Resumes for Professionals

Workshop Handout

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 RESUME PREPARATION

BEFORE YOU START

1. Check the job application deadline and ensure you have enough time to complete it.

2. Review any application tips or FAQ from the employer’s career website.

3. You may need to create a profile on the career section of the employer’s website. Before
you begin, find out if the application process requires you to provide additional
information.

4. Research the employer. Understand their mission, vision and values and align your
application with their priorities and needs.

5. Ensure you have a professional voicemail message on your phone and a professional
email address.

6. Ensure your LinkedIn profile is up-to-date and matches the information in your resume.
Include a customized LinkedIn URL in your contact information.
linkedin.com/in/firstnamelastname

7. Ensure your resume is compatible with an applicant tracking system (ATS).

(See pages 13-15 for details).

WHAT TO INCLUDE

Mandatory
 Name
 Telephone number
 Email address/LinkedIn URL
 City, province, postal code
 Highlights or profile section
 Employment history (job title, company name and dates)
 Work experience in skill statement form
 Relevant education and training
 Relevant professional associations
 Relevant professional designations (i.e. PMP, P. Eng.)

Optional
 Street address
 Volunteer work/community involvement
 Interests
 Unrelated training
 Academic distinctions/awards (i.e. GPA, scholarships)
 Tagline

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Do not include
 Social Insurance Number (SIN #)
 Age/photo
 Marital status
 Religious and political affiliations
 Salary information
 Reasons for leaving previous job

BEST PRACTICES

1. Tailor each cover letter and resume to the job posting. Be able to articulate your skills,
education, experience and interests as they align with the job you want.

2. Provide evidence of the skills you claim to have. Create impact (power skill) statements
of how you have used your skills in previous positions. (See page 22 for details).

3. Describe your employment history in terms of projects, achievements and outcomes.

4. If relevant for your industry, include a link to a portfolio of your work.

5. Remove outdated education and training from your resume.

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 CHRONOLOGICAL RESUME SAMPLES

Mary Campos
Vancouver, BC V5T 1N9
778-960-0002 linkedin.com/in/marycampos marycampos@gmail.com

HIGHLIGHTS OF QUALIFICATIONS
 10+ years’ experience providing client-centered administrative support in high-volume,
dynamic environments
 Administrative Assistant Diploma with accurate typing speed of 55 w.p.m.
 Proven strong verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills when interacting
with staff and customers, resulting in productive working relationships
 Perform data quality checks, ensuring accuracy and integrity of data entered
 Developed administrative training manual for staff, resulting in heightened customer
satisfaction surveys and consistency of service
 Proactive and versatile with proven organizational skills and strong work ethic
 Competent using: MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Adobe InDesign & Photoshop
 Received “Employee of the Month” for outstanding teamwork & client referrals

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Customer Service Representative, Royal Bank, Toronto, ON April 2015 - May 2021
 Processed client requests in a friendly manner with attention to detail and accuracy
 Simultaneously handled numerous tasks, balancing administration work, walk-in
clients, and a busy six-line switchboard, deadlines and daily targets met
 Identified and met clients’ needs by suggesting potential products and services
 Met and exceeded monthly & annual sales targets by providing exceptional customer
service, resulting in increased business and a 120% bonus payout at year end
 Maintained updates on new product information through intranet and new product
information sheets, securing a 10% higher number of products sold monthly

Junior Graphic Designer, Graphic and Print Services, Toronto, ON Oct 2011 - March 2015
 Welcomed clients, provided consultation on print orders and specifications required
 Performed various administrative tasks, filed documents, answered switchboard,
handled inquiries, including bi-weekly payroll for 15 staff in a timely manner
 Learned new payroll system in two days and trained two support staff on system
 Performed layout with Adobe InDesign and Photoshop, meeting project timelines
 Trained new staff on copying, binding and dry mounting equipment, ensuring
completion of high-quality products and timelines where met

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Mary Campos 778-960-0002 marycampos@gmail.com

WORK EXPERIENCE (cont’d)

Crop Scout, OMAFRA, Guelph, ON March - Sept 2011
 Monitored 700 acres of potatoes, measured insect and disease rates accurately
identifying pest management priorities, accurately identifying methods and cost
 Provided daily reports for growers during growing season, which included mapping of
fields ensured growers success in managing threats and satisfactory yields

Telephone Fundraiser, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, ON Jan 2010 – Feb 2011
 Achieved an above average pledge rate of 25% by cold calling a high-volume of
residents soliciting donations for a building fund

