Many Canadian job seekers have been misled in the past into thinking that any resume format works for any country. That is not true. As people differ, so do preferences. What determines the kind of resume in a particular country is the nature of the employment market in that country. If you’re in Canada or seeking a job in Canada, you must behave like a Canadian.
But what exactly is a Canadian-styled resume , and how is it written? It is not so much as a definition than it is a format. Let’s take a look.
Factors to Consider when writing a Canadian-styled Resume
1. Careful Use of Keywords
The keywords required in a resume are those matching the relevant keywords in a job description. These include job title, qualification, soft skills and hard skills. The words used to describe these elements must be included in a resume, in a way that does not denote silly copy-and-paste. These keywords must be inserted carefully to depict your professionalism and expertise.
2. Keep it Short and Simple
It is counterproductive to have a 3-page resume, unless you have at least 10 years of work experience in multiple organisations. Otherwise, a one-page resume is great, especially if you’ve just finished school. And if you have some experience, your resume should not exceed two pages. Unnecessarily long resumes do not do well with resume Robots and employers.
3. Write Accomplishments, not Roles
This is another very important factor in writing a Canadian-styled resume. Canadian employers are interested in how much value you’re bringing to the table. It’s not just about what job you have done, but what you were able to achieve doing that job. Instead of saying, “Graphics Designer: Responsible for designing all posters and flyers for the company”, you can say; “Led the team that designed the 2020 JazzLive Promo Billboard for XYZ Media”.
4. Use Action Verbs
Terms like “wrote”, “designed”, “led”, “built”, “filed’, “implemented”, will do better with Applicant Tracking Systems than when you state those things passively. Ensure to be precise, clear and straight-to-the-point. And when you beat the ATS, action Verbs show the Canadian employer that you’re confident and you’ll likely not be second-guessed. This is crucial for a Canadian-styled resume.
5. Add Career Highlights Section
Having a career highlights section helps you communicate important information in a very simple way. This section should include your career accomplishments from previous jobs, summarized in bullet points. Not only will this be easier for a Canadian resume robot to scan, it gives the employer a quick look at what you’re capable of.
6. Canadian-styled Resume are Job-specific
A good number of people simply have one resume that they send to every recruiter for every position they apply to. This is wrong. Every job has its own requirements and specific keywords. If you can’t rewrite the entire resume, you can at least review the Career Highlights section or Summary at the top to capture some of the keywords the job description contains.
7. Give Priority to Soft Skills
Canadian employers are way more interested in soft skills than they are in hard skills. Make sure this is reflected on your resume.
Bottom line
If you want a Canadian job, write a Canadian-styled resume. It makes sense, doesn’t it? You must give recruiters what they want in order to get hired. Do this, and thank me later.
