Tailor resume template
A clean starting structure with example content grounded in what tailors 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 tailors should default to, since most Australian recruiters and ATS software expect it.
Professional summary
Tailor with hands-on experience across made-to-measure, bespoke and high-volume alteration work in retail and small workshop settings. Skilled at taking precise measurements, drafting and adjusting patterns, and finishing garments so they fit the person wearing them. Comfortable working to tight deadlines during peak alteration periods while keeping quality and durability front of mind.
Key skills
- Craft and handmade production
- Inventory management
- Industrial sewing machine operation
- Overlocker operation
- Dress form work
- CLO 3D
- Pattern drafting software
- Attention to detail
- Customer service
- Written communication
- Time and deadline management
- Problem solving
Experience: example bullet points
- Altered and repaired garments for retail clients, adjusting hems, seams and fastenings so that each piece was returned wearable and comfortable.
- Took customer measurements and recorded fitting requirements, reducing the number of return fittings needed by asking about posture, preferred drape and how the garment would be worn.
- Cut fabric and assembled made-to-measure garments using industrial sewing machines, overlockers and hand tools, maintaining a consistent finish across each order.
- Fitted garments on clients and adjusted seams, hemlines and fastenings, improving comfort for customers with non-standard body shapes and limited mobility.
- Pressed, finished and inspected completed garments before handover, catching faults such as uneven hems and loose fastenings before the client saw them.
- Managed fabric and haberdashery stock using inventory records, keeping common threads, zips and buttons on hand so alteration work was not delayed.
- Handled up to 15 alterations a day during peak wedding and event season, prioritising jobs by collection date and keeping clients informed of progress.
Education
Certificate III in Clothing and Textile Production or Certificate IV in Applied Fashion Design and Technology through TAFE, or equivalent on-the-job training; some tailors also hold a Diploma of Applied Fashion Design and Merchandising.
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.
- Certificate III in Clothing and Textile Production
- Certificate IV in Applied Fashion Design and Technology
- TAFE
- MST training package
- made-to-measure
- bespoke tailoring
- garment alterations
- pattern drafting
- industrial sewing machine
- overlocker
- dress form
- CLO 3D
- pressing and finishing
- WHS
- customer fitting
- inventory management
- Textile, Clothing and Footwear
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.