Do not make these mistakes in your Canadian Resume.
An average Canadian recruiter spends 6 seconds looking at a resume. You need to get their attention within this time, and make them like call you for the job interview. In this blog, we share the 12 common mistakes you MUST avoid to be called for a job interview.
- Don’t mention your education first. Start with your professional experience.
There may be hundreds of people with the same education as yours. But only you who has that particular experience that the recruiter or hiring manager needs. So mention your experience first, get their attention. Put your education at the end of the resume.
- Don’t write your job duties. Mention your achievements, your greatest contributions, along with the results you delivered using numbers and metrics. There’s nothing more boring than using boring, generic sentences.
- Don’t use the same resume for every job. Tailor it for each job. Invest more time in updating, and highlight your most relevant experiences and achievements. A pro tip: paste the job description into a word cloud generator www.monkeylearn.com/word-cloud and add those key words, strategically. This will help you get shortlisted by Applicant Tracking Systems, i.e., automated resume shortlisting.
- Ensure there are no spelling or grammatical mistakes, use Grammarly or Google auto correct. Spelling mistakes can leave a very bad impression on the employer or recruiter.
- Put a link to your LinkedIn profile in your resume. That gives the recruiter a second chance to look at your achievements and experiences. LinkedIn is more general about who you are, and a resume should be very specific.
- Don’t include cliches or buzzwords in your resume, like detail-oriented, team player, results-driven, self-motivated, hardworking, etc. They’re hard to hear, aren’t they? Imagine how painful yet boring it must be for the recruiter. But you should include job-specific soft skills.
- Don’t make a very long resume. It should be 1-2 pages only, ideally 400-600 words.
- Omitting important information or including irrelevant information. Don’t add your gender, date of birth, religion, ID number, etc. That’s irrelevant. But do include your email, phone, LinkedIn profile, and career highlights.
- Another mistake is using a generic or unprofessional email address. Don’t use toughguy21@gmail.com, use your firstname.lastname@gmail.com
- Don’t attach your headshot or photo. While it may be good at times, it can also create an unconscious bias against you based on your appearance.
- If you must use a photo, don’t put a 10-year-old picture. That just shows you’re too lazy or too nostalgic about your youth. Don’t put the photo you got for free from your cousin’s wedding. Utilize a professional photographer to use a professional, updated headshot or photo in business attire.
- Don’t use a very wordy or crowded format. Use a format that is visually appealing and easy on the eyes.
If you’d like to download my resume, check out this page on our website.