Environmental Technician, City of Toronto Parks, Toronto, ON Jan - Dec 2009

 Liaised between public interest groups and the parks department ensuring best
environmental practices were adhered to
 Coordinated 50 volunteers for clean-up projects in Toronto parks resulting in cleaner,
safer areas for individuals and families to enjoy

VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE
Canvasser Jan 2017 - March 2021
Heart & Stroke Foundation, Toronto, ON
 Collected the most funds in designated area by politely, persuasively requesting
donations in an informative manner

Event Coordinator March 2015 - Nov 2016

Organics Club, Toronto, ON
 Coordinated a yearly celebration of local organic growers attended by over 200
people, located suppliers, entertainment, and promoted event to members

EDUCATION & TRAINING

Administrative Assistant Diploma, CDI College, Toronto, ON

First Aid Level 1, St. John Ambulance, Toronto, ON

WHMIS, St. John Ambulance, Toronto, ON

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Pat Smith, BCom
North Vancouver, BC V7J 2C1 604.123.4567 | patsmith@gmail.com | linkedin.com/in/patsmith

Business Development Leader | 8+ years’ experience | Sales and Marketing

HIGHLIGHTS OF QUALIFICATIONS
 Strategic and results-oriented business professional with 8 years’ experience in all aspects of
project management, account management and sales and marketing
 Customer relations manager with established track record of building and nurturing long-term
business relationships with high-profile leaders
 Achieve business objectives for Tasty Foods Organic Restaurant franchises by delivering
impactful social media marketing, resulting in an increased customer base of 20% year over year
 Reputation as an approachable and transformational leader that motivates high-performance
teams, resulting in exceeding yearly KPMs

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
Senior Business Development Manager
Tasty Foods Organic Restaurant, Vancouver, BC June 2016 – May 2021
 Launched 14 Canadian franchises, successfully increased the customer base by 20% each year
 Actively managed the strategic planning process, ensuring the success of the 14 Tasty Foods
Organic Restaurants
 Sat on the Canadian Board to determine the strategic direction, resulting in development of a
5-year marketing plan for the company
 Accountable for concept development, communications including overall management of
marketing plan development, resulting in the program becoming a mandatory requirement for
all franchises
 Created and implemented the communications plan for leadership development initiatives,
further developing leadership capacity of franchisees

Franchise Development Manager

Organikós Restaurant & Juice Bar, Vancouver, BC Jan 2012 – May 2016
 Planned, traveled and executed over 30 franchise strategic planning sessions, ranging from 15 to
1,000 attendees in the Canada and the USA, ensuring goals and objectives of the franchises
were in alignment with the company
 Oversaw budget development for over 30 meeting events across North America, which secured
marketing, speaker negotiations and including event logistics
 Created a scorecard for all company franchises, creating efficient account management for each
franchise and identification of KPIs, that stimulated customer retention and membership growth

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Pat Smith, BCom 604.123.4567 | patsmith@gmail.com | linkedin.com/in/patsmithbcom

EDUCATION

Marketing Management Certificate 2013

BCIT, Burnaby, BC

Bachelor of Commerce 2011

University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Cultural Diversity Workshop 2018

TrainUp.com, Vancouver, BC

Negotiation Skills Levels 1 & 2 2015

Justice Institute, New Westminster, BC

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Abbas Reza 778.218.4567 areza@gmail.com
Vancouver, BC V3J 1R7 linkedin.com/in/abbasreza

Full Stack Web Developer

Profile Solution-driven web developer with five years of experience building scalable web
applications and internal tools that improve efficiency. Curious, driven professional skilled
at contributing to highly collaborative work environments. Built consumer-focused
websites for mobile and desktop users, finding solutions while adhering to industry
standards and best practices.

Experience Full Stack Developer

STRV, Vancouver, BC Mar 2018 – Present
 Develop full stack web applications which process, analyze and render data visually
 Liaise with back-end developers, front-end developers, quality assurance testers, and
CTO, ensuring efficiency and responsiveness of applications
 Manage time-sensitive updates, including content changes and database upgrades
 Plan, write and debug web applications and software with complete accuracy
 Improve web app performance by 20% using code splitting technique and file
compression at node.js server

Junior Full Stack Developer

Pixieset, Vancouver, BC Sep 2016 – Feb 2018
 Maximized applications’ efficiency, data quality, scope, operability and flexibility by
using large-scale design, real-time data processing, data storage, ML and AI,
resolving challenging dataset issues
 Managed, optimized and updated PHP databases, ensuring app ran smoothly
 Developed app integration with REST/SOAP and other APIs for Google Maps, social
media logins, payment processors and other services, ensuring optimal scalability
and efficiency

Education BSc (Computer Science)

