Don't let your hard-earned experience and qualifications go to waste! Jackie gives you a crash course on how to sell yourself as an auditor!
We often get asked about what to include in resumes when applying for auditing roles. We also have a few people that say that they are just not getting their foot in the door when applying for auditing roles. When I look at their CV’s there is always a few common areas that can be added.
I know what these areas are as I see what businesses are looking for and I’ve also used these in my resumes to successfully get contract auditing work.
You’ve completed a course such as a Lead Auditor course.
Don’t just use those words on your resume. There’s so much more to it.
Clearly state the exact competency from your certificate. This might be Lead Auditor Integrated Management Systems (ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, ISO 45001:2018). Look how much better that is and so much great and important information to communicate to prospective employers.
It would also be beneficial to mention Exemplar Global – if you’ve completed your Lead Auditor IMS course with us, it is a recognized competency by Exemplar Global, so add this in too!
A lot of businesses would be looking for that recognition as it shows that you’ve completed a course that meets required performance criteria and you haven’t just completed any old course that isn’t recognized.
If you're applying or submitting your resume to a certification body, as you’re interested in becoming a certification auditor (3rd party/external auditor) it is important to include the industries or work sectors you have been exposed to and have experience in.
This is the one big thing I picked up many years ago with my own resume. Certification Bodies are always on the lookout for auditors to fill an industry gap as they may be quoting on jobs that their current pool of auditors does not have the competency for. This is why including the industry/sector in your resume makes them stand out and as soon as a CB sees what they are after – there’s your foot in the door!
Now, when you do this, it is NOT just about the industry that the employer was in – remember you may have been exposed to other industries in your job, so think broadly.
For example, I use to work for Sunwater which on its own is water infrastructure. However, I worked in the projects team as the quality and environmental manager, and I was exposed to:
- Water infrastructure
- Civil construction
- Industrial/commercial construction
- Electrical
- Engineering
- Mechanical
- Water quality and so on
See how I expanded and thought about all the different areas I was exposed to during my time there?
Include this section against all of your workplaces listed in your resume.
A great guide to prompt some ideas is if you look at the ANZSIC codes. A lot of certification bodies use these industry codes to allocate work to auditors. This way you can use the language that they are looking for in your resume.
Don’t just write generic statements on your resume of the roles or tasks you had for each job. Start looking at them in a different light and see how they can transition to an auditing world using auditing language. These are the jobs you are applying for so start using audit and ISO standard language now. This demonstrates that you are already living and breathing it and is an easy transition to a new audit role.
I’m not telling you to lie, I’m asking you to look at your experience in a different light.
Here are some examples:
- OH&S Manual – if this is all that’s listed in your resume – what does this mean? Did you consult with workers to develop the manual? Do you review the manual for improvement (hint – this is an audit)
- Contractor Management – surprise! This is an audit! Contractors will have an Agreement of services/products to provide. If you’re managing contractors, then you should be reviewing whether they are meeting this agreement. Again – this is an audit. You could then include in your resume Contractor Audits including the extent that which agreements have been met.
- SWMS – what was your part with the SWMS? Did you develop them, deliver them to relevant workers? Do you review whether the SWMS are being followed – guess what? That’s an audit!
You can see that I am looking at all of these transferable skills and seeing how they fit into the audit world. Change the language so they stand out more for the audit role you are applying for.
I understand that in that specific role it may not have been called an audit, however, an audit is anything that you are checking is being followed against the criteria.
Can you see where I’m heading with this? Don’t use general wording that doesn't relate to anything to do with audits. Revisit and translate the language so it aligns with the audit world you are entering.
If you are applying for an advertised position, use the language in the job advertisement in your resume and your cover letter. I know this should be a no-brainer however I thought I’d bring it up considering we are looking at using the appropriate language.
If the business advertising are looking for specific skills and experience, they will use these words in the advertisement. These will also be the words subconsciously or consciously that they will be looking for in applications.
And finally, stick with it! Keep applying and persevere.
Only those that are truly driven to become auditors keep ongoing. This is great as it keeps the others out! 😊