A Canadian Style Resume is the standard résumé format most employers in Canada expect when hiring. It is a concise, professional summary of your work experience, skills, and education — tailored for the Canadian labour market.
A few key aspects that distinguish it:
The term “resume” (or “résumé”) in Canada typically refers to a 1–2 page document for non‑academic jobs, whereas a longer “CV” (curriculum vitae) is used mostly for academic, research, or highly specialized positions.
A Canadian‑style resume excludes personal details that are not relevant to job performance, such as photo, age, or marital status, focusing instead on qualifications, skills, and achievements.
It’s designed to be clear, easy to read, and ATS‑friendly (easy for Applicant Tracking Systems to parse) by using standard fonts, consistent formatting, and relevant keywords.
In short: a Canadian‑style resume is a job application document tailored to Canadian hiring norms — concise, professional, and focused strictly on your job‑relevant profile.
How to make a Canadian‑style resume
Here’s a step-by-step guide based on current Canadian standards.
1. Choose the right format
There are a few common formats used in Canada:
Reverse‑chronological: Lists work experience starting from the most recent — this is the most common format, especially for people with steady employment history.
Functional (skills‑based): Emphasizes skills rather than chronology — useful if you have gaps in employment or are switching careers.
Combination (hybrid): Merges both — highlights skills and also shows work history — often used by mid‑ or senior‑level professionals.
2. Structure and sections
A typical Canadian‑style resume includes the following sections in roughly this order:
Contact Information: Your full name, phone number, professional email, city and province (optional), and optionally a link to a professional profile like LinkedIn. Avoid personal details like photo, date of birth, marital status, etc.
Professional Summary (or Career Profile): A very short (2–4 sentences) summary of who you are professionally — your main skills, experience, and what you bring to the employer. Tailor it to the specific job.
Core Skills (or Skills Summary): A bullet list (5–10 skills) of relevant technical and soft skills. Use keywords from the job posting where appropriate.
Professional Experience (Work History): List your jobs in reverse-chronological order: job title, employer, location, and dates. For each job, use bullet points with strong action verbs to describe achievements, not just duties. Quantify results when possible.
Education: Your degrees, diplomas, or certifications, institution name, and graduation date. If you studied outside Canada, note the country/institution accordingly.
Optional / Additional Sections: Depending on your background and the job, include volunteer experience, languages, certifications/licenses, relevant projects, or professional memberships. This is especially useful for newcomers or career changers.
3. Formatting & Language
Keep the resume length to 1–2 pages. For new graduates or early‑career applicants, 1 page is often sufficient; more experienced professionals can use 2 pages.
Use a clean and professional font (e.g., Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman) and keep formatting simple. Avoid photos, graphics, and decorative fonts.
Use consistent formatting: uniform font sizes, consistent date formats, clear headings, and bullet points for readability.
Write in Canadian English (or French, if appropriate), and ensure spelling, grammar, and punctuation are correct. Proofread carefully.
Tailor your resume to each job — use keywords from the job posting, emphasize relevant skills/achievements, and avoid irrelevant information.
4. What to avoid
No photos — Canadian employers generally expect resumes without a picture.
No personal info — avoid age, gender, marital status, date of birth, nationality, religion, or other sensitive characteristics.
Avoid generic phrases and clichés — instead of “hard‑working team player,” use concrete, measurable achievements.
Don’t overload with irrelevant history — focus on the last 10 years of work (or relevant experience), or on skills/achievements relevant to the job.
Why is a Canadian‑style resume important?
Having a properly formatted Canadian‑style resume matters for several reasons:
Matches employer expectations — Canadian employers and recruiters are accustomed to a concise 1–2 page resume. Submitting a different style may reduce your chances of being considered.
Promotes fairness and non‑discrimination — by omitting personal details, hiring focuses on skills and qualifications rather than irrelevant attributes.
Optimized for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) — many Canadian employers use automated systems to scan resumes before a human sees them. A clean, keyword-rich resume improves your chances of passing screening.
Efficiency and professionalism — recruiters spend only a few seconds glancing at a resume, so a well-structured, easy-to-read resume increases the likelihood that your key qualifications are noticed.
Flexible for different backgrounds — whether you’re a newcomer, changing careers, or a seasoned professional, the Canadian-style resume structure is adaptable. Optional sections can highlight certifications, volunteer work, languages, and more.
Final thoughts
If you plan to apply for jobs in Canada, adopting a Canadian‑style resume is essential. It demonstrates that you understand Canadian workplace norms, helps your application stand out, and increases your chances of getting noticed by recruiters. Tailor your resume carefully to each position, focus on relevant experience and achievements, and keep it concise, professional, and easy to read.
To make this process even easier, we’ve created a step-by-step guide and an interactive tool to help you build your own Canadian‑style resume quickly and effectively. Our tool walks you through each section, ensures your formatting meets Canadian standards, and even suggests action verbs and keywords that make your resume more compelling.
Start creating your professional Canadian-style resume today and take the next step toward landing your dream job in Canada.