Mining Resume: How to Write One for Australian Mining and FIFO Jobs

What goes at the top

Start with your name, phone, email and the suburb and state you live in. Workforce Australia lists sections that include work history, education and training, licences and referees, and says a resume should run to around two pages. For mining, we suggest putting a short tickets and licences block straight after the summary, so a recruiter can see what you hold before they read any further.

That block should name, for each item:

• Tickets and licences with the full name, the unit code where there is one (for example CPCWHS1001 for a white card) and the date issued.
• Expiry or refresher dates. Workforce Australia says to include the expiry date for each licence. If a ticket has no formal expiry, write the date you completed it.
• Medicals. State that you hold a current medical and when it was done. Coal mine roles ask for a Coal Board Medical.
• Inductions. List ones you hold, such as Standard 11 for Queensland coal mines, and any site inductions you have completed.
• Driver licence class and any conditions.

Leave off a photo, your date of birth and your marital status. Anglo American’s CV tips say to avoid them. Other employers may ask for different things, so follow the job ad.

Framing your work history

List jobs newest first, with title, employer and dates. Under each role, use short bullet points that start with an action verb, which is Anglo American’s advice, and describe what you did and what changed because of it. For mining and FIFO work, we suggest the following details are worth including when they are true:

• Safety record. Hazards you reported, toolbox talks or Take 5 checks you led or took part in, inspections you completed, and any safety role such as first aid officer or health and safety representative. State only what you can back up with a referee. Do not invent a figure for incident-free days or hours.
• Equipment operated. Name the machine types and sizes you have worked on, the tickets or licences that covered them, and any plant or vehicle checks you did.
• Roster experience. If you have worked FIFO, DIDO or on a set roster, say so, with the roster pattern as written in your contract and the site type (open cut, underground, processing plant or camp). Our FIFO guide explains the common terms.
• Work in other industries. Construction, agriculture, transport, trades, hospitality and the military all give you reliability, shift work and safety habits to point to.

Explain any gap in your history in one line. Anglo American’s tips say to explain gaps rather than leave a reader guessing.

How to list tickets and licences

Use one line per ticket, with the same layout each time, so a recruiter can scan it. Check the exact unit code on your certificate, because providers sometimes print slightly different codes. Our tickets and certificates directory has one page per ticket with the unit code and what to expect from a course.

Only list a ticket you actually hold. If you have booked a course but not finished it, write “booked” and the course date, so nothing is misread. Keep the certificates and cards together and ready to show, because employers and recruiters ask to see them.

What recruiters and labour hire look for

Linkforce, a labour hire company, covers the same ground in its guide to applying for a mining job: typical FIFO tickets, a national police check and medicals are part of what applicants prepare (read the Linkforce guide). WorkPac’s entry level article says Standard 11 is needed for Queensland coal mine work and a Coal Board Medical for coal mines, and it advises having your paperwork bundled together for the interview (read the WorkPac article). That article is from 2019, so check the current requirement for the role and state.

What this means for your resume:

• Match the ad. Workforce Australia says to use the keywords from the job ad where they are true for you. Make the titles, tickets and machines named in the ad easy to find on your page.
• Make the paperwork easy. Have your tickets, medical, ID and licence ready in one folder, in the same order as your resume.
• Keep the format plain. Anglo American suggests Arial 11 and says to avoid tables and graphics.
• Do not pay before you apply. WorkPac advises against paying for training before you have applied. Ask the recruiter which tickets the role needs first.

Our guide to mining recruitment agencies explains who recruits for mining and how to approach them.

An entry level resume with no experience

If you have never worked on a mine, the resume still follows the same order. Our mining jobs with no experience guide covers which roles take new starters. For the resume itself, we suggest:

• Put your tickets and medicals first, because they are the part a recruiter can check quickly. Read how to get into mining for which ones to get first.
• Write a summary that states the type of role you want, your availability and your willingness to work a roster away from home. Be honest that you are entry level.
• Use work from any industry, and describe the parts that matter on site: turning up on time, working in heat or weather, following procedures and looking after your own and others’ safety.
• Use the job ad’s own wording for skills you really have, as Workforce Australia recommends.
• Do not pad it. One page of true detail beats two pages of filler. If your tickets are the strongest part, keep them above your work history.

Cover letter basics

Workforce Australia says to always include a cover letter unless the job ad says not to. Its advice for the content is:

• Address it to the person advertising the job. If you cannot find a name, use their job title or “Dear Hiring Manager”.
• State the job title or reference number, and where you found the job.
• Say why the role interests you, and which of your experience and skills fit it.
• Give your availability and say you are ready to work.
• Keep it to three or four paragraphs on one page, and thank them for their time.

The Queensland Government has a similar guide to resumes and cover letters. Both pages are linked in the sources below. For mining, we suggest one sentence in the letter that names your key tickets, so the reader does not have to hunt for them. Send the cover letter and a tailored resume together, in a common format such as PDF or DOCX.

Common mistakes

• Missing or hidden expiry dates. Workforce Australia says to include them for every licence.
• Listing tickets you do not hold yet without saying so.
• One resume for every job. Workforce Australia says to tailor to the ad, using its keywords.
• Photos, date of birth and marital status. Anglo American’s tips say to leave them off.
• Heavy design. Anglo American says to avoid tables and graphics. Use a plain font and clear headings.
• Unexplained gaps in the work history.
• Duties without results. Say what you did and what it achieved, with numbers only where you can prove them.
• Spelling errors and untrue statements. Workforce Australia’s review checklist includes checking for mistakes and making sure everything is true and correct.
• Paying for training before you know the role needs it. WorkPac advises against it.
• No referees. Workforce Australia lists referees as a standard section. Ask first, and use recent supervisors.

Copyable section order

This is a plain outline with no sample person or made-up details. Copy it into a blank document and replace each line with your own information.

1. Name and contact details
   Phone, email, suburb and state, and whether you will relocate or fly from your home airport

2. Short summary (3 or 4 lines)
   The role you want, your years in the industry (or "entry level"), your roster preference, your top tickets

3. Tickets, licences and medicals
   Name | unit code | date issued | expiry or refresher date
   Driver licence class
   Inductions held (for example Standard 11, site inductions)
   Medicals held and the date of the last one

4. Work history (newest first)
   Job title | employer | dates
   Site type, roster, equipment operated
   2 to 4 bullet points: tasks, results, safety contribution

5. Training and education
   Qualifications and courses, newest first

6. Key skills (optional)
   Only skills that match the job ad

7. Referees
   Two recent supervisors, with their permission, or "available on request"

Before you send it, check the length, the expiry dates, the spelling and that every ticket is one you hold. Then match the wording to the job ad. The Workforce Australia resume guide and the Queensland Government guide each have a longer checklist.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

Last updated 10 October 2026. Facts on this page come from the sources below.

• Workforce Australia: Write a resume (read 10 October 2026)
• Workforce Australia: Write a cover letter (read 10 October 2026)
• Queensland Government: How to write a resume and cover letter (read 10 October 2026)
• Anglo American: Tips for writing your CV (read 10 October 2026)
• Linkforce: How To Apply for a Mining Job in Australia (read 10 October 2026)
• WorkPac: How to get an entry level role in mining (read 10 October 2026)

The length, section, licence, cover letter and personal details points come from the government and Anglo American pages above. The recruiter points come from Linkforce, a labour hire company, and WorkPac, a mining recruiter. The WorkPac article is dated 28 October 2019, so confirm any requirement it mentions with the employer or current regulator before you act on it. Where we say “we suggest”, it is our practical advice, not a rule or a quote from a source. Employers set their own requirements, so the job ad comes first.