Home Archaeologist Resume template
Archaeologist resume template
A clean starting structure with example content grounded in what archaeologists actually do day to day, not generic filler. Download and replace the bracketed placeholders with your own details.
Which resume format should you use?
Reverse chronological
You have a steady work history. This is the format almost every recruiter and ATS expects by default.
Functional
You're changing fields or have gaps in your employment. Leads with skills rather than a job-by-job timeline.
Combination
You're early career or have worked consistently but for only a few employers. Blends a skills summary with a shorter chronological history.
This template uses the reverse chronological format: the one most archaeologists should default to, since most Australian recruiters and ATS software expect it.
Professional summary
Archaeologist with experience in field survey, excavation and cultural heritage assessment, working across development and public sector projects. Skilled at recording stratigraphy and artefacts, preparing heritage reports, and consulting with Aboriginal communities to meet regulatory requirements. Comfortable combining fieldwork, GIS analysis and compliance work to deliver clear heritage advice.
Key skills
- Field research and sampling
- Laboratory analysis
- Surveying and geospatial work
- Environmental assessment
- Regulatory compliance
- ArcGIS
- QGIS
- Total station
- Ground-penetrating radar
- Photogrammetry software
- Stakeholder management
- Attention to detail
- Written communication
Experience: example bullet points
- Conducted field surveys and excavations across multiple sites, recording stratigraphy and context so that artefact assemblages could be dated and interpreted reliably.
- Prepared heritage assessment reports for development proposals, translating field results into clear significance statements and management recommendations that met regulator expectations.
- Consulted with Aboriginal community representatives during survey and salvage programs, building agreement on methodology and keeping projects on schedule.
- Managed archaeological permits and compliance documentation, tracking conditions and lodging returns on time to keep projects compliant.
- Recorded and analysed artefacts in the laboratory, using ArcGIS and QGIS to map finds and maintain a clean, queryable site dataset.
- Used total station and ground-penetrating radar during sub-surface investigations, refining excavation targeting and reducing unnecessary ground disturbance.
Education
Bachelor degree in archaeology or a related field such as anthropology or history, commonly followed by an honours year or a postgraduate qualification in archaeology or cultural heritage management.
Keywords an ATS is likely to scan for
Applicant tracking systems match your resume against terms in the job ad before a person ever sees it. Only include the ones that actually apply to your experience, but if a term below matches something you've done, use the same wording the job ad uses.
- archaeology
- cultural heritage management
- Aboriginal cultural heritage
- Traditional Owner consultation
- Registered Aboriginal Party
- heritage assessment
- due diligence
- salvage excavation
- artefact analysis
- stratigraphy
- GIS
- QGIS
- ArcGIS
- total station
- ground penetrating radar
- photogrammetry
- heritage permit
- compliance
- Heritage Act
- AHIMS
- significance assessment
Getting past ATS screening
- Match the specific skills, certifications and terms used in the job ad, not just your own wording for the same thing.
- Keep formatting simple: no tables, text boxes, columns, headers/footers or graphics. Parsers frequently drop content placed in these.
- Submit as .docx or PDF unless the job ad specifies otherwise.
- Use standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills) rather than creative alternatives.
- List your core skills and technical competencies in their own section so a keyword scan can find them instantly.
This is a starting point, not a guarantee of interviews. Tailor every bullet point to your own real experience and the specific job ad.