Highlight Achievement Rather Than Tasks
When I review participant resumes, oftentimes they only mention the tasks they have done and fail to highlight their achievements. Employers like to see that these tasks have led you to some sort of achievement. Achievements are a great way to really get employers attention through resumes.
For example, this statement Provided a positive customer experience is merely stating a task. Changing it to something like, Provided a positive customer experience to 40-50 customers per day, ensuring customer retention can make a huge difference in how employers view your resume. It expresses that by doing the intended task the individual interacted with a high number of customers and also ensured that there was repeat service from them.
Include An Education Section
An education section will be especially valuable if you have limited work experience or if you are transferring to a new industry. You can include information such as:
- Relevant coursework
- Grade point average
- Participation in clubs or organizations
- Leadership positions held
- Awards, achievements or certifications
When writing your education section, you should include the name of the institution, dates of attendance and your degree or area of study. If you are applying to mid or higher-level positions, you might remove all but the name of your school and dates of attendance to make room for more relevant professional experience on your resume.
If you have certifications or licenses that are relevant to the job description, you can include them in this section as well. To save space, you can leave off any credentials that are not directly related to the requirements of this job.
Related: How to Include Relevant Coursework on a Student Resume
Sample Resume For A Waitress
Here is an example of a resume for a waitress job you can customize for your own use:
Andrew Nother555-5555-5555
Career Summary
Waitress with 6+ years experience in giving outstanding service to diners. Possesses the ability to operate a point-of-sale machine. Proven ability to perform quick calculations and handle customers’ payments accurately. Excellent knowledge of food and alcohol regulations. Certified in responsible beverage service by the Association of Alcohol Handlers. Looking to bring my experience to your food court.
Work Experience
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Write A Career Summary
Beneath the resume header, indicate your career or professional summary. A career summary is a brief statement outlining your skills, work experience, and greatest achievements. The career summary allows the employer to know the calibre of the candidate you are at a glance, making them develop further interest in your application. To catch the recruiter’s interest, match your skills with the desirable skills in the job posting. If you have no previous waitress experience, you can substitute the career summary with a career objective.
Read more:Writing an Objective for a Resume for a Fresher
Dont Share Personal Information
In Canada, itâs illegal to discriminate against someone based on their gender, background or other personal factors. That said, itâs best to avoid including any personal information that could be used against you on your resume. Itâs not relevant to the job and can be viewed as unprofessional or oversharing. Also, beware of companies that say they need this information before they can interview you. Thatâs not true. Only after youâve accepted a job offer and are signing an employment contract may personal info be required. Some information thatâs off limits on your resume:
- your age or birthdate
- your marital or relationship status
- your religious or political affiliation
- your country of birth or your immigration status
- whether or not you have children
- any personal identification
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Create A Canadian Resume
Once you have collected all your past job experience, professional references, and skills, you can begin formatting your resume. The order will depend on which resume style you chose but all resumes should include: Resume heading, objective, work experience, education, certifications or awards, skills, and references. There are several computer programs to help you type out your resume such as Microsoft Word, Pages, Google Docs, etc. If you are looking to make a creative resume, you can also use online tools such as Canva.
Include A Cover Letter
A cover letter is a formal one-page document that accompanies a resume. It is not a rephrased or concise version of your resume, but it is mainly supposed to talk about how you fit the role youre applying for and why the organization should hire you. The cover letter is also a good way to justify any gaps in your resume or provide any additional info that your resume cant.
Note that a cover letter doesnt have to be a separate document but can also be included in the body of an email when applying for a job. Adding a custom, well-written cover letter to your resume can make you stand out from the crowd, thus improving your chances of being approached for an interview.
Free, downloadable, and editable cover letter template
Tips for writing an impressive Canadian-style cover letter
- Limit the length to one page.
- Tailor your cover letter to suit each job application.
- Proofread your cover letter check for grammar, punctuation, and spelling, especially since it serves as a reflection of your communication skills.
- Use a standard font size . Avoid using special effects .
- Weave in information you know about the company, their recent projects, or organizational culture and values.
Looking for more guidance on cover letters?Read How to write an effective cover letter for advice and insights from recruiters.
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How To Make A Resume
A resume is a document commonly used in the hiring process. It includes information about your background and qualifications and should communicate the most important, relevant information about you to employers in a clear, easy-to-read format. The goal is to quickly communicate why you are uniquely qualified for the position based on your skills and experiences.