University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC Apr 2016

Skills React JavaScript Node.js CSS

HTML Gatsby Sass SQL
Tools GIT Chrome DevTools Google Lighthouse

Databases NPM SQL Databases relational/non-relational (NoSQL)

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 HYBRID (COMBINATION) RESUME SAMPLE

Nancy Wong, CA
Vancouver, BC V6G 1R3
Cell: 604-555-2345 linkedin.com/in/nancywong Email: n_wong@gmail.com

Professional Accountant | Client-focused Leader | Exceptional Communication Skills

Results-oriented professional with over five years of experience, sound technical skills, and an
impeccable work ethic. Currently attending the BCIT Certificate in Business Management. Articulate and
confident in interactions with individuals at all levels. Perform senior accounting functions, including
planning and executing challenging audits. Produce high-quality files within time-sensitive deadlines.
Outstanding leadership abilities, successfully manage team of five during peak times. Expert proficiency
in accounting software. Fluent in English and Mandarin.

KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS & SKILLS

Leadership
 Trained and developed five junior accountants instructing them on file preparation and the utilization
of various accounting software, including CaseWare and Taxprep

 Created and managed an in-house mentorship program to foster the development of new junior staff,
resulting in increased knowledge sharing, collaboration and employee morale

Corporate Auditing
 Generated audit programs and audit planning memos with a take-charge approach to ensure that all
major projects were completed on schedule

 As Senior Auditor, travelled to China for five days to audit two subsidiaries under tight deadline;
corresponded with overseas CPAs and clients after hours, completed the file on schedule

Financial Statements & Tax Returns

 Prepared financial statements for more than 150 clients per year with exceptional attention to detail,
consistently maintained 100% accuracy

 Prepared approximately 400 tax returns yearly, prioritized accounts to meet tight deadlines

CAREER HISTORY
Accountant Aug 2018 – Present
Roberts LLP, Chartered Accountants, Vancouver, BC
Mid-sized accounting firm with offices in major cities across Canada and 40 employees at the Vancouver
location, servicing small to medium-sized private and public organizations

 Report directly to the managers and partners, accountable to prepare financial statements, including
working paper files for assurance engagements

 Show initiative to learn and understand the big picture, performs tasks effectively and relieves
pressure from managers and partners
 Generate over 12 audit planning memos and audit programs per year, successfully complete all
major projects on time
 Perform international audits under demanding deadlines, complete files on schedule

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Nancy Wong, CA p. 2

Accountant Sept 2016 – July 2018

John Doe Ltd. Chartered Accountant, Coquitlam, BC
Independent accounting firm specializing in servicing owner-managed enterprises

 Developed working papers for compilation, review, and audit engagements, reported to the owner

 Performed monthly bookkeeping and payroll services and maintained a courteous and professional
relationship with key clients ensuring ongoing business

 Computed taxes owed, prepared returns, responsible for filing and paying dues on time

Junior Accountant Sept 2014 – Aug 2016

Friesen Electric Inc., Abbotsford, BC
Family-owned retailer with 30 employees, providing lighting solutions to businesses and consumers

 Assessed financial operations and made best-practice recommendations to management

 Entered accounts receivable and payable records. Generated daily cash and gross margin reports.
Performed credit collections

 Audited daily invoices and recommended adjustments to ensure accurate recordkeeping and proper
audit trail maintenance

 Successfully collected outstanding accounts receivables of up to $1,000 per client, by contacting

customers on a weekly basis

EDUCATION

Business Management Certificate Expected May 2022

British Columbia Institute of Technology, Burnaby, BC

Chartered Accountant (CA) January 2016

CA School of Business, Vancouver, BC
 Completed all six CASB modules on first attempt; received “Competency with Distinction”

Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration (Major in Accounting) June 2014

Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC

Adapted from Sharon Graham’s Best Canadian Resumes, 2nd Edition.

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 SPLITTING EXPERIENCE INTO “RELEVANT” AND “ADDITIONAL”
Whichever kind of resume format you choose, there’s another strategy you may find beneficial –
dividing your work history into two sections: ‘Relevant Experience’ and ‘Additional
Experience’. This can be useful if your most relevant experience is not recent, or if it’s scattered
throughout your history. Bringing the important experience to the forefront, instead of having it
buried on the second page, makes sure your resume has a good chance of impressing
recruiters and employers.

For example, imagine someone is applying for a photography job. The presentation below
works much better than if the applicant had chosen to list everything in one ‘Experience’ section.
Had the applicant done that, most of the relevant experience would have lost its prominence.
Without the ‘Additional Experience’ section, the resume would highlight large time gaps. Notice
that within each category, the positions are still listed from most recent to oldest.

