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‘Canadian-Style’ Resumes – what’s that all about?
Posted on Feb. 4th 2009 at 05:31 pm EST (702 views, 10 comments)
If you’re applying for jobs in Canada, whether you’re already in Canada or applying from outside the country, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is to send a resume or CV that isn’t in Canadian format. If you send something that isn’t laid out the way employers expect, or doesn’t have the information they want, they’re unlikely to read it, and you’re wasting your time and effort. Research tells us that most employers spend no more than EIGHT SECONDS reading any one resume. So you have approximately half a page to make a great impression. If you haven’t convinced an employer in half a page that you’re worth an interview, you lose out. Every country has its own style and culture when it comes to applying for jobs. What applies in India doesn’t apply in Great Britain, and what works in the United States won’t work in China or Venezuela. So what are the most common mistakes that people from other countries make when writing resumes for Canadian employers? • Too long. Canadian employers want no more than two pages, and no more than one page if you don’t have much experience or if you’re looking for work in retail or food, for example. • Putting personal information on your resume. The only personal information you should include is your name, address, telephone number and email address. If you include information such as date of birth, religion, marital status or even photographs, that almost guarantees that your resume will be ignored – for two reasons. One, it sends a very clear signal to the employer that you ‘don’t understand how things work in Canada’. Two, there are laws prohibiting discrimination on grounds of age, religion, marital status and so on, so employers don’t want to know this information about you before they decide who to interview. • Too much information. Resumes should be tailored to the job you’re applying for. If you’re applying for a position as a software developer, don’t include your training as a martial arts instructor, or the two years you spent working at McDonald’s. Only include education and work experience relevant to the job you’re applying for. • Large blocks of text. Use bullet-points to show your experience. Include a ‘Professional Highlights’ or ‘Summary of Qualifications’ section at the top, where you can list 4-8 bullet-points showing your most significant accomplishments. Under each job held, also use bullet-points to show your key achievements. Bullet-points are much easier to read than paragraphs, and employers can quickly scan these to get an impression of your experience. Eyes tend to glaze too easily over paragraphs. • Talking about duties instead of accomplishments. Employers don’t really care about what your duties were in previous jobs. They’re interested in the bottom line: what can you do for them? So show them what you did for previous employers. How did you save them time, money, resources? How did you streamline processes? How did you contribute to the team? How did you go beyond what is expected? • Poor use of language. Of course, if English isn’t your first language, you’re at a disadvantage. But you’re going to be at a disadvantage anyway because you’re not Canadian. Make sure that your resume contains no spelling or grammar errors, because this shows that you have great communication skills. Mistakes will suggest to an employer that you can’t communicate in English or have poor attention to detail. What should a Canadian resume actually look like? How should accomplishments be described? Fortunately, there are some great resources available to help you with this. If you’re in Canada, find an employment counselling agency – these are all over Canada and offer free resources, including workshops, to help you understand Canadian employers’ expectations. If you’re not in Canada, try these websites: http://career-advice.monster.ca/resumes-cover-letters/careers.aspx In particular, click on the links for resume-writing tips and sample resumes. You’ll also see links for help with cover letters – if there is demand, I can write a blog on cover letters another time http://www.links2work.on.ca/JobSeekers/ConductingYourJobSearch/ResumesCoverLetters/tabid/129/Default.aspx http://www.jobbank.gc.ca – select your language and then click on Resume Builder from the link on the left-hand side. You will need to create an account. Please note: for some reason, the site software inserts spaces into URLs. You may have to remove spaces from URLs to make them work. Thank you for reading - please let me know if this blog is helpful! |
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