To create a resume that will get noticed by employers, you can follow a few simple steps and best practices. The main goal to keep in mind is to make your resume relevant and readable. Lets take a closer look at the best ways to write each of these resume sections. For more inspiration when writing or updating your resume, look at resume samples from your industry and job title.
If you’re interested in professional and personalized resume feedback, learn more about Indeed’s free and paid resume review services at indeed.com/resumehelp.
1. Name and contact information2. Summary or objectivec. Description of role and achievement4. Education6. Optional
When To Use A Hybrid Or Functional Canada Resume Format
The functional resume is a versatile format that focuses on your skills and qualifications instead of experience. While your employment history is still included, it is usually listed after your skills and education section. That places greater emphasis on those skill sets, showcasing your suitability for the position. As a result, this option can sometimes be used effectively by newcomers to the workplace and those who are changing careers.
A hybrid resume retains the expanded reverse chronological work experience section, but itâs no longer the bulk of the resume. Instead, the skills section is also expanded to include a summary of qualifications in addition to the technical skills or core competencies section.
It should be noted, however, that many experts advise job seekers in Canada to stick to a format closer to the reverse chronological. Regardless of the format you chose, here is the basic information a hiring manager is looking for on your resume:
-
Name and contact information
-
Skills
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Get Your Education Assessed For Canadian Equivalency
If you obtained your education outside of Canada, get an official assessment to compare your education against Canadian standards. Include this information on your resume to help Canadian hiring managers understand the knowledge and level of experience you bring to the role. In Canada, the official government educational assessment program is Educational Credential Assessment . Thereâs no official program to assess work experience, however, you can check the National Occupational Classification list to see if your work experience is valid in Canada.
Canadian Style Resume: Write A Resume For Jobs In Canada
Your resume is the primary tool to secure a job in Canada. So creating a Canadian style resume is by far the most crucial step for any new immigrant in Canada who is looking for a job. Learn how to write a resume for jobs in Canada.
One of the most common and easy to fix challenge as a job hunter in Canada is to work on your resume. Suppose your resume is not in the correct format and with the right keywords popping out. In that case, it will not attract the recruiters attention.
Average employer skims through a resume in 7.4 seconds.
It means you have less than 10 seconds to make your mark. You want them to see that you are an excellent fit for the job within the first few seconds. Hence your resume must present your qualifications concisely and strategically to get an employer interested in calling you for an interview.
An employer might not always be the person reading your resume. Hence you must prioritize your information.
We’ll send you a free Canadian style sample resume that will boost your chances in landing a Canadian job interview.Get the free resume sample by subscribing below.
Your resume should promote your attributes in the following manner:
- Skills
- Experience
Ensure that you should spend at least one week to prepare and perfect your resume.
Make sure it clearly describes what you can accomplish professionally and what value will you bring to an employer otherwise a headhunter will simply move on to the next resume.
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How To Write A Resume For The Canadian Job Market
For most newcomers in Canada, one of the top priorities is to find a job in the field of their choice. In this article, I will review my best practices for resume writing, which is one of the first steps in finding your dream job.
With this post, my objective is to help you create an impactful resume that aligns with the expectations of Canadian employers, makes you stand out from the crowd, and gets you noticed by hiring managers, thus landing yourself an interview. To accomplish this, I will guide you through my five step process to creating an impressive resume:
Dont Waste Space With A Heading That Says Resume
One rookie mistake we see people make often is to put a big heading at the top of their resume that says âresume.â This is completely unnecessary and a waste of valuable space! Your name should be the only thing at the top of your resume. Thereâs no need to say âJoe Smithâs Resumeâ or anything of the sort. Put your name in a slightly larger font than the rest of your resume text and leave it at that. Hiring managers know theyâre looking at a resume, you submitted for a job after all! No need to state the obvious. Since you have limited space, make the most of it.
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Work History And Experience
Include the following information for each relevant job youve held:
- Job title
- Name of the company or organization where you worked
- Dates of employment
For each position, also provide a summary of your job responsibilities, functions, and accomplishments. Be as specific as you can, and quantify your experiences whenever possible for example, if you were a supervisor, list exactly how many people you supervised. This helps the employer understand the scope of your experience.
Include any promotions you received by listing new job titles or additional responsibilities you took on.
Remember to use action words to describe what youve achieved.