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE (PHOTOGRAPHY)

Garden Photographer 2018 – 2019

HEAD GARDENER LANDSCAPING & DESIGN
Victoria, BC

Music Photographer (volunteer) 2012

BREAKOUT WEST: CANADIAN MUSIC FESTIVAL & CONFERENCE
Vancouver, BC

Camp Photographer 2010 – 2011

YMCA-YWCA CAMP THUNDERBIRD
Sooke, BC

ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE

Adult Education Instructor 2019 – 2021

SOUTH HILL EDUCATION CENTRE
Vancouver, BC

Support Worker (on-call) 2016 – 2017

LOOKOUT EMERGENCY AID SOCIETY
Vancouver, BC

Social Services Worker 2013 – 2015

KITSILANO NEIGHBOURHOOD HOUSE
Vancouver, BC

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 GROUPING YOUR WORK HISTORY
If your employment history includes a range of contracts or gigs where you have done the same
type of work for several years, you could choose to group your work experience.

For example, imagine someone is applying for a job as an English as an Additional

Language (EAL) instructor. This applicant was employed in seven different contracts,
performing the same type of work, over four years. The presentation below works much better
than if the applicant had chosen to list all seven contracts separately, as it would be repetitive
and appear that the applicant had moved fairly quickly from job to job. Given that the applicant
had a range of contracts at various schools, it could be sufficient to only name some of the
schools.

English as an Additional Language Instructor (EAL) & Tutor

Vancouver, BC; Ansan & Uijeongbu, South Korea 2016 – 2020

 Taught EAL grammar and speaking to classes of 4-12 students at various language schools,
including ABC Language School (Vancouver, BC), DEF Academy & GHI Academy (South Korea)
 Tutored students privately and at ABC Language School for success in IELTS, TOEFL, and
CELPIP exams; helped three students achieve perfect scores on the CELPIP exam
 Explained complicated grammar topics clearly and promoted fun, interactive learning
 Received five-star instructor award three semesters in a row at ABC Language School based on
student feedback

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 GET PAST THE ROBOTS
The job market has become increasingly competitive and resumes are now often pre-screened
by applicant tracking system (ATS) software. ATS enables the electronic handling of
recruitment and hiring needs. These systems help hiring managers and recruiters collect and
organize thousands of resumes. ATS is programmed to look for “keywords.” Hundreds of job
seekers may apply for the same job. There is a strong chance that only those being considered
will be notified.

For an overview of how to ensure your resume is ATS-friendly, see The Muse article “Beat the
Robots: How to Get Your Resume Past the System and Into Human Hands” by Regina
Borsellino. https://www.themuse.com/advice/beat-the-robots-how-to-get-your-resume-past-the-
system-into-human-hands

The following highlights are selected from this article:

 According to research by Jobscan, over 98% of Fortune 500 companies use an ATS of
some kind.
 When you apply for a job via an online portal, it is highly likely your application will go
through an ATS.
 An ATS acts like a filter, analyzing a large number of resumes and prioritizes the most
qualified candidates that have tailored their application to the job description.

Ok to use when submitting your resume through an ATS:

 Bold
 Italics
 Underline: Stick to using underlines in headings and for URLs. In general, people have
been trained to see any underline within sentences as links.
 Colors: Just know that the ATS will return all text in the same color, so make sure your
color choices aren’t vital to understanding the text of your resume.
 Bullets: Bullets are an important component of any resume, but stick to the standard
circle- or square-shaped ones. Anything else could get messy.

 Basic tables: For example

Avoid the following to ensure your resume is ATS-friendly:

 Text boxes
 Logos
 Images
 Graphics, graphs, or other visuals

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  Columns: Since ATSs are programmed to read left to right, some will read columns
straight across rather than reading column one top to bottom and then starting column
two at the top.
 Headers and footers: Information in the header and footer sometimes gets dropped by
the ATS completely. Make sure all text is within the document body.
 Uncommon section headings: Stick to conventional labels like “Education,” “Work
Experience,” and “Technical Skills,” so the ATS knows how to sort your information. This
is not the place to get creative with something like “Where I’ve Made an Impact.”
 Hyperlinks on important words: Some systems will display only the URL and drop the
words you linked from, so don’t link from anything important (like your job title or an
accomplishment). Instead, paste in the URL itself or link out from a word like “website” or
“portfolio.”
 Less common fonts: Stick to a universal font like Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman,
Garamond, Georgia, or Cambria. Avoid fonts you need to download, which the ATS may
have trouble parsing.

