What do you do if you wish to apply for a job in Canada?
For Tips, Sample Resume, Canadian format (aka Canadian style resume, Canadian acceptable standard), Helpful Advice & Related Services
Canadian oldies are shocked if they hadn't applied for a job in the last ten years or so--they learn that writing a resume is a rocket science. New Canadians learn very soon that they have to be educated: all-about-the-RESUME writing, wording, phrasing and polishing their own expressions.
You may say, need a job, go submit a job application (aka resume, CV, Bio, profile, portfolio, etc.).
But, how different is this Canadian application form, from the rest of the world, and different from the American mosaic?
Recap: Canadian job market looks for a resume's
format (word),
size (3 pages only, including cover letter),
language (Canadian English),
style (bulleted, indented, textual),
content (objective, education and professional background, skills--soft and hard, etc., etc.), and
much more...*And what are the experiences of the Canadians in this regard? Read the following opinions / statements and leave a comment, so that others know what you think on this subject:
- "Your value proposition, Graham explains in her book, is made up of three components: your employer's buying motivators (the reasons an employer will want to hire someone), your supporting qualifications (credentials that validate your claim to resolve the employer's buying motivator) and the added value (special talents and contributions) you bring.
Until very recently, the value proposition was one of the greatest differences between Canadian resumes and American resumes" "Canadian resumes are becoming much more like marketing brochures. People are starting to distinguish themselves from other job seekers and are steering away from the templates you find online or in many books. They're using colour, charts, graphs, pictures, interesting bullets and lines." [Canadian resume book a first of its kind] ...Written by and for Canadians, this book will enable you to: ... Comply with Canadian legislative requirements*** related to résumé writing [Best Canadian Résumés, by Sharon Graham] - "The format for the Canadian Resume is similar to the Chronological CV with the length generally being 2 sides of A4. Your name and contact details would be at the top centre followed by your career history and work experience in reverse chronological order with the most recent job detailed first." Note: "There are some differences within Canada itself with regard to job search. In English-speaking Canada you have to actively market yourself but in the French part of Canada it is more formal." [Canadian resume]
- "Most International Résumés contain private and personal information that goes against Anti-Discrimination laws in both Canada and the United States. If any of the following are included in an existing Résumé, it may be overlooked by the hiring Manager or Human Resource Specialist, losing the opportunity to be selected for an interview." [How to live in Canada]
- "We send immigrants to workshops on writing Canadian resumes, Canadian interviewing and Canadian workplace communications, and still we watch as they spend months looking for work. Some simply give up." [Mercado de trabalho para imigrantes no Canadá, Najia Alavi]
- "Our CVs in Venezuela are VERY different to Canadian resumes, we have to have a picture in the CV, our marital status, our age, and every little thing you can think up that Canadian resumes don't have and don't want." [Canadian resume @ A new life in Canada]
- "German resumes feature some additional information that would be "unwanted" in Canadian resumes. for example, it is expected that the German resume includes a photo of the applicant, his/her date of birth, his/her place of birth, ..." [interesting differences]
- "One of the most important tools that will help you find a job in Canada is your resume. The way you prepare this relevant document may be a CRUCIAL factor when you look for a job in Canada." [Three Crucial Elements to Prepare a Resume]
- "Turning your Canadian-style resume into a CV should not be a much-dreaded ordeal."[Turning a Resume into a CV]
- "employer likes the cover letter they'll move on to the resume, if not both will go to the recycle bin. ..." [Research: Employers, Salaries, Relocation]
- Its a myth that there's one standard prescribed Canadian format for a resume which will guarantee success. No such thing that I know of. Making a good resume is a continual process of refinement and you'll just know when you have one that works for you.[Canadian Desi: Canadian style CV]
Despite all-of-the-above stated requirements, in reality you may or may not get a job. PERIOD. On this very significant step of applying (with a unique Canadian resume i.e, "A resume fit by the Canadian requirements, complied meticulously by every applicant"), there are no figures to show actual the return-on-investment for an individuals' time, money, energies and other resources.**
Q. All this marathon is hype (with the drafting, compiling, focused, and loaded with Situation, Action, Result Synergies)
or hope for a change?A. No idea. Even if there is an answer, who will bell the cat, and when?
See also:
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*Most job seekers are reminded the formula in searching (and the time they must be willing to allocate): full time search for a full time job, part time search for a part time job, and a casual approach to this may result in a casual job.
**Did the resume got a job, or a job came because of the Network? Interestingly, there is another factor to find an opportunity. Ironically, resume --job search engines, job workshops, coop, soft-skills, hard-skills, and if you have paid $250 for a beautifully crafted three pager, etc.--are not the be-all and end-all. The other factor, i.e., NETWORK, is common here: "it's not what you know, but who you know that counts..." Source. Read a testimony on this best practice.
Kim Carbia
