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Found your dream job in Canada? It’s time to update your resume. We have everything you need to know about Canadian resume formats, plus free resume templates.
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Imagine this: You just found your dream job. The day-to-day work seems right up your alley and the company offers benefits you could never pass up. There’s just one thing standing in your way — updating your resume for the application.
Resume writing can be one of the most daunting parts of applying for a job. It can take up to eight hours to make it perfect and interesting to the recruiter or manager reading it. The desire for perfection can leave you stumbling for the words that really highlight your career and strengths.
Thankfully, we’re here to help with free Canadian resume templates. Let’s dive into how to write a resume following the standard Canadian resume format and what to avoid when resume writing, plus four resume templates for you to customize.
Let’s break down the five must-hit components of the Canadian resume format and tips on how to make your resume stand out from the rest.
The header is the first thing you see when looking at a resume. It’s front and center at the very top and includes your personal information and contact details.
A header should include your:
Leave out potentially discriminatory facts like:
Photos are becoming a popular addition to resumes, but we recommend leaving them out of your header — 88% of resumes with photos are rejected by recruiters.
TIP: Keep a version as a template with all of your experience. If you need to cut out irrelevant information, it’s nice to have a backup of your original.
Underneath the header sits the optional professional or personal summary. This is a paragraph where you can tell the elevator pitch of your career.
It’s up to you if you want to add a professional summary. Some industries and companies may see this as old-fashioned, but if you’re new in your career or switching careers it could be a useful addition. If you write a personal summary, keep it professional — leave out personal details like hobbies since 79% of recruiters skip reading about them.
TIP: Reverse chronological order of job history is the most common Canadian resume format. Functional order is another option that prioritizes skills over employment history.
Work history takes up the bulk of your resume. So when you’re writing this section, keep these tips in mind for each position:
TIP: Keep it simple, organized, and skimmable.
Education is an important part of a resume, but it shouldn’t detract from your work experience, so keep it brief.
Here’s how to include your education information:
TIP: Write your resume for the job you want, not the job you have.
Some resume formats allow you to add a skills section — or you can sprinkle in skills in your work experience. You should include a mix of hard skills like software experience, and soft skills like problem-solving. If applicable, mention job description keywords in this section.
Some modern resume layouts display skills on a grading scale or by the level of expertise. We recommend only listing skills you’re confident in and leaving out skills you’d rate yourself low on.
TIP: Attach your resume as a PDF on job applications.
Now that you know what needs to be on a resume, you’re ready to build your own.
Acceptable resume formats vary depending on the industry. For professional fields like finance and health care, keep your resume traditional. For creative roles like graphic design and advertising, resumes can show personality using color, fonts, and layout. Showing personality in your resume can help yours stand out in a sea of applications. It’s important not to overdo it, though — your resume should still be easy to read and concise.
To write a good resume that gets noticed by Hiring Managers, try using one of these five Canadian resume templates.
You should format business resumes in a traditional layout with a common black font. When applying for a position in the business field, include any relevant awards and industry certifications. This is especially true when applying for corporate openings where Hiring Managers use software to weed out applications.
Our business resume template below works for any of the following roles:
However, a traditional format like our business resume template is safe for any job.
For health care professionals, a traditional resume is also best. Hospitals, for example, receive numerous applications and expect to see similar-looking resumes.
You can use our health care resume template for roles such as:
When writing your health care resumes, prioritize your licensure, certifications, and education.
Teaching requires creativity, and that’s a quality you can demonstrate in your resume. A teaching resume should still be fairly traditional regarding what you include, but you can show your personality using color, fonts, and layout. However, the resume design should not distract from your qualifications.
You can use our education resume template for jobs like:
If you’ve worked as a Substitute Teacher, Coach, Camp Counselor, or anything similar, those roles can make great work history examples for those starting their careers.
The technology industry is vast in terms of the careers available and the companies offering tech jobs. Data analysis, computer tech support, and entry-level cybersecurity jobs are just some useful skills for this diverse field. Like Educators, tech jobs also require a high level of creativity, which you can show through your resume.
