Canadian resume format: what Job Bank asks for, rule by rule

Before you write: check who the posting is open to

Job Bank is the Government of Canada's job site, and its advice pages are the closest thing Canada has to an official resume standard. Its page on applying for a job puts research first: what the company does, what the duties are, which qualifications and skills the job needs. Do that before you open a template, because Job Bank also tells you to cut whatever the posting does not ask about.

Postings marked for international candidates

If you are still outside Canada or have only started an immigration or work permit process, Job Bank's page for foreign candidates says to apply only to employers who are recruiting international candidates. On Job Bank those postings carry their own icon; a different icon marks jobs open only to citizens, permanent residents and people who already hold a work permit.

One line about your right to work

The same page lists four things your resume should tell such an employer: your name, where you live, your work experience, and whether you have a valid Canadian work permit. The first three are on every resume. The fourth is the one applicants from abroad forget, so write it as a plain line under your contact details.

How the Job Bank resume rules work

Job Bank's do's and don'ts page, last modified on 30 May 2024 and read on 13 October 2026, is short. Each rule below is its own, with what it changes on the page.

Two pages, weighted to the last 15 years

Job Bank limits a resume to two pages and asks you to put the weight on recent experience. Jobs more than 15 years old should be cut or reduced to a line, so a reader can focus on what is relevant. It says an employer takes an average of 30 seconds to skim a resume; it gives no source for that figure.

Contact details at the top, with a sensible email

Name, address, email and phone go at the top of the first page. The email should be based on your name, without nicknames, numbers or special characters. If you are abroad, a city and country is the honest address; the work permit line follows it.

Results, not a list of duties

Job Bank says the duties are obvious from the job title, so the lines under each job should show what you achieved, with firm numbers: how many people you supervised, how many products you sold, by what percentage sales went up. It quotes 'Responsible for improving efficiencies and making cost savings' as the kind of vague line that tells an employer nothing.

Five to seven bullets, no I or my

Each section or sub-section gets five to seven bullets at most. Job Bank says not to use I, my or me and to write as if someone else wrote it; in practice each line starts with a verb such as handled, managed, led, developed or increased, the examples it gives. Plain words matter because the first reader may be a recruiter or HR specialist from outside your field.

Unpaid work counts, hobbies mostly do not

Volunteer work for a known organisation or an important cause belongs under Work experience or a Volunteer work heading, especially when it relates to the job. Hobbies are not recommended because of the judgements employers can make, unless a hobby relates to the position.

What stays off the page

• A photo. Job Bank says it may be acceptable elsewhere but is not the norm in Canada and can lower your chances.
• Age, weight, height, marital status, religion, political views or other personal attributes that could be controversial, to prevent bias.
• Your Social Insurance Number, which Job Bank says never to include.
• Reasons for leaving earlier jobs.
• References. Keep them on a separate sheet and give them only when the employer asks.

The rules applied: a sample resume, section by section

The person is invented: Deniz Koç, an e-commerce operations specialist with six years at an online retailer in Istanbul, who holds an open work permit and is answering a Job Bank posting for an operations coordinator near Toronto. The right-hand column is what Deniz would actually type.

If your current CV was made for another country

A CV built for Türkiye or much of Europe often carries a photo, a date of birth, marital status, military service status and a reference list. By Job Bank's list, the first three come off. Military service status is not named by Job Bank; it is a personal detail, so our reading is to leave it out unless the posting asks. The reference list moves to its own sheet.

Why personal details stay off

Job Bank's reason is bias. The federal Canadian Human Rights Act, section 3, names among the prohibited grounds of discrimination race, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, sex, marital status, family status and disability. Leaving these off the page means a reader cannot use them, even by accident. Provincial human rights laws were not checked for this page.

Proof: what each Job Bank page says, read on 13 October 2026

Job Bank's pages are advice, not law. An employer's own instructions in a posting come first.

Where Job Bank advice stops

• Regulated occupations. Job Bank says most occupations in Canada are not regulated, but some need a licence or certification, and points to its Foreign Credential Recognition Tool. A resume does not replace that step.
• Academic posts. A university research or teaching job asks for a longer academic CV, which the CV vs resume guide explains.
• Immigration files. Express Entry and work permit files are judged on forms and documents; the Express Entry guide in this series covers how your work history must line up.
• Students. A co-op or part-time job while studying has its own work-hour rules, covered in the student co-op guide.
• Job Bank does not set a font, a template or a section order beyond putting contact details first; anything stricter than the rules above is someone's preference.

Ways to build it, and what to read next

Job Bank's own Resume Builder

It is free with a Job Bank account. The traditional template suits people with several years in their field and a fairly consistent work history; the youth and recent graduates template suits a first job or limited paid experience. You can pick duties from pre-defined lists, add your own text and sections, and download or print each resume when you need it. With a Plus account you can also upload your own file, up to 5 MB, and apply where a posting accepts a resume shared on Job Bank.

Writing it yourself or with a tool

• In a word processor, starting from the table above, if you are comfortable with layout.
• With CitedCV, which writes the English resume only from the facts you confirm and offers no photo for US or UK conventions. It has no Canadian preset; the US convention is the closest, so check the length and the work status line against this page.
• With your settlement or career service; Job Bank's newcomer page lists free services before and after arrival.

If your degree is from outside Canada, add the official comparison to the education line; the degree recognition guide shows how.

Questions people ask

Sources

1. Job Bank, How to write a good resumewww.jobbank.gc.ca/findajob/resources/write-good-resume
2. Job Bank, Foreign candidates from outside Canadawww.jobbank.gc.ca/findajob/foreign-candidates
3. Job Bank, How do I apply for a job?www.jobbank.gc.ca/findajob/resources/apply-for-jobs
4. Job Bank, Stand out to employers and land your dream jobwww.jobbank.gc.ca/career-planning/resources/stand-out
5. Job Bank, Resume Builderwww.jobbank.gc.ca/findajob/resume-builder
6. Job Bank, How do I upload my own resume on Job Bank?www.jobbank.gc.ca/support/question?qaid=171&tid=97
7. Job Bank, Find a job in Canada as a newcomerwww.jobbank.gc.ca/findajob/newcomers
8. Canadian Human Rights Act, section 3laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/h-6/section-3.html