Don’t make these mistakes!
Resume Tips for Getting a Job in Canada
By Shawna Cole, ILAC Curriculum Developer
As a foreign student trying to look for part time work, or a new immigrant trying to restart their career in a new country, or someone who is in search of their dream job, there are common resume writing mistakes that everyone makes. According to Prepare for Canada, these issues include:
- Don’t confuse the past and present tense – past tense describes a previous job
- Check your date formatting – use Canadian MM/DD/YYYY format, or be consistent with what you choose
- Don’t include a photo or any immigration documents
- Spellchecker is a double edged sword – don’t trust it completely; be sure to always check your own writing for typos, and have two other people proofread it too
- Keep an eye on the job description – only include what is relevant to the job
What are the next steps?
If you are not sure if your resume is good enough, you should evaluate it, or have someone critique it for you.
To help with this, here is a checklist that you can use to review your resume for what the recruiters and the research has shown to be crucial in getting a hiring manager to look at your resume longer than six seconds.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD RESUME CHECKLIST
Looking for extra resources?
Check these out:
Resume Tips and Strategies by GCF Global
Resume Screening Checklist and Assessing Soft Skills by Top Echelon
ILAC International College students have access to free career services that include having a co-op specialist check their resumes. Other services provided are:
- Interview Coaching
- Job Search Support
- Resume & LinkedIn Preparation
- Weekly Job Postings
- Interview Arrangements
- Ongoing Support
References
Lehman, C., DuFrene, D., Murphy, R. (2013) BCOM. Nelson Education
Zahran, A. (2017). 5 mistakes to avoid when writing a Canadian style resume. Prepare for Canada.
The Ladders (2012). Keeping an eye on recruiter behavior: new study clarifies recruiter decision-making.