Sample Rsums You Can Download
The following are 2 downloadable samples of résumés:
These samples contain all the sections normally found in a résumé. They are designed to help you prepare a clear and professional looking résumé.
To use one of the samples, save a copy of the one that interests you on your computer. You can then replace the information contained in the various sections with your information.
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Why Functional Resumes Can Be Effective
The reason functional resumes work well in these situations is that we acquire skills while employed that are transferable. If youve worked as a Customer Service Manager, chances are you were responsible for hiring, training, coaching, evaluating and handling employee relations issues.
Yet if you were to submit this information in a chronological resume when applying for a Human Resources Manager job, there’s a good chance your resume might get skipped, because your title was not human resources related. This applies even if 50 percent of your day was spent dealing with HR issues.
The Functional approach deals with these sorts of issues head on. See how, in the following example. Note that achievements are listed under a particular skills category, rather than in the context of a specific job thats been held. Your actual Employment History comes after the Work Experience section.
Mistake : Poor Spelling And Grammar
Its surprising how many resumes I see that have spelling mistakes.
Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors tell the hiring manager you havent taken care and attention in preparing your resume and therefore you likely wont take care and attention in performing your job! Stop reading and move on to the next candidate!
Run your resume through a tool like Grammarly. It does a good job of finding grammatical errors but also checks your document for clarity and engagement like overly wordy and unclear sentences, and passive voice misuse. Basically it can help make your resume more impactful. You can check out the tool here. *
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Immigrating To Canada Write A Canadian Formatted Resume
The first step to acquiring a job in Canada consists of developing an appropriate resume and cover letter, practicing for interviews, gathering documentation, and preparing for a new beginning.
The most important aspect is writing a resume to move to Canada that is comprehensive and professionally crafted to suit the Canadian job market.
Submitting an excellent Canadian resume that is formatted correctly is crucial to landing an interview because employers will scan the resume first, thus gaining insight into the job seekers capabilities. Besides your experience and educational qualifications, Canadian companies also assess job seekers long-term career goals and objectives.
Research Canadian Common Resume Terms
Resumes written using a standard U.S. format often include specific language like GPA, internship, gap-year and personal brand. These terms are not typically used when writing a resume using a Canadian format. Take some time to research typical language people use when applying to jobs in Canada.
Additionally, there Canadian English varies slightly from U.S. English. For example, many words that are spelled with an “o” in U.S. English are spelled with an “ou” in Canada. Here is a list of words or phrases that you might see on a Canadian resume:
- “Professional summary,” rather than “resume objective”
- “Areas of expertise,” rather than “skills”
- “Professional experience,” rather than “Work-related history”
- “Behaviour,” rather than “behavior”
- “Labour,” rather than “labor”
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List Hard And Soft Skills Together In One Section
When writing a resume you may be used to defining your soft or interpersonal skills in one area and your technical skills and another. You may also include positive attributes like volunteer experience or publication history in an optional section. When you convert your resume to a Canadian format, these items should all be grouped together in one section. The section might be called core abilities, primary strengths or areas of expertise. You can list skills or attributes using bullet points, but you should only include skills that are relative to the position you are applying for.
Read more:Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills
The Functional Or Skills
The functional or skills-based résumé highlights what you have to offer. It emphasizes your achievements or the skills youve acquired from past experiences.
Here are a few examples of skills:
- Proficiency in using a hydraulic press
- Ability to write reports
Describe your skills, starting with those most relevant to the job you’re applying for.
This type of résumé is recommended in the following cases:
- You have little or no work experience.
- You have held a number of unrelated jobs.
- You wish to emphasize talents that you have never had the opportunity to demonstrate in a work environment.
- You wish to highlight skills that can be transferred to a professional field unrelated to your past experiences.
Don’t opt for this type of résumé if you want to showcase how far you’ve come in your career.
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Mistake : Messy Formatting
I think that the best formatting for a resume is to keep it simple. This makes it immediately easy for the hiring manager to see the structure.
I do see some Canadian resumes that have templates with more elaborate formatting, sidebars and other elements but my approach is to keep is simple.
List Your Soft And Hard Skills
Take a moment to consider which skills make you a great fit for the job. Review the job description and highlight keywords that you have had proven success with in the past. Consider both hard and soft skills, as well as transferable skills you can use when changing careers or industries. Create a skills section with the keywords that are relevant to the employer. List any required skills like certifications or licenses first.
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