You can use our technology resume template for positions like:
If you’re applying for a tech job at a legacy company, you may want to lean toward a conventional resume format — such as our business resume template above. Startups, however, are likely to be much more relaxed and prefer to see unconventional resume styles.
You don’t need work experience to make a resume. Resumes can discuss job-related information like general skills, objectives, and education. Keep these do’s and don’ts in mind:
Here’s how to build a resume without work experience:
TIP: Before you start writing, do some research and self-reflection. In the process, write down information about yourself, including:
You can use our no work experience resume template for roles such as:
Employers will recognize your hard work, and eventually, you will gain work experience you can add to your resume.
They say first impressions are everything, and your resume is the first impression you make with a potential employer. That’s why resume writing skills are important.
Knowing how to make a resume that positions you as the ideal candidate is an important first step before you’re even ready to apply for jobs and impress Hiring Managers. The good news is that anybody can create a polished resume when they know how.
Current students and alumni of Robertson College should contact our Workforce Team for resume writing support.
Your research will be the basic ingredients for your resume. Get a few things prepared before you start to cook later. Look at your LinkedIn profile or old pay stubs, and write down work information like:
“Jot down bullet points that list the job experiences you’d like to highlight…This will act as a skeleton for the resume you will eventually create,” says Rashad Welch, Workforce Team member.
Want to take it to the next level? Research the job opportunity itself. Visit the employer’s website, their LinkedIn, and the job posting. Write down things like:
This information will help you build a resume (and cover letter) tailored to impress.
Your resume format helps tell the story of your skills and work experience. Depending on your work history, there are a few options for approaching this. The main types of resume formats include:
Whether a human or an applicant tracking system (ATS) reads your resume, you must present your information clearly and concisely.
Hiring is a lot of work, so whoever reads your resume is probably very busy. Hiring Managers look at each resume for an average of six to seven seconds during their first read-through.
With so little time to impress, organize your resume so that the most important information, such as required qualifications, is summarized at the top of the page.
Important information to incorporate in the header of your resume includes:
Your summary can also include your areas of expertise, career accomplishments, and how your skills can benefit the prospective employer.
Skills are bite-sized pieces of information that highlight your strengths and abilities. Sometimes, they’re job-specific, but many skills are transferable. An easy way to think about this is soft vs. hard skills.
Soft skills are personality traits you can apply to any job or situation. Advanced roles may require job-specific skills, but soft skills are always important. For people without a lot of experience, a list of soft skills will make your resume shine.
Examples of soft skills include:
Hard skills are technical abilities you learn on the job or through training. These are the skills you learn, not the skills you are born with. Always include hard skills that are relevant to the job you’re applying for, especially when they’re listed in the job description.
Examples of hard skills include:
TIP: While you may already have many of these skills, you may need to upskill or reskill in order to land the job you want. If your hard or soft skills need a reboot, Robertson’s micro-courses are designed for exactly this purpose –– from hard skills like C# Programming to soft skills like Active Listening and Conflict Negotiation.
One of the most powerful ways to make your resume stand out is to insert keywords from the job description into your application.
Using a hiring manager’s keywords will increase your chances of getting your resume seen. ATS systems can’t read like humans, so they use keywords to discover and highlight the best resumes.
Imagine a company looking for a “team player” who can “juggle multiple tasks.” You should use these keywords in your resume, even if you’ve used similar ones. For example:
Your work experience describes your employment history, including full-time and part-time positions. Achievements and volunteer experience are similar but should appear in separate sections. Only include information directly related to the job you’re applying for, and avoid irrelevant details.
For example, it might not be useful to mention your high school dog grooming job when applying for a job as a Pharmacy Technician. These details are outdated and irrelevant. Your resume should show your readiness for the position you’re currently applying for.
Find opportunities to mention specific, measurable outcomes from previous roles.
For example, if 80% of client interactions got converted into sales at your previous job, include this information in your resume. Concrete, measurable targets help Recruiters, Headhunters, or prospective employers understand how you can truly impact their business.
While many job hunters place their education at the top of their resumes, this isn’t necessarily the best approach. Your main goal should be to highlight the most relevant content to the prospective employer.
If the employer has asked for specific education or training, they will look for this information under the corresponding header. Your unique work experiences and skills are what make your resume stand out.
