RESUMES VS CV

Hi All,

I have just mailed my Passport to CHC-London and decided to do some work on my resume whilst I am waiting for the next 3- 6 weeks for my passport back. I have not applied for a job in over 5 years (I have been in Canada for 5 years not authorized to work) what are the key things to put in a Canadian Resume? Do I need a resume or CV? No matter how I tweak my current resume I cant manage to get it shorter than 2 pages! Are employers expecting to see longer resumes from Immigrants?

I agree with flyingpigs regarding Canadian employers expecting resumes to be in the Canadian format (shorter rather than longer).

Hi SeaHorse, it's a valid question and most people think a resume and CV are synonymous, so don't feel dumb. The main difference between the two is the length.

The resume is generally not more than 2 pages long summarizing your skills, experience and education.

The CV is longer because it goes into more detail listing a summary of academic and educational background as well as any research experience, affiliations/memberships, publications, awards, honours, etc.

In North America, it's best to use a resume. In your case, definitely reduce the size (from the current 6 pages), however, make sure to include professional memberships and affiliations. Also, since you've switched jobs quite often, I would suggest that you prepare a functional resume and use it when applying for jobs. The functional resume will help you shorten it too.

Having said so, make sure to be prepared with a chronological resume as well because some employers want to know the details of each job you held. But to get your foot into the door, a functional resume will be more effective.

Also, since you're a doctor, your profession falls under Regulated jobs in Canada, so you may want to look into evaluating your professional credentials...click here to see how to go about it.

Generally, once you're in the country, your chances are better and the process easier as opposed to being outside the country. But, what you can do is start researching your market and building networks. I discuss the details on how to goo about this in my Job Search Squidoo web page (in my signature below).

Hope this helps...let me know if you have any follow up questions. Wishing you the best!

Cheers! :)

SEA HORSE wrote: I'M SORRY TO SOUND SO IGNORANT BUT I'VE CHANGED OVER 10 JOBS IN MY CAREER OF 20 YEARS N I ALWAYS THOUGHT CV N RESUME WERE SYNONYMS. KINDLY ENLIGHTEN ME. I'M A DOCTOR N HAVE A 6 PAGE LONG CV. I'M AWAITING MY CALL FOR MEDICAL EXAM. SHOULD I SHORTEN UP MY CV BEFORE APPLYING FOR A JOB IN CANADA? WHEN DOES ONE START HIS JOB HUNT? I FILED THE PAPERS FOR 2ND STAGE 2 N 1/2 MONTHS AGO.

You're welcome, Seahorse and you're right; in terms of being a medical professor, it falls under "unregulated". If you click on that link, it will give you some more detail from the Working in Canada website. Medical doctor is a "regulated" occupation.

In terms of being a Medical Laboratory Technician, it shows as a "regulated" job (click the link for details) -- same with Chemists. Not sure if the job description fits that of a Biochemist, but may be you can check some of the occupations in that category to find out. There are some occupations in this field that are not regulated, doesn't list Biochemist specifically.

In terms of your equivalency, you should be ok to start it without being too concerned about specific provinces. Major equivalencies are recognized Canada-wide. The agencies listed in my Squidoo page are specific to credential assessment only.

In terms of a functional resume, the only difference when compared to a chrono resume, is that you don't list all your job duties for all the companies that you worked for in chronological order. Rather, you categorize your major job competencies in specific broad categories (for example, I would list down Compensation, Employee Relations, Payroll & Benefits, HR Management, etc. for an HR related job) to highlight your overall experience in a specific occupation.

And in a separate section, you would list down a brief listing of the companies you worked for with name of the company, your position, and dates your worked there.

Hope this makes sense! ;)

AJ

SEA HORSE wrote: THANX AJ GODINHO. U R A GR8 HELP INDEED. U R RIGHT DOCTORS FALL UNDER REGULATED PROFESSION. HOWEVER, I'M ALSO QUALIFIED TO TEACH IN MEDICAL COLLEGE. ALSO, BEING A BIOCHEMIST, I CAN WORK IN CLINICAL LABORATORY. I WAS TOLD THAT THOSE TWO FIELDS ARE UNREGULATED. I LOOKED UP SOME JOBS POSTED ON NET N SOME EMPLOYERS DIDN'T NEED LICENSING. U MENTIONED IN SUIDOO WEBPAGE THAT EACH STATE HAS ITS OWN AGENCIES FOR EQUIVALENCE, BUT I DON'T KNOW YET AS TO WHERE I'LL LAND UP A JOB. DOES THIS MEAN THAT I WAIT UP TILL I GET A JOB? IF I GET EQUIVALENCE DONE BY 1 AGENCY, WILL IT BE VALID ALL OVER CANADA? CAN U TELL ME A BIT ABOUT A 'FUNCTIONAL RESUME'?

IN MISSISSAUGA THERE IS 'IMMIGRATION POINT': HEARD OF THEM? R THEY GOOD? SOMEBODY RECOMMENDED THEM FOR POST LANDING SERVICES LIKE EMPLOYMENT.