Career advice
Practical guides to the parts of Australian working life that are hardest to get straight: what you’re paid, what you’re owed, what to say in an interview, and how to leave well.
- Resume templateA clean Australian resume you can fill in and send.
- Career quizAnswer a few questions, get real roles back with pay and demand.
- Salary calculatorYour take-home pay, against the real median for your occupation.
- Browse rolesPay, day-to-day and where it leads, for 350 occupations.
Resumes and cover letters
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Do you still need a cover letter in 2026?
Most advice online says skip the cover letter unless the ad asks for one. Australian government careers guidance says include one by default. This explains where the two positions differ and how to keep yours readable by an automated screen.
Read the guide
How long should a cover letter be
A cover letter should usually fit on one page. That's the standard in Australian government careers guidance.
How to start a cover letter
Starting a cover letter comes down to two decisions: who you address it to, and what your first paragraph says.
How to write a resume with no work experience
How to write a resume with no paid work experience, with what to list instead, the order to use and example entries for school leavers and graduates.
Should you put references on your resume?
Whether to write references available on request on an Australian resume, what the official guidance says, and how to have a referee list ready before you need it.
Job search and applications
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Diploma or bachelor degree, and when the diploma is enough
How diplomas and bachelor degrees differ in length, cost, loans and pathways, and when the job you want sets the qualification for you.
How to ask someone to be your referee (with examples)
Four short messages to copy when you ask someone to be your referee, how to check they can give you a strong reference, and what to do if they say no or sound unsure.
How to change careers, and which moves are realistic
Data on 1,573 career moves across 350 Australian occupations shows 63.3% need no more than a short course, though skill overlap alone won't tell you which ones. Six worked examples, and how to check your own move.
How to decline a job offer, even one you've accepted
Four templates: the standard decline, declining for a better offer, declining over salary, and the harder case of backing out after you've already said yes.
Interviews
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Behavioural interview questions and how to answer them
How to answer behavioural interview questions using STAR, with common questions, what they test, an example answer and tips for follow-up questions.
How to address key selection criteria
How to address key selection criteria in Australian job applications, with current public sector formats, the STAR method and an example response.
How to answer the strengths and weaknesses question
How to choose a strength and a weakness for your job interview, what to avoid, and example answers for roles from retail to data analysis.
How to answer why should we hire you in an interview
How to answer "why should we hire you" in a job interview, with example answers for a first job, a career change and an experienced candidate.
Career development and skills
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Communication skills at work
Communication skills are the abilities you use to understand what other people need at work and to get your own information across to them.
Farewell message to a colleague
Farewell message examples for a colleague who's leaving, from close teammates and managers to retirements and team cards, plus what to write.
Hard skills and soft skills
Hard skills are the technical abilities a particular job calls for, such as preparing a pay run, framing a wall or writing code.
Highest paying jobs in Australia, by median pay
The ATO top 10 ranks average taxable income rather than salaries. This page ranks 264 Australian occupations by typical full-time pay instead, with hours, entry requirements and projected growth alongside, and a filter for jobs that don't need a degree.
Pay and contracts
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Casual employment rights in Australia
Casual employment law changed in August 2024. What casual employees get under the National Employment Standards, the pathway to a permanent role, and whether you can be let go without notice.
Casual, part time or full time
The difference between casual, part-time and full-time work comes down to two separate questions. The first is whether your employer has made a firm commitment to ongoing work.
Contractor or employee, and who decides which you are
Your paperwork does not decide whether you are a contractor or an employee. How the tests work, how tax and super differ, and what sham contracting is.
How to ask for a pay rise, and back it up with real numbers
What national wage growth looks like right now, how to work out a figure for your own role, wording you can adapt for the conversation, and what to do if the answer is no.
Leave and hours
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How much bereavement leave you get, and whether it's paid
Most employees can take two days of compassionate leave each time a close family or household member dies. Who gets it, whether it's paid, and what to say.
Long service leave in every state and territory
Long service leave kicks in after 7 years in Victoria and the ACT and 10 everywhere else, and the weeks you get differ too. Here's what you get where you work, and what happens if you leave first.
Overtime pay, time in lieu and what your award says
Overtime rates come from your award or agreement, not one national rule. How rates work, what happens on a salary, and how time off in lieu works.
Stress leave is really sick leave, and how to use it
Stress leave in Australia is taken as paid sick leave. What to tell your employer, what evidence they can ask for, and what to do if it runs out.
Leaving a job
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How to resign without burning bridges
Resigning well mostly comes down to the conversation and the few weeks that follow it. The letter matters, but it's short and it goes into a file.
How to write a resignation email (with examples)
A resignation email does the same job as a resignation letter: it says you're resigning and gives your last day.
How to write a resignation letter that leaves on good terms
A resignation letter template you can copy, five more for the situations that are harder to word, and what the last day you write down does to your final pay. No email address required.
Is redundancy pay taxed?
Redundancy pay is partly tax-free, but only up to a limit, and only when the redundancy is genuine in the tax sense.
Workplace and wellbeing
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Raising a formal grievance
A formal grievance is a complaint you put to your employer in writing and ask it to deal with through a set process.
Resolving conflict at work
Most conflict at work is ordinary. Two people want different things, see the same problem differently, or have let a small irritation build up over a few weeks.
What happens when you report workplace bullying
What a Fair Work Commission stop-bullying order can and can't do, who can apply, how long the process usually takes, and where a general protections claim fits.
What to sort out in your first week at a new job
The paperwork your employer must give you in your first weeks, how probation differs from unfair dismissal protection, and a 30, 60 and 90 day plan.
Tools and templates
The parts of a career move that are quicker to calculate than to read about. All free, none of them ask for your email.
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Pay, demand and entry requirements across every occupation we cover.
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