How to write a resume with no Australian experience

Separate unfamiliar context from a missing skill

Read the vacancy and make two lists: work you can already demonstrate, and requirements you have not yet met. Moving countries does not make every item on the second list.

For example, you may have managed delivery records overseas but be unfamiliar with the software named in this advertisement. Record those as two separate facts. That lets you explain the relevant process experience while being clear about the tool you would need to learn.

The University of Sydney's guidance for international students identifies international experience, language skills and knowledge of other markets as potential strengths. Choose the ones that matter to the work you are applying to do.

Here is a planning sheet for Priya Rao, a fictional dispatch coordinator applying for an operations support role in Melbourne. The target role involves order records, delivery enquiries and spreadsheet reporting.

Priya, the employers and the work details in this guide are invented teaching examples. Replace them with facts from your own background.

Make an unfamiliar employer easy to understand

An employer name that is widely recognised in one country may tell an Australian reader very little. Add a short factual description if it helps explain your responsibilities.

Dispatch Coordinator — Example Parts Distribution
Pune, India · February 2022–June 2026
Parts distributor supplying independent repair workshops.

That last line gives the experience a setting. It is more useful than an unsupported claim that the company is “the leading supplier” or a long account of its history.

Keep the actual location and dates. Use an accurate English rendering of a non-English job title, adding a short explanation if needed. Preserve the seniority and scope of the role. “Team lead” should not become “operations manager” to match an advertisement.

Write the task so it makes sense without local knowledge

Consider Priya's first draft:

Responsible for dispatch activities and coordination.

The reader cannot see what she actually did. Her working notes contain better material: she maintained an order register, checked delivery details and sent unresolved enquiries to the supervisor.

A more informative version is:

Updated the dispatch register with order and delivery details, checked missing information with customers and escalated unresolved delivery enquiries to the supervisor.

That sentence can travel across markets because the work is understandable. It does not need to claim Australian employment.

Look for internal abbreviations, unexplained systems and vague department names in your own resume. Expand an abbreviation on first use. Describe what a company-specific system helped you do. Keep a recognised software name when it is accurate and relevant.

If you know the volume or outcome of the work, include it with its context. If you do not, explain the task and your contribution without inventing a number.

Use the opening to explain your fit

Priya does not need to open with an apology for lacking local experience. A concise summary can connect her existing work with the role:

Operations support professional based in Melbourne, with dispatch coordination experience in India. Maintained order records, handled delivery enquiries and prepared outstanding-order lists in Excel for a parts distributor.

The statement explains both location and relevance. The experience section then supplies the detail.

Write the summary for the stage you are actually at. If you have several years of relevant overseas work, you do not need to describe yourself as a beginner.

For the page order and contact section, use our Australian resume format example. Keep the summary brief enough that the supporting experience remains easy to find.

Include projects and community work with clear labels

If you have little formal employment, gather examples from study, projects, volunteering or a student society. Name the setting and your own contribution so the reader can assess it correctly.

For example, a fictional student might include:

Inventory dashboard — individual university project
May 2026

• Cleaned a supplied sample dataset in Excel, used pivot tables to compare stock categories and documented the limitations of the source data.

That is evidence of a specific task. Calling it “Inventory Analyst at a retail company” would imply employment that did not happen.

You can also include relevant overseas volunteering or freelance work. For a group project, explain the part you completed yourself. A course you have only started belongs under current study, with the status made clear.

Choose an additional project only when it develops a skill you need and gives you something useful to discuss. You do not need to fill the page with unrelated certificates just to make the document look longer.

Review the experience from the reader's side

Ask someone unfamiliar with your previous employer to read one entry. Can they explain what the organisation did, what you were responsible for and what skill the example demonstrates?

If they cannot, add the missing context. If they can, avoid expanding the entry into a full company briefing.

Before sending, check that:

• The employment locations, dates and titles remain accurate.
• Each named tool reflects something you have actually used.
• Study and projects are clearly distinguished from employment.
• Qualifications use their correct names, without an invented Australian equivalent.
• The most relevant examples are easy to find for this vacancy.

You can bring this career record to OfferUnderway's resume builder when preparing a role-specific draft. Check the finished wording against the original facts.

Questions about applying without local experience

Should I remove overseas jobs to make the resume look Australian?

Keep overseas roles that help explain your suitability. Add context where the reader needs it. You can shorten older or less relevant entries using the same relevance test you would apply to any employment history.

What if the posting explicitly requires Australian experience?

Read the requirement closely. It may refer to a particular process, customer group or local knowledge. Explain any directly relevant experience you have and be clear about gaps. If the requirement is unclear and the posting offers a contact for questions, ask a specific question about it. Resume wording cannot guarantee that an employer will waive a requirement.

Can I include a referee based overseas?

Follow the employer's instructions and ask the referee's permission first. If they accept an overseas referee, give usable contact details and a time zone. Choose someone who can discuss your work accurately.

How can I explain the move in a cover letter?

A short sentence can establish your current location before you discuss relevant experience. Use the cover-letter tailoring example to connect a few facts to the role without retelling your full career history.