I don't post on here that often, but had a few minutes and wanted to share something with the forum. I see so many newcomers and clients spend years and hundreds/thousands of hours preparing to come to Canada, yet fail to spend even a few hours in perfecting the approach and design of their resume.
The biggest mistake that I see people make when immigrating to Canada is having a terrible resume. Listen everyone, resumes sent in Microsoft Word are sure-fire way to not get noticed. Instead, here are some of my tips:
1. Spend $10-$15 on Creative Market or Resume.io and get a custom template, edit it in Microsoft Word, export to PDF. For example, this template is $15.00
2. Single Page or Two-Page Resumes work best in Canada. Avoid these protracted 10 page resumes highlighting every aspect of your life since birth.
3. Get a professional email, such as firstname.lastname@gmail.com. Avoid names like "funguy1984@yahoo.com"
4. Stake your claim in the ground about who you are and what you can immediately contribute to a company on Monday Morning. For example: "Hi, my name is Matthew and I am an experienced XXXXXXXXXX, I can immediately contribute to the organization by performing X, Y, and Z tasks." Be as technical and specific as possible.
5. Lose the "Career Objective" section of your resume. Keep things short and succinct.
6. Put together a highlight of your top projects and deliverables and put them in a cleanly designed PDF. Market yourself to employers as a valuable contributor from day 1. Ask yourself, "how would I market myself if I were on a freelancer platform?"
7. Take a few minutes and draft a thoughtful cover letter for each individual job posting. Even if it is 2 or 3 sentences, just the proper execution of this will speak VOLUMES to hiring managers.
8. Connect with Decision-Makers on LinkedIn and send them a brief note.
9. Canadian Employers don't really care about Education Credentials anymore. What they care most about is your ability to execute and be an immediate contribution. I see too many newcomers disappointed that a Canadian Hiring Manager doesn't care about their MBA or MS or M.Phil from some foreign university. Canadian Hiring Managers these days only care about your SKILL SET and IMMEDIATE CONTRIBUTION. What can you do for the company on Day 1?
People, please spend a few hours and a few dollars on a quality resume template and stand out from the crowd.
The biggest mistake that I see people make when immigrating to Canada is having a terrible resume. Listen everyone, resumes sent in Microsoft Word are sure-fire way to not get noticed. Instead, here are some of my tips:
1. Spend $10-$15 on Creative Market or Resume.io and get a custom template, edit it in Microsoft Word, export to PDF. For example, this template is $15.00
2. Single Page or Two-Page Resumes work best in Canada. Avoid these protracted 10 page resumes highlighting every aspect of your life since birth.
3. Get a professional email, such as firstname.lastname@gmail.com. Avoid names like "funguy1984@yahoo.com"
4. Stake your claim in the ground about who you are and what you can immediately contribute to a company on Monday Morning. For example: "Hi, my name is Matthew and I am an experienced XXXXXXXXXX, I can immediately contribute to the organization by performing X, Y, and Z tasks." Be as technical and specific as possible.
5. Lose the "Career Objective" section of your resume. Keep things short and succinct.
6. Put together a highlight of your top projects and deliverables and put them in a cleanly designed PDF. Market yourself to employers as a valuable contributor from day 1. Ask yourself, "how would I market myself if I were on a freelancer platform?"
7. Take a few minutes and draft a thoughtful cover letter for each individual job posting. Even if it is 2 or 3 sentences, just the proper execution of this will speak VOLUMES to hiring managers.
8. Connect with Decision-Makers on LinkedIn and send them a brief note.
9. Canadian Employers don't really care about Education Credentials anymore. What they care most about is your ability to execute and be an immediate contribution. I see too many newcomers disappointed that a Canadian Hiring Manager doesn't care about their MBA or MS or M.Phil from some foreign university. Canadian Hiring Managers these days only care about your SKILL SET and IMMEDIATE CONTRIBUTION. What can you do for the company on Day 1?
People, please spend a few hours and a few dollars on a quality resume template and stand out from the crowd.
