Canadian employers skim resumes quickly. A strong resume is short, clear and tailored to the job, with the most relevant information first.
1. Contact information
Your name, phone number, professional email, city and province, and a LinkedIn URL if you have one. Do not include a photo, your date of birth, your marital status or your Social Insurance Number (SIN): Canadian employers do not expect them, and your SIN should only be given once you are hired.
2. A short summary
Two or three lines about who you are, what you do well and the role you want. Use the words of the job posting when they are true for you.
3. Work experience
Most recent job first: title, employer, city, province, dates and 3 to 5 bullet points starting with action verbs. Add results when you have them, without inventing numbers.
4. Education
Degree, diploma or certificate, school and year. If you studied abroad, you can mention that your credentials were assessed (for example an Educational Credential Assessment) if that is the case.
5. Skills, languages and volunteering
List relevant skills and your languages: English and French skills are a real asset in many Canadian jobs. Volunteer work is valued in Canada and can fill gaps, especially for newcomers.
6. Length and format
One or two pages is the norm. Use Canadian spelling (colour, centre) if you apply in English, and save your resume as a PDF.
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