Best Practices When Writing a Canadian Resume

If you want to land a job in Canada, without a doubt, you know what is—and most probably have written—a Canadian resume. A resume is an essential tool you can use to “sell” yourself. A good resume includes a cohesive summary of your professional experience, skills, and qualities that make you the best fit for a company's job opening. The resume is one of the documents a recruiter or employer looks at to gauge if you are the person they’re looking for. You can make a good impression about your competencies as an applicant if you make an excellent Canadian resume.

If you have written a Canadian resume before and are looking for a way to improve it, this article lists more tips on how you can make a stellar Canadian resume that will impress recruiters and help you land your dream Canadian job.

Pro Tips to Produce a Good Canadian Resume

Do your research.

Before writing your Canadian resume, research the company, the job requirements, job description, and skills needed for the job opening they have. From there, assess yourself which work experience, skills, or qualities you have are perfect and helpful for the position you are applying for.

Doing your research before assessing yourself will help you determine which specific skillset you will need to highlight.

Give examples to prove your claim.

One of the mistakes some applicants make is failing to give a short example to prove a claim. For example, you may say that you are a hard worker, team player, and reliable. Below those qualities, you may provide a crisp and straightforward example of how you can display those qualities in the position you are applying for.

Quantifying your qualities, skills, and achievements will help employers and recruiters see the evidence behind your claims. It will also give them an idea of your work ethic and give you an edge over other applicants who provide generalized statements.

Do not include unrelated information.

For example, you are applying as a graphic designer for a digital marketing and advertising company in Canada. But at the same time, you are highly skilled at cooking, and you even have taken culinary courses in the past. While your cooking skill and experience are commendable, they may not be related to the company's graphic design job opening. So it is best not to include your skills in cooking to ensure that all the details in your Canadian resume point towards your qualification to be a graphic designer for the said company.

Incorrect information.

Employers and recruiters expect you to give them accurate information about your educational and work experiences. These companies check the dates you include in your resume. Due to carelessness, some applicants mistakenly write the year of their employment from their previous companies. Before you submit your Canadian resume, make sure that all information is correct. Being diligent in double or triple-checking all the information in your resume will show your trustworthiness.

Be balanced.

As mentioned, your resume is a way you can “sell” yourself. So when writing your resume, avoid exaggeration and underselling yourself. Don’t make yourself look perfect or underqualified for the position you are applying for. Just be honest when it comes to outlining your experience, skills, and qualities.

Fill in the gaps of your work experience.

Some applicants may have gaps in their work experience due to different reasons. For example, a resume may show that you have resigned from a job in 2005 and only landed your previous job in 2015, which shows a 10-year working gap. Upon seeing this gap, recruiters may wonder about what happened between your 10-year work hiatus. If this is true in your situation, it is best to mention in your resume what you did during this working gap. For example, did you start your own business? Did you have to take care of a family member? Did you go abroad for a volunteering project? Did you get sick?

Have a cohesive, visually appealing format.

Little details make your good Canadian resume more appealing. Make sure that you choose a font and font size that is simple and is not too big or too small. Avoid overly decorative fonts. If possible, be uniform in your usage of bold, italics, and underline. If you use bullet points in your resume, make sure that all of them are aligned. Ideally, it is best to highlight your important information, such as name, address, and contact number.

Give extra attention to your personal summary.

Make sure that your personal summary highlights your relevant skills, experience, and qualities. Make it short and direct to the point. Use simple, easily understood words instead of highfalutin words that may be used out of context.

You may incorporate some of the companies' keywords in their job description, job requirements, and skills needed in your summary.

Add relevant details to your educational background.

You may include relevant courses and certificates you took in your educational background that contributes to your skills to the position you are aiming for. You can even add appropriate extracurricular activities.

Provide a detailed summary of your professional or work experience.

Start with the recent experience you have. Include your previous company, the country where that company is located, position, and years of employment. Do not forget to give a detailed summary of your responsibilities, assignments, projects, and achievements while fulfilling that role.

Acquire additional education, skill, and experience if necessary.

We all have a dream job. If you found a dream job in Canada but lack the required skill and experience to land that job, it is never wrong to study or get the necessary expertise to help you reach the qualification for the job you want. For example, if a company requires an applicant to use specific essential software, take your time to study that software. Then add that to your skills and experience in your resume, then apply for that dream job!

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