International students in Canada prioritize education. Their main goal in pursuing Canadian studies is to establish their skills, expand their network, and gain more knowledge providing a foundation for their career.
Irrespective of their study field, abundant skilled job opportunities are available in Canada. Building a career in Canada requires one to comprehend the Canadian job market.
When you begin your job search, ensure your resume aligns well with the Canadian style. While writing your resume, you may wonder about how to write it. What information should you include in it? Will your international experience impact your resume? Will you qualify for a job without any previous Canadian work experience?
Do international students in Canada need a resume?
International students in Canada often end up asking whether they will need a resume or not. The answer to their question is a ‘yes’. If they want to continue working while they study or after they complete their studies, they will need a resume.
An international student can work part-time while studying to partially cover their Canadian living expenses. The study program might require a compulsory internship or co-op term as an alternative option. You will need a Canadian resume whether you are interested in work opportunities on-campus, off-campus, as a co-op term, or as an intern.
International students opting to study in Canada end up living and working here after graduation.
Once a student completes his studies, he will need to apply for a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) or an employer-specific work permit to work on a full-time basis.
A student’s resume is a golden opportunity to create a strong and lasting impression on the recruiters. Resumes also determine your value and how your future manager will assess you. Therefore, having a Canadian-specific resume that talks about your unique traits and skills are crucial. It will help you be successful at your workplace.
Tips for writing a resume for international students without any Canadian experience
While entering the Canadian labor market, you must remember that existing Canadians will likely have an edge over you. Few of them must have been living here, few must have been brought up here, and few must have been educated in the country and this means they must have established several links. It also implies that you will need to be at par with them in certain areas while you prepare to search for jobs.
As an international student, it is better to focus on certain essential factors, they are as follows:
Including work as a volunteer in your Canadian experience
Volunteering for work is embedded in the Canadian culture, therefore you will need to incorporate this wherever possible in your resume. Volunteer work is helpful to learn about the professional environment. It also helps an individual acquire more theoretical knowledge, learn new professional skills, and develop new connections.
Create a strong portfolio
The focus of potential employers will be on your capabilities and what you’ll be able to offer to their organization or firm. You should display your best projects, proving your creative and technical abilities. You must create a strong portfolio through blogs, designs, or previous work samples. Suppose you have a digital portfolio you need to put its link on your CV and LinkedIn profile.
Bringing the best skills to the company
Whatever skills you have acquired through your studies, think of them from a broader perspective. Can you somehow relate those skills to the work or position you have applied for? Search out for certain aspects of your previous academic projects, part-time jobs, extra co-curricular activities, and other work which could help show the valuable contribution you could make toward the new role.
You could use your part-time experience at a call center (if any) while pursuing your studies. You could display your time-management skills and customer service skills or the new software knowledge. You could even showcase the accountancy skills you acquired in the student club.
As a sports coach, you could present your skill of managing people effectively. Using these examples, you can estimate the kind of skills that will align with your job position.
What should an international student resume look like?
Depending on what companies you are likely to apply for, make sure you customize your resume. Your resume should align with the job positions you choose to apply for.
To enhance your resume and chances of being selected for interviews, use the following tips:
- Personal contact details– Don’t forget to include your official name and contact information such as a valid email Id that you currently use on a regular basis. Make sure it doesn’t look unprofessional with slang language or nicknames. It should appear professional.
- Share links– Make sure you share your LinkedIn profile link and your portfolio link. Your LinkedIn profile must be updated with your recent projects and accomplishments listed on it. Optimize your profile and social media to be found by potential recruiters. Make everything look professional.
- Write a precise and professional summary and objective– Give a gist of your accomplishments and the skills that make you a good choice for the position you seek.
- Share any professional experience– If you have had previous work experience in your native country, include it with the relevant skills. Professional expertise could consist of school projects, part-time jobs, volunteer work, or internships.
- Include your education qualification and academic achievements– Include your study program details even if they don’t relate to the job position you seek. It will give an impression that you’re hard-working and can learn as fast as possible.
- Share your language skills and related interests– Knowing a language other than English could prove to be highly beneficial. Any other skills that you must have improved during your course, provided they are relevant to your industry or field. Suppose you were involved in the debating team at the university, it will prove your efficiency at public speaking and other analytical skills.
Essential writing tips for international students in Canada
By now you’re already familiar with the basics of writing a resume as an international student in Canada, let us also consider a few more writing tips for an impactful and excellent resume in Canadian style:
1. Resume format is crucial
Selecting the correct format for the resume is crucial. Students can use the Functional format for their resume because it is an effective way to overcome the challenge of attracting the recruiter’s attention to their skills without having any Canadian experience. There are other formats including reverse chronological, hybrid, or combination.
Experienced professionals can make use of the Reverse chronological resume format because it lists your experience from the recent to the last one. While the Combination resume format is for those having any prior work experience highlighting their work history as well as transferable skills.
2. Focus on skills and professional experiences
Gain more knowledge about the skills required by potential employers. Concerning your professional and non-professional roles, highlight the roles and skills which will fit perfectly with the employer’s requirements.
Non-professional experience should focus on any school projects, and volunteer work experience that can be added to your resume.
Shift your attention to the impact your projects have created or are likely to create and also list out all your accomplishments.
3. Use of proper keywords aligning with the job description
Using the right keywords as per the job description will help you get through the Applicant Tracking System (ATS). ATS basically ranks your resume based on the scores based on how much your resume matches the job description.
Most companies in Canada use the ATS to filter the right applications matching their job criteria.
4. Emphasize your technical and soft skills
The foremost thing to do is to figure out which skills you need to have to match the job description. Do you have any soft skills like leadership qualities and communication skills? If yes then you will have an added advantage because these are vital in the Canadian job market.
5. Add your foreign-based qualifications
Displaying the academic and professional qualifications that you obtained from your home country can be beneficial for the Canadian job market. You will need an ECA to assess your foreign credentials and make sure these are equivalent to the Canadian standards. Doing so will provide a clear picture to recruiters as they will easily comprehend your qualifications and how far they match the job opening. You will get an enhanced match score while going through ATS.
6. Send a crisp resume
For an international student, a one-page resume will be sufficient because only the important skills need to be focused on. Whereas, experienced professionals applying for mid-senior roles and high-end positions can send a two-page resume.
7. Uniformity in fonts and say no to designs
Make sure you avoid using any design elements, because tables, graphics, or bold colors can drastically lower your chances of resume selection based on the ATS. Keeping your resume simple, makes it easier for recruiters to understand your skills and qualifications. It keeps them from becoming distracted by the design elements. Keep proper spacing (white space should be there) and use only standard fonts without any pictures.
8. A cover letter is a must
Cover letters are used to highlight one’s unique skills and qualities that make one the best fit for the job role. Even if the company doesn’t ask you to include a cover letter, make sure you add it as it will give you the chance of giving a personal touch. You can present your idea of why you like that specific job.
Even though you might lack in having Canadian experience, that in no way means that you have low chances of being recruited. One thing you can do as an international student is to highlight your relevant skills and recent experiences by relating them to the job profile you are seeking and applying for.
Using the above tips will surely embark you on a successful career in Canada.
