Home Dive Instructor Resume template
Dive Instructor resume template
A clean starting structure with example content grounded in what dive instructors 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 dive instructors should default to, since most Australian recruiters and ATS software expect it.
Professional summary
Dive Instructor who teaches recreational divers from first open water course through to advanced and specialty certifications. Combines patient in-water instruction with strong safety supervision and routine equipment care, and works well with seasonal, customer-facing dive operations.
Key skills
- Teaching and instruction
- Emergency response (first aid, CPR, oxygen provider)
- Plant and equipment operation (compressor, fill station)
- Dive computers (Shearwater, Suunto)
- PADI eLearning / SSI Digital Learning
- FareHarbor
- Rezdy
- Xero
- Safety and compliance awareness
- Customer service
- Written communication (dive logs, incident reports)
- Physical stamina and dexterity
Experience: example bullet points
- Briefed and led guided dives for groups of up to eight certified divers, matching the dive plan to weather, tidal and boat conditions.
- Demonstrated and assessed scuba skills during open water and advanced courses, giving extra pool time to students who needed it without holding back the rest of the group.
- Maintained scuba gear and compressor equipment, completing daily fill logs and reporting faults before they affected scheduled dives.
- Recorded dive logs, certification paperwork and incident reports accurately, helping the dive school meet insurance and audit requirements.
- Supervised students underwater, resolving buoyancy and mask clearing issues calmly to keep courses running on schedule.
- Worked with boat crew and skippers to coordinate entries, exits and surface intervals for back-to-back dive groups.
Education
No degree is required: the entry pathway is a recreational dive instructor certification through a recognised agency such as PADI or SSI, usually combined with a Certificate III or IV in Outdoor Recreation, plus current first aid, CPR and oxygen provider qualifications.
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.
- PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor
- SSI Open Water Instructor
- NAUI Instructor
- RAID Instructor
- first aid certificate
- CPR
- oxygen provider
- Work Health and Safety
- risk assessment
- dive log
- incident report
- compressor operation
- fill station
- boat handling
- marine radio
- customer service
- Dive Industry Association of Australia
- dive medical
- fitness to dive
- open water
- advanced open water
- rescue diver
- divemaster
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.