What a Canadian employer expects
A resume is like a trading card about you. It shows your best moves on one or two small pages, so the boss can decide fast if they want to meet you. In Canada, the card shows your skills, not your face.
- Job Bank (the Government of Canada's job site) says to keep your resume to two pages.
- Job Bank notes that an employer takes an average of 30 seconds to skim a resume. Your best points must be easy to find.
- Put your name, address, email and phone number at the top of the first page, and double-check them.
- Do not add a photo. Job Bank says a photo is "not the norm in Canada."
- Do not add personal details such as age, height, weight, marital status, religion or political views.
- Never put your Social Insurance Number (SIN) on a resume.
- Use a professional email address (no nicknames, extra numbers or special characters).
- Open your current resume, or a blank page.
- Delete any photo.
- Delete age, height, weight, marital status, religion and political views.
- Delete your Social Insurance Number if it is there. Never put it on a resume.
- Put your name, city or address, phone number and email at the top of page 1.
- Check your email address. If it has nicknames, extra numbers or special characters, make a new one with your name.
- Check the length: two pages at most.
- Check: nothing on the "do not include" list is left and your contact details are correct.
Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.
Read the video script
[Host] "You get about thirty seconds. That's how long a Canadian employer spends skimming a resume, according to Job Bank."
[Text on screen: 2 pages max] "So keep it to two pages or less."
[Screen: a resume with a photo and birth date crossed out] "No photo. No age. No marital status. Those are not the norm in Canada."
[Text on screen: Never your SIN] "And never, ever put your Social Insurance Number on a resume."
[Host] "Name, phone, a clean email at the top. Then your best work. Let's build it."
Open your current resume (or a blank page). Delete anything on the "do not include" list above. Check that your email address looks professional; if not, make a new one with your name.
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I'm learning "Resume & Cover Letter (Canada Style)" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "What a Canadian employer expects". What the lesson teaches: - Job Bank (the Government of Canada's job site) says to keep your resume to two pages. - Job Bank notes that an employer takes an average of 30 seconds to skim a resume. Your best points must be easy to find. - Put your name, address, email and phone number at the top of the first page, and double-check them. - Do not add a photo. Job Bank says a photo is "not the norm in Canada." - Do not add personal details such as age, height, weight, marital status, religion or political views. - Never put your Social Insurance Number (SIN) on a resume. - Use a professional email address (no nicknames, extra numbers or special characters). The exercise I'm working on: Open your current resume (or a blank page). Delete anything on the "do not include" list above. Check that your email address looks professional; if not, make a new one with your name. I'm stuck. Please: 1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example. 2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step. 3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.
I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "What a Canadian employer expects" from the course "Resume & Cover Letter (Canada Style)". Here's what the lesson says: A resume is like a trading card about you. It shows your best moves on one or two small pages, so the boss can decide fast if they want to meet you. In Canada, the card shows your skills, not your face. The activity: Open your current resume (or a blank page). Delete anything on the "do not include" list above. Check that your email address looks professional; if not, make a new one with your name. Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words. Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.
Sources
- Job Bank, How to write a good resume: www.jobbank.gc.ca/findajob/resources/write-good-resume
The sections, in order
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Achievements, not chores
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Tailor it to every job
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The cover letter
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Free tools, final checks and sending
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Final project
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Quiz
How long does Job Bank say a resume should be?
Two pages at most.
About how long does an employer spend skimming a resume, according to Job Bank?
An average of 30 seconds.
Should you add a photo to a Canadian resume?
No. Job Bank says it is not the norm in Canada.
Name three personal details to leave off.
Any three of: age, height, weight, marital status, religion, political views (and never your SIN).
When do you give references?
On a separate sheet, only when the employer asks.
What makes a bullet an achievement instead of a duty?
It shows a result, ideally with a real number, starting with an action verb.
Should you send the same cover letter to every job?
No. Job Bank says it should be tailored, and you may need a different one for each job.
Name one free Job Bank tool.
Resume Builder, Job Alerts or Job Match.
Final exam
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Certificate
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