Jobscan recommends these top 10 ATS-friendly resume fonts:

 Garamond
 Calibri
 Cambria
 Georgia
 Helvetica
 Times New Roman
 Arial
 Palatino
 Tahoma
 Verdana
The goal is to ensure your resume is easy to read on a screen. For more information on resume
fonts, see: https://www.jobscan.co/blog/best-fonts-resume-ats-recruiter/

More ATS tips:

 Strong keywords are more than just skills; add certifications, company names, job titles,
degrees, schools, programs and associations

 Strategically place keywords throughout your documents, use keyword intelligence tools

 Repeat keywords in different sections

 Split positions and promotions with one employer into separate sections

 Use acronyms and long form of words such as, BA and Bachelor of Arts

 ATS removes all formatting from your documents, this can cause errors, avoid using
header and footers they can get lost or hidden – thus erasing your contact information

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  Incorporate added value, use impact words, ex: Award Winning Sales Manager

 Work Experience should include; employer, dates, job title, duties and achievements

 Education should include; institution, dates, program name and courses (if incomplete)

Additional resources:
Includes video screened in workshop
https://www.jobscan.co/blog/8-things-you-need-to-know-about-applicant-tracking-systems/

Optimize your resume for your next interview with Jobscan’s keyword intelligence tool
https://www.jobscan.co/

Top applicant tracking systems

https://www.jobscan.co/blog/top-applicant-tracking-systems-used-hiring-companies/

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 MORE TIPS ON RESUME FORMATTING
1. Font:
 Size: 11 is a good average. You may go as large as 12 or possibly get away with 10,
depending on the font. Any smaller can make your text look too crowded and hard to
read.
 Style: Generally, your font style should be the same throughout the resume, although
people sometimes use a different font for their header (name/contact info), and
occasionally their section titles.

2. Consistent section headings: Ensure that you have segmented your resume with
consistently formatted headings.

3. Bullet points: Use bullet points in areas like your Highlights/Profile and when listing
duties and accomplishments under each job.

4. Bold: Bolding select words (i.e. job titles and names of degrees/certificates) will help
catch the eye of anyone scanning your resume.

5. Alignment: Ensure that all of your headers, bullets, dates, etc. are all properly aligned in
their respective formats.

6. Dates: Employers tend to prefer to see the months and years you were in a particular
role. If you have no employment history gaps (or minimal gaps), show your years and
months. If you have gaps you want to de-emphasize, you can just include years.

7. Education: You may choose to not show dates if the education is quite outdated. Don’t
included certifications that have expired.

8. Margins & white space: Don’t make your margins too narrow or eliminate space
between sections to fit more on your resume. It will make your resume look too crowded
and difficult to read. Stick with standard margins (1 inch/2.54 cm) all around.

9. Two-page maximum: There are exceptions to this rule depending upon the industry. In
general, keep your resume to one or two pages. Include page numbers at the bottom of
each page.

10. Proofread: Proper spelling and grammar are essential. Don’t rely on spellcheck alone.
Try showing it to a trusted reader. At the very least, print it out to look at it with fresh
eyes away from the screen.

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 THE SCREENING SECTION
TAGLINE

A tagline tells the employer what you can do for them. It helps the hiring manager quickly
understand your job focus and abilities. If you use a tagline, it should go right under your Header
and before your Highlights/Profile. Include it on all other documents that contain that header
(cover letter and reference sheet). Consider it part of your brand.

It’s up to you how many points you would like to include in your tagline, but generally the rule of
3 works best. Your tagline can include a job title, area of specialty, years of experience, specific
training, etc. Keep it relevant to a specific employer.

Robert Chan
North Vancouver, BC V7J 1J3
604.555.1234 | robertchan@shaw.ca | linkedin.com/in/robertchan
Accounting professional | 6+ years | Full-scale service

Hakim Ali
Vancouver, BC V5T 1X8
604.765.4321 linkedin.com/in/hakimali hakimali@gmail.com
Training Consultant | 10+ years | Software Support | Client-Centered

Liz Isaac, MPH

Vancouver, BC V5T 1A1
Inclusive Public Health Professional |8+ years
Facilitation & Evaluation | Learning Development
604.227.1898 linkedin.com/in/lizisaac lisaac@shaw.ca

Paul Reynolds
Vancouver, BC V6S 1N5
Full Stack Web Developer | 6+ years | Bsc (Computer Science)
604.387.1897 linkedin.com/in/paulreynolds paulreynolds@gmail.com

Karen Wong
Burnaby, BC V3J 1A5 | 778.227.1234 | kwong@shaw.ca | linkedin.com/in/karenwong
Quality Assurance Manager | 10+ years | Food Production | Research & Development

