Over the past eight years, I must have seen dozens of resumes. Even though I’m not working in HR, sometimes unwillingly and somewhat by happenstance, I was one of the players in various hiring processes.
It all started when I worked as a French-as-a-second-language teacher. After getting some success with my students, I had “seniority” and when the school needed a fresh batch of teachers, I was asked to screen resumes. Then, when I moved on to a translator and coordinator role in another job, at one point, we needed to hire an entire team. Once again, I was the first set of eyes on incoming resumes. Same scenario a few months later, in yet another position. This time, I even sat for the interviews.
Now, as a freelancer, I request resumes. Once in a while, when my regular workload is lighter, I put an ad on Kijiji and offer translation and editing services to job hunters. I set an affordable price, much lower than what I usually charge the large organizations I work with. I see it as a fun way to connect with the community, a change from the corporate side of my job.
So yeah, I’m familiar with the resume-writing exercise. I’ve seen it all, from professional list of accomplishments on glossy paper to handwritten resumes (!). Of course, I don’t know for sure if your resume will land you the job. I don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach, anyway.
However, I can definitely help you to avoid a few mistakes I often see on resumes. These are especially true for new Canadians, yet unfamiliar with the local hiring culture. Keep those in mind when you are drafting or reviewing your resume!
Never include a picture
In some countries, including most of western Europe, China and Japan, a passport-size professional headshot picture is the norm on resumes. However, there is a strong aversion to including photos in resumes in North America. It is even considered as a major faux pas and pictures are never expected. Besides, if a recruiter is really desperate for that personal connection, he can always check out your online profile on LinkedIn or Facebook.
Don’t include personal information
Your marital status, religion, ethnicity and date of birth do not belong on a Canadian resume. Labour and anti-discrimination laws prevent employers from requesting a good deal of personal information. Again, you would be committing a major faux pas indicating you are fairly clueless about local norms.
Use Canadian spelling
As a word nerd, I’m completely biased here and I guess many employers won’t notice if you use American spelling such as “behavior” or “counselled”. Yet, if you can, make an effort to use Canadian spelling! On a side note, if you are writing a French resume, avoid these very noticeable anglicisms so commonly used in France, such as “manager” (“gestionnaire” in French Canada), “weekend” (“fin de semaine”), brainstorming (use “remue-méninges”) or “debriefing” (“debreffage”).
… and Canadian vocabulary
I remember proofing the resume of a “lorry driver”, i.e. a “truck driver” on this side of the pond. When drafting your Canadian resume, investigate the local job market and make a note of relevant most used keywords. The job posting is a good place to start! Use them on your resume and Canadianize your professional jargon. For a general feel of North American workplace culture, I highly recommend Ask a Manager. The author, Alison, is an American HR professional, but most of her insights (except those regarding labour laws) also apply to Canada.
Don’t state the obvious
The recruiter will know she isn’t holding a road map, you don’t need type “Resume” at the top of your, ahem, resume. And skip the usual “References available upon request” closing line. Most professionals should have references and are expected to provide them upon request.
Do “translate” cultural elements
Canada is a very multicultural country and we get to be familiar with many cultures here, but recruiters don’t necessarily know what a “Bac pro” is (a French vocational qualification) or that in France, “collège” doesn’t mean “college” but “middle school”. Do give the Canadian equivalent for foreign degrees or qualifications! You should also write out acronyms—we are not playing “guess the word” here.
Keep it short and sweet
A resume is not an official document, you get to choose what you include on it. There is a huge gap between lying on your resume and skipping irrelevant positions and information. Your summer spent as a lifeguard in Sydney is unlikely to be useful to your Saskatoon-based employer.
Gender pro tip
Sometimes, it’s hard to determine the gender from a name. For example, in French, Valéry is a masculine name but Valérie is a feminine name, “Gaël” is masculine, “Gaëlle” is feminine. With Chinese names, unless you are familiar with the culture, it’s hard to tell as well. Bottom line is, gender shouldn’t matter on a resume and yes, it could induce a bias. But if you want recruiters to know your gender, you can always add (M.) or (Mrs.) beside your name. For example, “Dominique Legrand (Mrs.)”.
State your legal status (work visa, permanent resident, etc.)
This one is debatable because it could fall into the “too much information” category, but I do think freshly landed immigrants who don’t have any work experience in Canada should mention that they hold a valid work visa. You want to make sure the employer understands that you are not looking to be sponsored and that they will not be immigration red tape. So I’d suggest adding the following mention on your resume: “Landed immigrant with a valid permanent work visa” or something to that effect. It could fit in your “profile” section and, of course, you can remove it once you have that first work experience in Canada.
Don’t be afraid to highlight accomplishments
In North America, it’s okay to state your key success and provide numbers to back them up: “increased sales by xx%”, “handled xxx queries per day”, etc. Don’t be too humble and don’t hide behind your credentials, as impressive as they can be. A can-do attitude and a healthy amount of professional confidence goes a long way here.
Happy job hunting!
I love “Ask a manager”. Her blog has absolutely helped me with my job search and other work issues over the years 🙂
She awesome, isn’t she?!
Even in France, I’ve never put a picture on my resume. Unfortunately, in France, a picture could be a disadvantage if you’re not white (it is a shame but it is true).