When our Career Services Team coaches students on how to make their resumes stand out, they always mention that simplicity is key.
You don’t need to use fancy fonts or colourful templates. The best resumes use easy-to-read layouts organized by bullet points and headers.
You can review it yourself, but sometimes it helps to get a second set of eyes. Ask somebody in your network to read your resume and provide some feedback.
During or after this phase, prepare to submit your resume. Take one last look, and consider the following best practices:
If you’re applying for job after job and your qualifications meet each job description but aren’t receiving as much as a phone interview, you might want to reassess your resume. You could be making common resume mistakes. Try these tips to help your resume stand out.
Your resume needs to be grammatically correct. Spelling mistakes and poor grammar translate into low effort or a lack of writing ability.
Try to use an active voice, which helps cut out unnecessary words and improves sentence structure for reading comprehension.
A single job opening receives about 250 applications. So, it’s important to keep your resume on one page. This means everything on your resume should add value and showcase your accomplishments and talents.
Hiring Managers form their first impressions of you from your resume. While you don’t want to exaggerate or be untruthful about your skills, you do need to sell yourself. Be sure to include your highest achievements related to the job you’re applying for.
A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself, “Would I want to interview myself based on this resume?”
Your work experience descriptions are where you can sell yourself. Vague descriptions full of overly general responsibilities and jargon can read as filler content.
Try to be specific and support your skills and experience with data whenever possible.
For example, instead of saying, “Managed a team of 20 people,” try saying, “Decreased employee turnover by 20% by reassessing benefits and biweekly one-on-one check-ins.”
Having an updated resume is critical when searching for a job in Canada. Canadian resume formats and templates follow similar guidelines to other parts of the world. Just be sure to keep it professional and organized.
Thankfully, if you’re applying for an international job in Canada, you may not need to tweak your resume much — don’t forget to double-check for Canadian spelling and date formats!
Reach out to our Workforce Team or visit Career Coach for lifelong career support.
Still have questions on how to write a resume using the Canadian format? Let us help.
Focus on showcasing your education, skills, and achievements for a resume for your first job in Canada. Tailor your resume to each job application to highlight the most relevant coursework, volunteer experience, and extracurricular activities.
Most employers care about how long you’ve worked in the field — not the number of jobs you’ve had — so there is no exact number of jobs required to be on a resume. That said, you should have at least two jobs listed. If you’re just starting your career, you can include practicum or internship experiences. Keep in mind that your resume should be only one page.
There’s no need to extend your work history past 10 to 15 years unless the job you’re applying for requires several years’ experience beyond those parameters.
You want your resume to be concise, so you should only include the most relevant experience to each job on your resume. If leaving out irrelevant experience leaves a gap on your resume, that’s okay. It’s outdated to believe resume gaps are red flags — just be prepared to explain why that gap exists in an interview.
However, if you have no relevant or limited work history, it’s okay to list unrelated jobs to show that you have professional experience.
It’s best practice to tailor your resume for the job you’re applying for. However, that doesn’t mean your resume needs to be completely different for each job. You can add small tweaks to highlight specific skills to better align with the job you’re applying for. But, you should only completely change your resume if you are applying for a job in a different field.
Cover letters, on the other hand, should be different for each job. Customize your cover letter by tying your skills and experience to the individual company and role.
There’s no reason a company should need personal details such as your physical address or social insurance number unless they hire you. You do not need to put your full address on your resume. At most, include your city and postal code.
Including an objective statement or professional summary is personal preference. It’s perfectly acceptable to include or omit this step on your resume.
Some employers view resume objectives as an outdated and redundant practice. Many employers still require cover letters, which touch on the same topic of a resume objective in greater detail.
Adding volunteer work to your resume can be a great idea to round out your resume, though it’s not necessary. For volunteer experience within your field, add it to your work experience. If it’s irrelevant or you have numerous jobs listed, list your volunteer work in a separate section or omit it altogether.
Resumes and curriculum vitae (CV) are similar, but CVs are longer and typically reserved for those with Master’s Degrees or Doctorates applying for teaching, research, medical, and science positions.
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