Lara Costa
Coquitlam, BC V3B 0A7
Inspirational Senior Manager | Industrial Engineer
10 years’ experience with complex projects
778.790.1234 | lcosta@gmail.com | linkedin.com/in/laracosta

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HIGHLIGHTS OF QUALIFICATIONS

 Screening area of your qualifications for HR or management

 Summary of your main qualifications/attributes based on the job posting
 Shown in bullet form
 4 - 8 bullet points in length
 Also referred to as ‘Summary of Qualifications’ or ‘Summary’

Examples
Highlights of Qualifications
 Over 10 years’ software training, installation and accounting experience
 Bachelor of Commerce
 Superb organizational skills; manage many tasks simultaneously
 Skilled at arranging and facilitating training sessions and presentations
 Solid track record of establishing and maintaining excellent client relations
 Self-motivated individual with ownership attitude

Summary of Qualifications
 Detail-oriented clinical researcher with over 10 years’ experience
 B.Sc. with expertise in oncology and rheumatology clinical studies
 Skilled at working in cross-functional, diverse teams
 Proficient in MS Office, electronic CRFs and CTMS
 Proactive, organized and resourceful

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PROFILE

 Screening area for an at-a-glance picture of your qualifications for HR or management

 Summary of your main qualifications/attributes based on the posting
 Paragraph format – does not require formal sentence structure
 Does not contain “I” statements
 4 - 6 lines in length

Examples

Profile
Dynamic sales professional with proven ability to deliver top-quality service to key accounts,
resulting in strong revenue and profit gains. Consistently increase sales while maintaining
customer loyalty. Strengths encompass:

 Sales & Marketing  Team Building/Leadership

 Key Account Development  Client/Vendor Relations
 Financial Analysis & Reporting  Program Development

Profile
Personable and versatile customer training consultant with expertise in software training and
general business operations. Exceptional combination of technical and communication skills
backed by a Bachelor of Commerce. Accomplished at recognizing customers’ needs and creating
value-added services. Bilingual (English & French).

Profile
Visionary senior manager with extensive project management experience in higher education,
NGOs and major utilities. Strengths include strategic analysis and planning, management, policy
analysis, administrative law, and leadership. Proven talent for change management including
auditing, reorganization, and complex negotiations.

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WRITING YOUR HIGHLIGHTS STATEMENTS

In creating your highlights statements, these are a few phrase stems to get you going. Choose one
from each box, if appropriate for your situation.

Years of Experience Over _ years’ experience in…

Experience in…
Expertise in…
Background in…
Extensive work history in…
Education Trained and experienced in…
Trained as a…
Possess a degree/diploma/certificate in…
Skills Proven ability to…
Successful at…
Demonstrated ability to…
Skilled in…
Staff management experience…
Skilled in [xyz software]…
Achievements Recognized for…
Successfully achieved…
Commended for excellence in…
Languages Fluent in…
Bilingual in…
Working knowledge of conversational [French]…

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

It’s important to include some words describing your personal characteristics – how you are as a
worker. The characteristics you highlight should be relevant to the job you are applying for. Below
is a sample list of personal characteristics.

Action-oriented Friendly
Adaptable Goal-oriented
Ambitious Helpful
Articulate Innovative
Compassionate Nonjudgmental
Confident Optimistic
Courageous Organized
Courteous Outgoing
Creative Patient
Dedicated Personable
Dependable Proactive
Energetic Reliable
Engaging Resourceful
Enthusiastic Resourceful
Flexible Self-motivated

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 TWO TYPES OF SKILLS
TRANSFERABLE WORK CONTENT / TECHNICAL
(Hard & soft skills) (Hard skills)

Skills that are portable or which can be Skills that are work-specific; skills and
“transferred” from one type of work to knowledge required to perform specific duties;
another, from one employer to another, from may not be transferable unless it is the same or
one industry to another. They are skills similar work.
common to many life situations. Also include
personal characteristics.

Developed through many everyday Developed through formal or informal training,

experiences including: paid employment; specialized education or self-education. The
education; community and volunteer degree, diploma or certification you have to
activities; hobbies. Personal characteristics validate your skill and are “proof” of your
are often developed early in life. technical competence.

