee section. If your resume hits page two without a single quantified result, it goes in the "no" pile.
What to do: Trim ruthlessly. Cut anything older than 10 years unless it directly relates to the job. Remove your referee list entirely — US employers never call referees before an interview. Move the contact info to the header and use that space for a 3-4 line professional summary.
Australian CVs often include a headshot, date of birth, marital status, and even a passport-style photo in the header. In the US, that is illegal for employers to request and will get your resume discarded to avoid discrimination lawsuits.
What to do: Strip every personal detail except your name, phone number, email, city and state (e.g., "Sydney, NSW" is fine — you'll remove the address line later). A US resume header looks like this:
Jane Smith
[email protected] | (555) 123-4567 | Sydney, NSW
Never include a photo, age, or Links to anything unrelated to work.
The most common mistake Australian resumes make is listing job duties as bullet points. US recruiters want achievements — specific results with numbers. Here is a real before/after rewrite:
Before (Australian style):
Responsible for managing a team of five sales representatives and preparing weekly sales reports.
After (US style):
Led a team of five sales reps to exceed quarterly targets by 22%, reducing report preparation time by 30% through a redesigned tracking dashboard.
What to do: For every role, replace one duties bullet with an achievement that uses a number — dollar amount, percentage, time saved, or people managed. If you have no numbers, estimate conservatively (e.g., "Reduced customer wait time by >15%" is fine).
US companies use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to parse resume data. Australian resumes with two-column layouts, tables, graphics, or embedded logos cause parsing errors that truncate your content or misread sections.
What to do: Use a single-column, no-table layout. Standard fonts (Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman at 10-12pt). Save as a .docx file unless the job post explicitly asks for PDF (some ATS parse .docx more reliably). Headings should be simple: "Experience", "Education", "Skills". No columns, no icons, no columns — ATS will skip your skills if they're in a sidebar graphic.
Australian CVs end with "References available upon request" or list referees with contact details. In the US, references are never included on the resume — they are submitted separately only when asked, typically late in the interview process.
What to do: Delete the entire references section. Do not even say "available upon request" — it wastes space. Instead, save that line and add a fourth achievement bullet under your most recent job.
No. Only mention work authorization if the job ad specifically asks. A generic "Visa: Temporary Graduate" or "Citizen" in the header invites instant rejection. Wait until the interview or application form to discuss sponsorship.
One page if you have fewer than 10 years of experience. Two pages are acceptable for senior roles (15+ years), but each page must be dense with achievement bullets, not padding.
Not as much as you think. They care about degree level and relevance. List your degree as "Bachelor of Commerce, University of Sydney" without Go8 or ranking labels. If the degree name differs from US conventions (e.g., "Bachelor of Arts" vs "BA"), use the US abbreviation.
Yes, but only if it matches your resume exactly — same dates, same phrasing. A discrepancy between resume and profile is an instant red flag. Hyperlink your name or put the URL after your email.
Before sending another application, run your resume through PrismResume's free checker — no sign-up required — to catch formatting issues and US-style language gaps that cost you interviews.
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