Vous vous déplacez à travers le monde, donc ne présumez pas que tout sera le même. Mettez du temps et des efforts dans votre curriculum vitae et assurez-vous qu'il vaut la peine d'être lu. If it doesn’t excite you, imagine how the HR manager will feel. Canadianiser votre CV!
1. Size Matters – Keep it Short
Résumés should be two pages at most. Props to you if you can condense it to one page!
2. Change your résumé for each job
Copy and paste is your job hunting enemy. Each résumé that you send to an employer should be tailored specifically for the job you are applying for. You should highlight the elements of your experience and previous achievements that are more relevant to each different position. Copying the same résumé for each employer is lazy and employers will notice it. Nobody wants to hire lazy people.
Key: Achievements are key! Don’t use boring daily tasks.
3. Use Keywords
An easy way to help you change each résumé is to read the job advertisement in detail. Identify what skills or attributes they are looking for and use the same keywords when listing your previous responsibilities. Cela dit, don’t make up responsibilities or tell lies on your résumé just to include keywords.
4. Use action words
Choose your words carefully. You are limited to about 300 mots par page dans votre CV alors, again, don’t be lazy. Certain words will have more impact and are better used in the past tense. For example:
Achieved, analyzed, coordinated, established, managed, maintained, surpassed, designed, trained, organised, implemented, motivated, determined, showed initiative, improved, produced, assisted, increased, prepared, built, facilitated, eliminated, streamlined.
5. Look over it before sending
One spelling mistake is embarrassing. Deux erreurs sont impardonnables. Relecture et vérification orthographique sont vos nouveaux meilleurs amis.
If you are still not confident in your spelling and grammatical abilities, ask a friend (fresh eyes!) to read over your résumé and cover letter before sending them.
Punctuation, grammar and spelling mistakes are red flags for some employers – don’t shoot yourself in the foot!
6. Formatting and layout
This is related to point five above but we feel it is so important that we are making it a separate tip. An ugly resume will be hard to look at and employers will not enjoy reading it. Have a clear structure with separate sections for your résumé.
Use bullet points where possible instead of long sentences and paragraphs. Remember you only have 20 seconds to make a good impression.
Use a standard font such as Arial 10. Justify all text to the left. Headings of new sections such as Work Experience and Education should be bolded and underlined. This helps to break up the page neatly.
There are templates available in Word if you search the “Tools” and you will find other examples of résumés in your WHC Jobs Kit as well as online. Register or s'identifier here if you’ve already signed up!
7. Don’t include personal details
Bien que cela puisse être courant dans d'autres pays, il est pas la norme au Canada, so don’t do it. Don’t include your date of birth or age, marital status, health status, sex or gender, religion, or a photo of yourself.
8. Don’t leave time gaps
Account for all months and years in your résumé whether you were working during this time or not. It is always better to account for a period when you were not working than to leave it blank.
Give a clear explanation for this time so that employers are not left wondering if you spend those six months sitting on your couch watching daytime soap operas. Show that you have always had purpose and direction in your life as this transfers to work situations too.
For example, if you took a year out to travel around South America or the Greek Islands – say this. Include it in your work experience section with “Personal Travel” as your employer name and indicate the dates also.
Si vous avez gardé un blog Voyage ou un journal pendant cette période comprennent cela comme une responsabilité professionnelle et même si elle est juste un point de parler léger pour votre entrevue, cela montrera au moins que vous pouvez gérer un blog ou un site Web en ligne et que vous pouvez également avoir des compétences en rédaction.
9. Cover Letter
Incluez toujours une lettre de motivation personnalisée à moins que l'employeur n'indique spécifiquement que les lettres de motivation ne sont pas requises. That means if cover letters are not mentioned in the job description, send one anyway.
It may make you stand out from everyone else and it is also an extra opportunity to highlight extra information to the employer that you could not fit on your résumé.
Do not copy and paste for each job! Employers know all the tricks, so write a new letter for each job application.
Lire aussi:
COMMENT ÉCRIRE UNE LETTRE DE MOTIVATION POUR UN EMPLOI CANADIEN DE VACANCES-TRAVAIL
If the job advertisement mentions certain skills or requirements, mention them in your cover letter. If the company has a certain mission statement or agenda that you agree with – say so. It will show the employer that you are genuinely interested in working for that company or at least that you took the time to read their website.
Say why you want to work for that company and what you can bring to the table or contribute. Suggérant ce que vous aimeriez réaliser en travaillant pour cette entreprise ou offrant des idées est un autre avantage énorme que vous démarquer dans la mémoire de l'employeur!
10. Follow Up
If you don’t follow up on applications you send – you may as well not bother sending them in the first place. Make a list of every job you apply for. Cela inclut des emplois occasionnels dans les magasins de la rue haute, cafés, bars and restaurants.
Call the employer back or visit the café 3 days later to ask if they have received your application. Express your sincere interest in the position and ask when you might hear some news about your application.
BONUS TIP: What are you saving your Résumé as? Don’t use file names like “Résumé Retail” or “Résumé Admin”. You can do better than that!