Examples: Examples:
Facilitation Database administration
Presentation GIS (Geographic Information Systems)
Creative knowledge
Motivated Labour Market Information knowledge
Empathetic Welding
Fast learner AutoCAD
Nonjudgmental Blood analysis
Able to put clients at ease Technical writing
Word processing

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 SKILL STATEMENTS
Action Verb + Result

TANGIBLE SKILL STATEMENTS

 Trained over 100 new sales representatives using the Eight Essential Sales Skills training
method, which increased sales closures by 50%

 Printed accurate daily bills, monthly client charges and month-end reports and balances by
setting up multi-factor authentication process within custom accounting software (Sage,
QuickBooks) ensuring accurate data

 Created business-to-business partnerships with A and B construction companies, local,

provincial and federal governments, and other stakeholders though alignment on values,
product and service compliments, increasing the customer base by 45%

 Maintained accurate bookkeeping records through daily data checks, and reduced
outstanding accounts by 10% in one year; obtained the lowest error rate in the department

 Successfully completed new product launch under projected budget, creating substantial
savings of 40% for the company

INTANGIBLE SKILL STATEMENTS

 Recognized as top customer service representative who consistently increased the number
of repeat customers by creating a warm and friendly business environment

 Increased repeat business by successfully satisfying a variety of customer training needs

 Improved record keeping systems, increasing overall office efficiency

 Traveled extensively across North America to provide timely and effective on-site training to
new customers

 Provided friendly and professional service to customers, ensuring customer satisfaction

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 DESCRIBING YOUR SKILLS

Marketing (the objective was sales in the food industry

 Developed a highly successful label identity for Paradise Foods (which previously had none),
now universally recognized as synonymous with top quality products
 Pioneered a very popular special pack in metric weight to address the needs and expectations
of the European market, which was so popular that it set an industry packing standard for that
product

Resource Development (the objective was director of a housing agency

 Prepared a clear, easily understood self-help manual on eviction and eviction-defense, for both
landlords and tenants
 Assembled a comprehensive referral guide to community resources on housing and legal
services

Technical Expertise (the objective was engineering customer service)

 Collaborated in the successful design of an ignition system for high-mileage vehicle, in a
competition sponsored by the Society for Automotive Engineers
 Developed a unique and economical design for spectrophotometer, incorporating a special
optical line-scanner chip requiring less hardware

Event Coordination (the objective was Meeting Coordinator)

Coordinated registration of 1,500 people for SEVA’s special conference
 Received and recorded fees, maintained records on computerized database
 Wrote and mailed confirmation letters summarizing participant information
 Supervised seven assistants in handling correspondence and ticketing
 Oversaw staffing of registration tables
 Screened scholarship applicants and selected scholarship recipients
 Wrote critique reporting on conference registration procedures

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 ACTION VERBS BY FUNCTION
Management Communication Technical Clerical Creative
administered moderated performed trouble- organized acted
analyzed negotiated shooting prepared conceptualize
assigned persuaded programmed processed created
attained promoted remodeled purchased customized
chaired publicized repaired recorded designed
consolidated reconciled retrieved retrieved developed
contracted recruited solved screened directed
coordinated spoke upgraded specified established
delegated translated systematized fashioned
developed wrote Teaching tabulated founded
directed adapted validated illustrated
evaluated Research advised initiated
executed clarified clarified Helping instituted
improved collected coached assessed integrated
increased critiqued communicated assisted introduced
organized diagnosed coordinated clarified invented
oversaw evaluated demystified coached originated
planned examined developed counseled performed
prioritized extracted enabled demonstrated planned
produced identified encouraged diagnosed revitalized
recommended inspected evaluated educated shaped
reviewed interpreted explained expedited
scheduled interviewed facilitated facilitated
strengthened investigated guided guided More Verbs
supervised organized motivated motivated
reviewed instructed referred achieved
Communication summarized persuaded rehabilitated expanded
addressed surveyed set goals represented improved
arbitrated systematized stimulated pioneered
arranged trained Financial reduced
authored Technical administered resolved
collaborated assembled Clerical allocated restored
convinced built approved analyzed spearheaded
corresponded calculated arranged appraised transformed
developed computed catalogued audited piloted
directed configured classified balanced
drafted designed collected budgeted
edited devised compiled calculated
enlisted engineered executed computed
formulated fabricated generated developed
influenced installed implemented forecast
interpreted maintained inspected managed
lectured operated monitored marketed
mediated overhauled operated planned
projected
researched

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 SUGGESTIONS FOR RESUME CHALLENGES

What do I do with unrelated jobs?

1. Make them relevant. Demonstrate how the experience would support your job objective.

2. Reduce their prominence:

Divide your Work History into two categories: first “Relevant Experience”, then “Additional
Experience” – and list unrelated jobs under the latter (see page 11). Alternatively, or also, you
could include only the job title, employer, location and dates for the unrelated jobs – with
minimal or no details about your duties or accomplishments.

3. Leave these jobs out, especially if they’re older or lasted only a short time (i.e. a few months).

What do I do if the job is related but really old?

