WHAT SHOULD MY RESUME IDEALLY LOOK LIKE, FOR A JOB IN CANADA?

A question that I am asked very frequently by New Immigrants, when I meet them for an Interview. I do advise them on this issue; however the following components need to be addressed. This MUST be done before one starts applying for employment in Canada.

Generally a resume MUST HAVE the following: CONTACT DETAILS: This includes the name of the applicant, address, phone numbers and email address. Please drop the PHOTOGRAPH, as it is definitely not required. Furthermore, there is no need at all to mention your Age, Marital Status and your Residency, Country of Origin and religion. There are laws governing these issues in Canada and hence they may not be the basis, on which any individual may be discriminated against in terms of employment.

Clarity of an Objective at the beginning of a resume can certainly help in inducing the Reader to continue reading. Eg –

Looking for an opportunity in the area of Financial Analysis and Planning, within an Organization that is value driven and customer oriented OR

Looking for a Supervisory position in Sales, within the Consumer Packaged Goods Industry. Here is an executive summary of the individuals experience and skills. Eg – Controllership experience of over 10 years in Manufacturing

Designated Accounting and Finance professional Excellent leadership and interpersonal skills Managed large groups of staff ranging from 5 – 15 Have been exposed to Public Company Reporting for over 5 years Proficient in the usage of computers and various softwares WORK EXPERIENCE: A Chronological submission of employers worked with in your work life, beginning with the Most Current one. Important components to note here are - the name of the employer, tenure of employment with month/year, title of position and brief of the company worked in. Then you may describe the role you performed. Eg. –

General Manager Jan 200 – Aug 2006 A Manufacturing Organization with Revenues - $100 million and 2000 employees Role Description ACHIEVEMENTS: Do not misinterpret this as a role addition or activity performed. This is a specific mention of an Accomplishment, where you have done more than required and gone that extra mile. Eg –

Managed to bring down the month end closing days from 5 to 3 OR Successfully implemented a Costing system that resulted in an annual savings of $2 million across the company

Listing of your degrees, certifications and so on. Please list the most current one first with details like – Degree obtained, year of certification, Institution that certified you and location. Eg –

CA – ICAO – 2004 B.Com – University of Waterloo – 2000 SOFTWARE SKILLS: This is a comprehensive listing of the various softwares that you are proficient in like SAP, Lawson, Great Plains, Excel, Access, and ACCPAC.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS/VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES: This is not a must have for resumes, however cannot harm you in anyway. You may want to mention your involvement in a ROTARY CLUB for example, in addition to your association with CICA, ICAO, etc.

Overall, a resume that has all or most of the above mentioned components stands a better chance of getting its owner an Interview than a resume that doesn’t.

Vikki Mungre is better known as The Immigrant Coach by those he has helped, not only in their careers, but in their lives. He is passionate about helping people succeed, especially Immigrants from across the world.

A seasoned Management professional with over 20 years of extensive international experience in diverse industries like Logistics, Office Automation, Hospitality, Car rentals, Retail and Staffing. Specific areas he likes and enjoys working with are Success Coaching, Career Counseling, Motivation and Recruitment.