Rodthegasgod

We originally planned Calgary as my wife's friend is there, but i was warned that the economy is hurting there and that Saskatchewan was a good place to reside. We also looked at Toronto area, but still got out hearts set on Alberta picking up next year

viajero

As stated, keep it to two pages - however if you are applying for a position in a financial corporation, one-page CVs are common.

Put your education at the very end (assuming you are not a recent graduate).

No need to put "References available upon request" or something like that.

A small (2-3 sentences) "Professional Profile" statement at the beginning of the CV is handy, but not obligatory. The profile statement is just a general guide to your strengths and what you are seeking, sort of a 3-second snapshot of your CV. There should be examples you can find online.

This might be getting a bit MBA-ish, but in describing your previous work experience, try to use action verbs to highlight your specific accomplishments and the accompanying business results : initiated, coordinated, analyzed, resolved, executed, mediated, etc. Don't just list the job functions like you would find in an ad.

In your CV header, you may wish to put your LinkedIn profile link if you have one - especially you have recommendations there.

One good trend in the recruitment world, at least in Canada - cover letters are requested less and less, which is fantastic. Those things were always a nightmare to compose.

Rodthegasgod

Thats a great help, thank you so much for taking the time to reply

xavier1955

I work 2.5 days per week and i just turned 73

Tigger1

Unless the posting asks for a cover letter, you can leave that out. I very rarely read them and when I do I find that they're so bland I wonder why the candidate even bothered!

The general rule of thumb is have the last ten years of work experience on your resume, but only relevant jobs. As mentioned, education at the bottom but only degree (A levels are not relevant, and I have had resumes with GCSE's on there too!). Some companies use systems that will parse your resume for key words, so I'd make sure that you cross reference with their job posting and have some of those in there too.

not2old

Not all job postings require a degree, with many folks that do not have a degree, possibly just secondary education, maybe some college years in, some sort of certificate or diploma that is job related, even a trades certificate.

Doesn't experience count for anything in lieu of a formal or current certificate or diploma?

That makes a lot of sense. At least that may get the candidate in for an interview

not2old

Blimey, another one - that seems more & more common in Canada these days.

I was in McDonalds the other day picking up a seniors coffee for my 97 year old father-in-law, when I spied this really old granny type in a McD uniform cleaning tables & moving the trash.

Speaking with her, she informed me that at age 83 she needed the job to pay the bills

Seniors rule, finding them working at McD's, Tims, Walmart, Home Depot to name a few
.

Tigger1

Yes it does, it just depends on the role really. My point was more to not put down qualifications that mean nothing in Canada! The majority of the roles I hire for the preference is experience over a degree, apart from some very technical specific roles. But if you have the degree, it never hurts to add it.

xavier1955

I fully understand were she is coming from, although i suspect many will claim they have to get out of the house, get away from the spouse, etc. etc. and it is not for the money

scrubbedexpat091

Seems to count if you also have a degree and formal education to go with said experience, but experience alone doesn't seem all that important or useful anymore.

not2old

Understood that, as well as your specific function as a recruiter (now that you've posted it) is to a degree qualified level person to fit whatever posting, that way makes the recruiter look good they fit the person, the agency gets paid the premium & the recruiter also gets paid... win-win.

The ones that lost are those that should have got the job, not the ones preferenced by the recruiter eh!

I wonder tho', you have these agencies that have recruiters working for them for positions given to the agency to fill by Acme Co because Acme doesn't want the hassle spending time & money doing it

Three levels of vetting sort of makes it difficult to get interviewed by the HR of Acme Co

Wonder what the recruiter in an agency would do with a 60's or a 70 year old individual that has qualifications from 30 or 40 years ago & a career till they were made 'surplus to requirements a few years earlier', being out of work for so long, they become unemployable, yet they still try to get work?

Could it be the recruiter simply tosses it in the trash, all while having a ROFOL?

Or that new immigrant with qualifications as long as your arm applying for some lower level job. - 'recruiter'.... 'why is this person applying for a position like this, toss it in the trash'

Are recruiters screening based on personal preference, dollar signs... what?

Are recruiters qualified to be doing what they do, do they have degree's in Human resourses management', or could it be 'its the only job they could find' after being trained by the recruitment agency?

Like the PhD's washing dishes, driving cabs, working at a gas station or in some greasy spoon - makes you wonder what goes on in the 'land of milk & honey'

scilly

I also understand that a lot of employers now also check social sites online ......

....... so the advice is to check very carefully what you might have posted at any time in the past!

dasalcedo

Spot on, my brother works for one of the big banks and he has to hire people. He said to keep it simple: one page.

xavier1955

I can recall the days when there was no HR dept and one applied to an ad in the newspaper. Your CV was simple and one didn't have to learn the resume writing technique.

You applied for a job and you got an answer within a week.

If fortunate you got an interview with a manager or perhaps the owner.

If not the company was courteous enough to send you a nicely worded refusal letter. In that case it just meant looking around some more and one usually found a job fairly quickly.

There were no recruiters .. no HR department .. all very straight forward.

It is nice to have lived though that era.

Engineer_abroad

make sure it is formatted for 8.5x11 page size and spell check is put to Canadian English (which is a strange hybrid of British English and American English).

I always find a brief brio or career highlights at the very start helps to draw the reader in and get them to continue reading.