A Resume is a formal document you write to outline your work experience, skills, and education for potential employers. Writing a strong Resume is essential when preparing a job application as it’s often the first impression employers have of you.

Employers review your Resume for your work experience, applicable education, and skills to determine if you qualify for a position. Often, your Resume is what can land you an interview. 

A Resume is also known as a:

• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Employment history
• Professional profile

What is the difference between a Resume and a Curriculum Vitae (CV)?

Often, “Resume” and “Curriculum Vitae” are used interchangeably in Canada. Despite this, they have distinct circumstances where they’re usually used.

As covered above, a Resume briefly outlines your work history, education, and skills when applying for a job. A Curriculum Vitae (CV) is typically longer and provides more detail about your career for academic or research positions.

LawDepot’s Resume Builder can help you create, edit, and download a Resume or a CV to fit your application needs.

A Resume Builder, also known as an online resume maker, is a template that allows you to create a custom resume in minutes. LawDepot’s Resume Builder lets you choose a template and guides you through the writing process to include all the information potential employers need.

Simply answer the questions about yourself to customize your Resume. Once you finish creating your document, it’s easy to save and download a PDF copy and make updates whenever you need.

A well-written Resume is concise and demonstrates the skills you can contribute to a job opportunity. Creating a unique Resume for each application is the best practice when job hunting to show employers why you’re the best candidate. 

LawDepot’s easy-to-use Resume Builder can help you write a custom Resume if you’re looking for your first job, a promotion, a career change, freelance work, and more. Our template helps you complete the following steps:

1. Describe your work experience

Including your work experience is essential to show what duties and skills your previous roles have given you. Focus on experiences with similar responsibilities to the job posting in which you’re applying. 

If you don’t have much job experience, you may want to list all your previous jobs. No matter what, always start with your most recent employment first. You must include the following information:

• Employer’s name
• The position you held
• A description of your duties
• Start and end dates

When describing your previous responsibilities, consider using action words to describe what you did to stand out to employers. Examples are:

• Upgraded the employee onboarding process for better efficiency.
• Trained new hires in program development.
• Demonstrated product knowledge to current and future buyers.
• Surpassed multiple campaign targets for company growth.

2. List your education

An overview of your education helps employers see your accomplishments and ability to learn new skills. If you don’t have a lot of work experience, your education is where you will demonstrate your abilities for a job. When you list your education, include:

• Type of education
• School name
• Degree and field of study
• Graduation or end date, unless you’re currently enrolled
• Any academic awards 

Adding your grade point average (GPA) is optional. Only consider putting your grades for academic history if the application requires it or if they strengthen your Resume.

3. List your skills and awards

Employers will tell you what they are looking for in their job postings, so focus on the skills related to the position to show you’re the best candidate. You will need to include a combination of soft and hard skills in your Resume. 

• Soft skills are character traits and interpersonal abilities that people learn over time. Examples of soft skills are leadership, creativity, teamwork, decision-making, and more.
• Hard skills are the specific knowledge and qualifications you develop from work experience. Examples of hard skills are using programs like Adobe, knowing how to fix a car, bookkeeping, or specific teaching methods.

Also, consider listing professional or academic awards you’ve earned. These can include things like scholarships and certificates. Then, follow up with any associations or professional organizations you’re a member of that apply to your field and expand your qualifications.

4. List your volunteer experience

Listing any volunteer experience helps employers see your other transferable skills and willingness to work with others. If your volunteer experience is related to the job you are applying for, add this to your Resume to stand out from other applicants.

5. Provide your contact information

LawDepot’s Resume Builder allows you to add all your contact information and your location if you feel it will be helpful knowledge for recruiters. You will include your:

• Name
• Email
• Contact number

Most employers will contact people by phone or email. Using a professional-looking email address is important, as employers may not respond to applications with unprofessional emails. 

6. Add personalizations

As you build your Resume, include any additional information that will help showcase your qualifications as a strong candidate. LawDepot’s Resume Builder allows you to add:

• Work samples such as links to websites and portfolios that exhibit your experience and history for industry-specific positions.
• Personal interests like photography and building computers to demonstrate transferable skills.
• A career objective that expresses your goal in applying for a specific position.

The general length of a Resume is one to two pages. However, a Resume is unique to you and will be a different length to that of a colleague or friend, as your experience and skills determine its exact size.

Remember, keeping your Resume concise will give employers a clear picture of your experience, even at a glance.

Your Resume should only have the relevant information needed for the job application. You should not include:

• Unprofessional information or language
• Unnecessary personal details (e.g., age, sex, marital status, religion, etc.)
• A photo of yourself
• The word “Resume” as the title

LawDepot’s Resume Builder will not prompt you to add anything irrelevant to your Resume.

Generally, you don’t put your references on your Resume. Instead, you can create a Reference List and submit it separately upon an employer’s request. 

Also, you can request a Letter of Recommendation from your current or previous employer and include it with your Resume.

Yes, a Cover Letter is a fantastic way to customize your application. A Cover Letter highlights your qualifications and demonstrates your communication skills to complement your Resume. Employers appreciate a well-written cover letter with applications to get to know you more as a potential candidate.