Getting a job in Canada is a dream for most Filipinos. With a healthcare system and quality of life miles ahead of our country’s, Canada can be your next home if given the right opportunity. And it all starts with a resume that can stand out in a pile of papers.

So how can you make a resume that gets shortlisted by recruitment agencies and noticed by prospective employers? This guide should get you started.

Is the Canadian Resume Format Different From the Usual Resume We Use in the Philippines?

No, the resume in the Philippines is no different from the one used in Canada. Both countries use resumes for job applications and recognize that it’s different from the more detailed curriculum vitae or CV that is more suitable for academic applications.

The resume format used in both countries is also the same (i.e., reverse-chronological), so employers and recruiters in Canada are familiar with the typical resume format we employ in the Philippines. But as with any recruitment process, you must write your resume in a way that highlights your qualifications, experience, and achievements to give hiring managers an excellent first impression of you. To learn more about how to optimize your resume to get that coveted interview invitation, keep reading the article below.

What Is the Best Resume Should I Use When Applying for Canada Jobs?

The reverse-chronological resume, where your work experience starts from the most recent one and ends with the oldest, is preferred by most employers as it’s easy to scan and one that they’re familiar with. This type of resume format can be customized according to the candidate’s experience, so seasoned professionals and newbies can use this to their advantage.

A traditional resume usually includes a resume header with the candidate’s name, job title, and contact information (one’s detailed home address is unnecessary). From here, you can insert other standard sections like resume summary (for experienced workers) or objective (for new college grads looking for their first jobs), the list of your work experience, education, and skills that are relevant to the position you’re applying for, and other additional sections, as necessary.

How To Make a Resume for Canada: A Step-by-Step Guide

Now that you know the best resume format, it’s time to start adding the building blocks of an impressive resume for Canada.

1. Follow the recommended resume layout guidelines

A great resume is 80% content and 20% presentation. Your impressive credentials won’t be as convincing if your resume is like a code that is hard to decipher. Pick a font that is both professional and easy to read. The font size is not supposed to be uniform throughout; the headers must stand out from the rest of the text, so make sure they’re bigger. Highlight key sections and information by bolding or italicizing them.

Keep the resume concise; one page should be enough, whereas two pages are the maximum for those with more extended work history. Ensure there’s enough white space to make it easier to scan. Margins should be one inch on all sides of the page. Double space between sections and line spacing set to 1.15 should also be incorporated into the resume.

2. Add a header without giving away too much

The resume is all about you, so your name should be at the topmost section called the header. Aside from your complete name, recruiters expect this part to include your contact information, precisely your phone number, email address, and LinkedIn profile. Neither your social media profile nor your complete address should be included; only provide them upon request, as they tend to waste unnecessary space.

3. Introduce yourself through a summary of what you have to offer

After the header, you can put a one-paragraph summary of your qualifications, experience, and achievements that align with the job or position you’re applying for. This resume summary suits those with extensive work histories who want to convince the recruiter that they have the right skills to fill the job vacancy.

On the other hand, fresh college graduates looking for their first jobs can still populate this section with a summary, this time of objectives they want to fulfill with the role they’re applying for. A resume objective should not look and sound like a “filler” but rather a brief statement of the candidate’s capabilities and how they will use these skills to help the company. Personalize this section to make sure it won’t sound generic or robotic and to separate yourself from other applicants who are too lazy to revise whatever resume template they have downloaded online.

4. List your work experience, emphasizing your career accomplishments

The work history is the meatiest part of the resume, so spend considerable time perfecting this section. Since you’re making the traditional reverse-chronological resume, start with your most recent experience and work backward.

For each job, include basic information like your job title, employer’s name and location, and dates of employment. Under this subheading, write a bullet list of things you accomplished in that specific role. Start with an action word and quantify the accomplishment using the “CAR” approach, which enables you to provide details of the challenge you faced, what action you took to address the problem, and the result of the said strategy.

For example, if you once worked as a social media marketing strategist, you can highlight your achievement by stating, “Created a 10-point Facebook marketing strategy to help the company’s stagnant Facebook page increase its followers by 150%, audience engagement by 200%, and weekly e-commerce sales by 300%.”

5. Add minor sections as necessary and exclude useless ones

Listing your career history is more than half the battle. However, some jobs in Canada require you to include other specific information. Education is one of these essential information, especially if you earned your degree or certificate from one of the prestigious Canadian schools. You can highlight the institution’s name, the degree you earned, your graduation date, your grade point average (only if it’s impressive and you’ve already completed the program), and extracurricular activities related to the position you’re applying for.

Another section worth adding, especially if you’re inexperienced without much work history to offer, is a list of skills. This can combine soft and hard skills connected to the position you’re applying for. Other supporting information you can add to beef up your resume includes the projects you’ve completed, books published under your name, and your proficiency in foreign languages. Volunteer works you’ve been involved in, and awards and achievements relevant to your career can also impress the hiring managers.

There’s no need to add a list of references. Most recruiters or hiring managers will request them later if needed, so putting them in your resume when you’ve not been shortlisted yet is a waste of valuable space. Canadian resumes also don’t usually include the candidate’s photo, salary requirements/expectations, and private information like marital status and preferred pronouns.

Wrapping Up

Making a resume that will give you an edge in the Canadian job market is no easy feat. One small mistake can cost you a job that can change your life forever. Hence, we recommend using a template that will help guide you in what information to add or exclude from your resume. One of the best online tools you can rely on is Resume Giants, which is not only completely free but comes with a library of templates for different types of jobs.

Jobs in Canada also usually require a cover letter to accompany your resume. The cover letter can be a separate document or something you can easily incorporate into the body of your email message. Either way, its goal is not to repeat what’s already in the resume but to summarize why you’re the perfect fit for the role and explain any gaps and inconsistencies the recruiter might find off-putting when reviewing your resume.