Get Work in Canada Faster with the Perfect Resume

Having the perfect resume is essential to landing your dream job, no matter what your qualifications, work experience or your field of expertise. According to Statistics Canada, August saw a major increase in available jobs, adding 81,000 new positions in August alone, most of which were in Ontario. This has been the second-largest spike in job growth in Canada since April this year. If you are hoping to work in Canada, this may be the most opportune time to start applying for jobs. Although some immigration programs do not require a job, having one not only opens up more programs available to you as well as increasing your Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score.

Many programs in Canada require a job offer and whether you’re applying from outside or within Canada, being successful can often come down to your first impression, which is essentially your CV or resume.

We have 3 easy steps and some extra tips that you can use to not only create the perfect resume but also to improve your CRS score.

1. Go Back to the Basics

The main purpose of your resume is to grab your recruiter or prospective employer’s attention and secure an interview.

When drafting your first version it is important to bear in mind that you should focus on what value you can bring to the company or in other words why they should hire you over the other applicants.

To do this, ensure that your resume has these basic elements:

• Contact information (Canadian residential address/mobile number/professional email address);
• Education/Skill-set summary (languages spoken, relevant software expertise etc.);
• Work Experience;
• Professional development/achievements;
• Volunteer experience/Community work if applicable

Top Tip Keep your resume short and concise - only list relevant information to the job you are applying for (stick to 2 pages maximum)

Tips and Tricks for the Perfect Resume

Unless you are applying for a creative position and are attempting to demonstrate your skills, there is no reason why you should be creating your resume from scratch. Save yourself some time and energy and use a resume template which is available for free

To do this, ensure that your resume has these basic elements:

• Use point form/bullet form
• Choose a good font size (Titles size 14-16, text size 10-12 depending on the font)
• Avoid using the first person “I”
• Keep your sentences as short as possible
• Keep spacing consistent
• Convert all terms to their Canadian equivalent (if you’re from another country)
• Don’t write CV/Resume at the top of the page (it’s assumed and understood)
• No signature needed
• No photo needed (save that for LinkedIn)
• No references needed unless requested (“references can be made available upon request”)
• No information that is not relevant to the job ie. your gender, date of birth, marital status, religious beliefs, parents’ names or sexual orientation

Top Tip Lets face it, nobody likes a generic resume. Personalise your resume by creating a cover letter tailored to the job you are applying for. It will increase your chances of being hired.

3. Writing Your Cover Letter

First impressions are extremely important as it is the best representation of who you are as well as your education, skills and career experience. Your cover letter is the part of your resume that introduces you and clearly states your career history and future aspirations to your prospective employer or recruiter.

Be sure to implement the following for the perfect cover letter:

• Format must be clean and easy to read
• Start by stating your objective in a direct and understandable way.
• Describe your professional profile efficiently
• Mention your career goals briefly.
• Ensure that there are no spelling or grammatical errors

Include a Letter of Reference

This letter of reference is different from the one that you may be accustomed to. Your letter of reference used when wanting to immigrate to Canada needs to verify two things:

1. Your time worked for an employer

2. That your position matches your NOC (National Occupation Classification) code

This allows the visa officer to calculate how much work experience you have. Work experience is an important factor in the immigration process as it contributes to your CRS score. If your letter of reference seems disingenuous or to be missing information and may lead to your application being refused.

A letter of reference should include the following:

• Official job title
• Dates of your employment
• Salary per week
• Average hours per week
• A detailed list of employment duties(include daily tasks and responsibilities)

Top Tip 1 If you’ve had multiple positions within a company, separate reference letters for each position is most ideal or alternatively, make sure that each position is separated by a period of employment.

Top Tip 2 Also avoid industry-specific jargon that the immigration officer may not be familiar with.

Top Tip 3 The list of employment duties is the most important part of your letter as it allows the officer to discern if your NOC code matches the job that you’re applying for. Your job title does not have to match, in fact, it gives the impression that your letter is fraudulent if they do and therefore may not be processed.

Should you not be able to obtain a letter of reference the following documentation will suffice as long as you have a signed letter stating why you do not have a letter of reference:

• Employment contracts
• Promotion letters
• Paystubs
• Pictures of you at work
• Sworn declarations from previous colleagues

How We Can Help

Navigating the Canadian immigration system can be a bit tedious, with copious amounts of forms and documents to work through and complete, along with strict submission dates. We wouldn’t blame you if you kept delaying applying for your visa. But with MDC on your side, you no longer have to stress about taking immigration on alone. Our accredited RCICs (Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants) are ready to evaluate your eligibility, review all your documentation and handle the submission on your behalf. Using an RCIC does not only optimize your chance of receiving an Invitation to Apply for permanent residency but will make the entire process simple and hassle-free. We take care of all the hard work, while you look for your dream job in Canada. It's just that simple.

Simply fill in the registration form and receive an eligibility assessment from one of our expert consultants today. Your journey starts here.