stubby42

I was wondering if any of you had any tips for writing a resume thats suitable for applying to companies in Canada, I tried searching the wiki but I couldnt find a whole lot on the subject so I was wondering if you guys had any advice you could give me?

Right now I'm struggling with two things, one I've graduated university with a degree in film and tv production and I got a 2:1 but I'm not sure how to convert that into the Canadian equivilant.

The other problem, that might be slightly bigger is writing out work experience. All the advice blogs I've read assume that your applying for jobs within the country your born in but I'm applying for Canada.

How do I explain to the people reading the CV what the companies are without sounding condesending?

I doubt they'll be familar with WHsmiths but I'm not sure how to fit the explanation into my CV.

Thanks

Phil

Alan2005

Just explain what you did and big it up to the max. If you aren't embarrassed by what you write, it's not canadian enough.

stubby42

Thats what kind of what I'm scared about, I'm not completely qualified for the job I'm applying for (its a management position, which I've never done) but the job is exactly where I want it to be, the pay is good and on the whole I have a lot of experience.

By any chance does anyone know what a 2:1 undergraduate degree is equivilent to?

Aviator

If it is a position you've never done, how do you have a lot of experience?

Alan2005

The logical assumption is that he has experience in the industry and not the position.

val50

By any chance does anyone know what a 2:1 undergraduate degree is equivilent to?[/quote]


GPA (Grade Point Average) between 3.2 to 3.8

forrest70

Phil - there is no Canadian equivalent to a 2:1 - they don't use the term or that grading scheme. You wouldn't be expected to list your marks on a resume, however. Just put the university and what the degree is in.

The resume needs to be 'results orientated.' In other words, this is what I did and these were the tangible results (eg, I did xyz and sales increased by abc). You do not need to list your DOB, family circumstances or citizenship either - just keep it to relevant work experience and education.

Good luck.

Aviator

If you are concerned about resume writing consider using a professional resume service. We get resumes come in frequently and most of them are poorly prepared and laid out. Lots of people think they have a great resume, few do. Shelling out for a professional service could be a good investment. In the overall scheme of immigration costs, it is pretty insignificant. There are also services when you get to Canada that can help you if you don't already have a job, and example would be Bowman Employment Services and Chilliwack Employment Services, there are likley others across the country and their services are free to qualified applicants.

Typical mistakes I see are:

• Making the resume too general and not job specific
• Poor grammar and spelling - Worse these days than ever
• Using jargon
• Experience not relevant to the job
• Over selling their expertise and under performing when hired (they don't last long)
• Ambiguous or misleading information and get way too complicated
• Too long, one or two pages max. I fall asleep at the end of page two. I once had a 12 page resume sent in.
• Poor layout

Things I would include:

• Personal details beyond name and address are not required
• Include Canadian residency status
• British English spelling is acceptable
• List most recent first
• 'References on request' or include some if they might help in a decision process.
• Get a couple of experienced resume readers(people who do hiring) to look it over when finished.

stubby42

Sorry just got back to the post, I've been drafting my resume for the last hour or so (it was set up perfectly for a media job, but this one is retail), I've never worked in management but I do have a lot of experience within the industry, I'm coming up to my fifth year working in retail.

One of the companies I work for, I've been there on and off for that five year period (which is also the most relevant experience), I do have some management experience but unfortunatly its not offical, to be blunt the manager (who is now the assistant manager) is pretty lazy so I've often found myself running a shop floor, dealing with customer inquiries/complaints and organising breaks.

but I know its bad practice to put that in a CV.

How quickly can the improvements be made? because the deadlines the 1st of december.

Thats a bit of a relief, thank you.

and thanks for the help everyone, it means a lot.

Alan2005

It's not bad practice to say you were de-facto doing the role. Just don't slag anyone off.

JonboyE

Nice long wiki article here! http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Resume-Canada

As far as I am concerned the only purpose of a resume (and cover letter) is to get you some face time with the person making the hiring decision.

Don't lie, but rewrite your resume for each job you are applying for so it highlights the education and experience you have that is relevant to the vacancy. You use the cover letter to point out that your resume shows that you have all the appropriate education and experience.

It is perfectly OK to say that you managed operations in the manager's absence if that was what you did. Just be sure that your references will not contradict anything you put on your resume.

marimac

No, but you could emphasise that you showed iniative and was given the opportunity to take a leadership role within the team...

Alan2005

That's what I meant, but put better.

Bleepedy Bloops

Why not post your resume so we can see it?

Alan2005

I can think of plenty of reasons.