Resumes, cover letters and interviews

The Canadian style resume

• One or two pages, focused on results rather than duties.
• No photo, no date of birth, no marital status, no religion and no national identity number.
• Contact details, a short summary, work history in reverse order, education, skills and volunteer work.
• Numbers wherever possible, such as the size of a team you led or the value of a budget you managed.
• Tailored to each posting, using the same words the employer used in the advertisement.

A simple resume structure

• Name and contact information.
• Professional summary and key skills.
• Work experience, education and certificates.
• Volunteer experience when it supports the role.

Cover letters

A cover letter is a short page explaining why you want this specific job and what you bring to it. Address it to a person when you can, keep it to three or four paragraphs, and never send the same letter to every employer.

Interviews

1. 1Research the organization and prepare two questions to ask them.
2. 2Prepare stories using the situation, task, action and result structure for behavioural questions.
3. 3Arrive early, dress a little more formally than the workplace, and greet people with a handshake if offered.
4. 4Speak about your own achievements clearly. In Canada this is expected and is not seen as boasting.
5. 5Send a short thank you message by email within a day.

Questions to practise

• Tell me about yourself and why you want this job.
• Tell me about a challenge you solved.
• Tell me about a time you worked with a team.
• Why should we hire you?

For story questions, use STAR. Explain the situation, your task, the action you took and the result. Keep the answer focused on what you did and what changed.