How to Write a Canadian Resume

Short answer: A Canadian resume is one to two pages long, lists your most recent experience first, focuses on results, and leaves out personal details such as your photo, date of birth, marital status and Social Insurance Number.

What sections does a Canadian resume need?

Contact details: name, city and province, phone, email, and a LinkedIn or portfolio link if you have one. A full street address is not needed.
Summary: two or three lines saying what you do and what you are looking for.
Work experience: job title, employer, city, and dates, newest first, with three to five bullet points each.
Education and certifications: credential, school and year. Add licences and tickets here.
Skills: software, equipment, languages and other skills named in the posting.

What should you leave off?

Canadian employers are not allowed to hire on grounds such as age, religion, family status or national origin, so resumes here leave those details out. Do not include:

a photo
your date of birth, marital status, religion or nationality
your Social Insurance Number (an employer only needs it after you are hired)
the line “References available on request”; bring a separate list to the interview instead

How do you write strong bullet points?

Start each point with an action verb and finish with a result. “Responsible for inventory” tells an employer little. “Counted and reconciled inventory for a 12-aisle warehouse each week, cutting stock errors” shows what you did and why it mattered. Use numbers wherever you honestly can.

How do you get past applicant tracking software?

Many employers use software to sort applications. To make sure yours can be read:

use the same job title and skill words that appear in the posting, where they are true for you
keep the layout simple, with standard headings and no text boxes or tables
save it as a PDF or Word file, whichever the employer asks for

What if your experience is from another country?

List it exactly as you would Canadian experience, and add a few words explaining an employer or credential people here may not know. Use Canadian spelling and write out dates in full to avoid confusion between day and month.

Once your resume is ready, pair it with a short letter. See how to write a cover letter, then search open jobs.