1. Increase its prominence by creating a “Relevant Experience” category to present important

experience first, even if it’s older.

2. Consider putting “Prior” in place of where you’d normally list the dates (this works if it’s listed
under more recent jobs with years included)

What do I do if I have no applicable work history?

1. You probably do have some; it’s just not obvious. Consider your unpaid experience (volunteer
experience, internship / practicum, courses, projects, part-time work, personal caregiving/
household management, hobbies, etc.).

2. Think of the transferable skills that you have to offer.

What do I do if I have employment gaps?

There are a few ways to handle this:

1. There are many good reasons for gaps. Depending on when and how long the gaps were, you
may not have to worry.

2. Show years only. Employers want to see dates. Some resume writers suggest leaving them out
altogether, but this often raises a lot of questions so it’s not recommended.

3. If you have a long gap (i.e. more than a year) where you were busy raising a family, caring for
an ill relative, or traveling overseas, you could include a very simple statement about that on
your timeline – only if you feel comfortable. Another option is to address it in your cover letter.

What do I do if I have been fired?

Consider leaving out the job if you were not with the employer for a significant amount of time.
Please discuss with a WorkBC career advisor about your specific situation.
25
What do I do if I’m self-employed?

1. If you’ve held a position such as President or CEO, you may want to consider revising it to a
title like Manager.

2. If you’ve worked as a freelancer, you could write Freelancer or Consultant – Various Contracts
(i.e. City of Vancouver, Hootsuite, etc.) and provide details on the type of work you were doing.

3. Drawing from your own business experience, make statements on your resume that show your
understanding of issues that may be relevant to employers (i.e. customer service,
marketing/sales, finances).

What do I do if I have had many jobs?

1. If you were self-employed, consider putting the positions as contracts.

2. Group types of jobs.

3. Remove very short-term or irrelevant positions. Remember some gaps are ok.

What do I do if I have international experience?

1. If your employer is not globally-recognized, consider describing it in brackets after the name –
i.e. Ecclesia Holding GmbH (German insurance broker) – and including the company website.

2. The experience can be used to show your adaptability and communication skills in adjusting to
new environments and working with people from different cultures.

EDUCATION CHALLENGES:

I didn’t finish my program.

1. Show: Undergraduate Studies in English, UBC, Vancouver, BC 2018

Early Childhood Education Program, Capilano University 2017

2. Just include courses or training that are related to the job objective.

I have an unrelated degree.

Show you have a degree without specifying the major:

Bachelor of Arts, University of BC, Vancouver, BC 2015

I have a degree from a different country

If you have had your credentials evaluated, include the educational equivalency.

I am overqualified

1. If applying for an entry-level position you may wish to leave out some of your higher
qualifications such as degrees or job titles.
2. Use Recent Education or Relevant Education as a resume title.
26
 REFERENCES
Before they hire you, employers want to speak to people you have worked for to determine if you
are a qualified, reliable employee. You should have a list of references ready to go for when you
start getting interviews. The employer may ask for a copy of your references (usually two or three
contacts) at the end of the interview or they may ask you to email them later. Do not give
references unless requested.

WHO TO USE AS A REFERENCE

 Identify at least three former managers or colleagues (senior to you if possible) who can
vouch for you in terms of your work performance; alternatively, you could use a volunteer or
internship supervisor, or possibly a business client. Family members or friends are off-limits
(too biased)

 Ask permission to use the person as a reference and confirm they will give you a strong
recommendation (i.e. “Could I use you as a reference to speak positively to my skills and
strengths in ________ and as an employee in general?)

 Provide each reference with a copy of the job description you’ve applied for, as well as the
resume and cover letter you submitted for the job

 Make sure you have your references’ up-to-date, preferred contact information

 Follow up with your references, thank them for their time and stay connected

SAMPLE REFERENCE SHEET

Sam Santez
Client-Centered Training Consultant | 10+ years | Software Support
Vancouver, BC linkedin.com/in/samsantez T: 778-123-4567 E: ssantez@gmail.com

References

Jeremy Graham (Former Supervisor) Work: 604-222-222

Training and Development Manager Cel: 604-287-2206
ABC Company, Vancouver, BC Email: jgraham@abccompany.com

Judy Jones (Former Supervisor) Work: 604-111-1111

Training Manager Cel: 778-567-7889
HSBC, Kelowna, BC Email: jjones@hsbc.ca

Felix Fernandez (Former Supervisor) Work: 011-34-933-152-261

Barcelona Connect, Barcelona, Spain (Vancouver Time +9 hours)
Email: ffernancez@bc.es

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