Resume Tips for New Canadians

After over 20 years of reviewing resumes, filtering candidates, interviewing and hiring for tech and product roles, there are some tips that I’d like to share with those new to the job market, especially those who are new to Canada and North American.

Since most recruiters and hiring managers are going through resumes very quickly you really only have a few seconds to make an impact. The resume must be written in a way that takes the work out of reading it, it must be clear and focused leaving no doubt for the reader and formatted so that there is minimal cognitive and friction.

Besides some of the basics of resume writing that can be found with a quick search, such as the one on Indeed’s website, the post here serves to remind you of the high level objectives. 

Know what you have to offer

It’s common for candidates to want to show a list of all their accomplishments. Even though you may have achieved a great deal in your past life, it’s important to distill and filter the key accomplishments that have the greatest impact on the role that you’re applying for. 

It might help to take a step back and look at yourself from 20,000 feet and understand your unique capabilities. One exercise that can help is to develop a quick elevator speech that summarizes your skills. For instance, if you had a very limited time to describe three key strengths or results that you were able to deliver, what would that be? What are the themes that emerge from this exercise?

Focus

Once you have those key themes, review your resume and make sure that your bullet points really provide more context to support the key themes. Remember to focus on examples that demonstrate the impact that was made (include numbers where possible) and what you did uniquely to impact that outcome. 

It might be worthwhile asking yourself: “What am I trying to say with this bullet point?”. By understanding the strategy and intent behind each point you can make sure that everything ladders up to the overall themes.

Be ruthless in editing out sections and points that no longer support the overall story. It’s difficult to let go of accomplishments but by choosing the most impactful examples, your story will come to life in a more impactful way. 

Final Review

Now that the key themes have been identified and points to support the overall message, make sure you go take a macro view to ensure the story comes together at a high level when someone scans the document. As you do this, make sure you obsess over formatting, sentence structure and correcting any grammatical and spelling errors.

Congrats on your first step! If done right, you not only have a document that you can share with the world, but also a better understanding of your unique strengths and experience.