Habitually, I put my last experiences at first, then a small text resuming what I’ve done concerning the job I seek, then what formation I had after the Bac (not including that anymore), then a information about languages, and that’s all.
I never put a picture on my resume in France because it wouldn’t have helped me. I am white but I’m not blond, I don’t have big boobs and I don’t look hot.
Ha ha! Shouldn’t the photo only go down to your shoulders anyway…
Well, no, that’s the thing. Big boobs WOULD show on a passport-size pic 😆
Ha ha ha ha. Obviously I’m not thinking big enough!
Learning about how to present my resume in France was a very interesting experience! At first putting my picture felt weird. I remember seeing my (French) neighbor’s resume and also noticing that her resume was more stylized than mine– for example, her header was in a bright blue box and her headers were in blue font. I have seen plainer French resumes, though, that may have been her individual preference.
By the way I am still not receiving email notifications when a new comment is added to a post even when I check the appropriate box. I used to. But if no one else has told you about this issue, maybe it is just me. It’s not a big deal, I just won’t necessarily remember to check your response to my comments!
I’ve never used color either for a resume, too flashy. I’ll probably never hire someone, but a flashy resume will probably go to the trash before I read it.
Same here. I figure it’s a waste anyway, no one prints in colour.
My, I have to fix that damn plugin. It’s annoying! I hear you, I like to follow up after commenting on blog and it’s really useful to have that email reminder.
Do you think French resume are fancier, i.e. more stylized? I haven’t seen many French resumes come to think of it. Ironic!
Actually, you know what’s funny? I’ve seen more resumes of French friends than American ones, so I cannot really compare accurately. That’s probably because I asked French people I knew if I could see their resume to use as an example for my own, plus sometimes French people asked me to proofread their CVs that they had translated to English. In the U.S. I actually haven’t reviewed as many resumes. In France I saw resumes with headers in colored font—not everyone, but it wasn’t uncommon. I think it still looks professional if it’s just one color + black and prints clearly on a black and white printer.
Including one’s personal interests (ex. hiking, volunteering) is definitely more common in France than in the States. We do it in the States too, but if there’s not enough room on the resume, it goes.
Justement, penses-tu que je devrais écrire «en résidence permanente» sur le mien? Je l’avais mis au départ, il n’y est plus maintenant. Je me suis dit qu’après trois ans sur place ils devaient se douter que je n’étais pas en PVT mais peut etre que je me trompe.
Personnellement, je précise ma nationalité, mais pas que je suis résident permanent. Vu mon expérience, mes employeurs potentiels ont de fortes présomption que je peux travailler légalement au Canada.
Mais en fait, je ne vois pas vraiment l’intérêt même de marquer sa nationalité.
Pour toi ça peut l’être si tu dois être amené à voyager aux USA. Un Français n’a pas besoin de visa, un (insérer pays assez discriminé, y’en a plein) va peut-être mettre des heures à franchir la frontière.
En fait, si, un Français a besoin d’un visa, mais il n’y a pas besoin d’être préapprouvé. On peut se présenter à une frontière terrestre juste avec son passport, et un visa d’entrée/sortie multiples est accordé pour 3 mois (waiver I94).
Alors il se trouve que j’ai un visa B1/B2 parce que l’ambassade des États-Unis n’avait pas pu me renseigner correctement sur les requis pour y entrer quand je m’étais renseigné, ce qui me donne un “waiver” I94W a renouveler tous les 6 mois.
Après, les gens qui viennent d’un pays sans accord vont avoir besoin d’un visa avant même de se présenter à la frontière, donc le CBP aura déjà pu faire des vérifications. Mais il est probable que si ta tête ne leur revient pas, tu en as pour des heures d’attentes. Et si tu as un casier judiciaire, tu vas te faire virer du pays.
Ah, merci pour la mise à jour… mine de rien, ça fait une paye que je ne me sers plus que de mon passeport canadien. C’est vrai qu’il y avait même prise des empreintes avec le passeport français…
Ça avait été dur à avoir le visa B1/B2?
Non, ça a dû duré 1 à 2 mois, je ne me rappelle plus. Le plus ennuyeux étant de devoir se présenter en personne à l’ambassade de Toronto, mais bon, j’avais juste demandé à ma compagnie de m’envoyer là-bas pour la journée, donc ça ne m’a pas coûté grand’chose de ce point de vue là.
Ah cool, j’avais toujours entendu dire que c’était le parcours du combattant. Il y a eu une entrevue?
J’imagine que ça doit arriver, mais vu mon passeport, je n’avais pas réellement besoin de ce visa. La personne qui m’a rendu mon passeport m’a justement demandé pourquoi j’avais demandé un visa, et je lui ai expliqué que les renseignements que j’avais difficilement obtenus à ce sujet n’étaient pas clairs (un ratage de la part de la compagnie privée qui gère ça).
Je pense que tu peux t’en passer. En fait, je le conseille surtout aux gens qui débarquent et qui ont zéro expérience au Canada et pas de références locales. Si tes derniers emplois sont au Canada, les employeurs ont en général intégré le fait que tu es permanente… surtout dans les grandes villes comme Montréal où c’est quand même pas un status rare.