What you should include on your resume
1 min | Travis O'Rourke | Article | Resumes & cover letters
Your resume should be a savvy sales document showcasing your key achievements. Every job you apply for is different, therefore tailored resumes will stand out from the rest.
Personal summary
This is optional, but it’s a good opportunity to highlight in a few sentences what you hope to achieve in your next position, what you offer, and demonstrate how you will solve the hiring manager’s challenges. In marketing terms, this is the place for your ‘unique sales proposition, or ‘USP’.
Include a key skills list
A bulleted list of three to five examples, relevant to the role you are applying for. Wherever possible, use the same adjectives as those used in the job ad.
Get in contact with a recruiting expert to help showcase your skills on your resume.
Describe your position within the company
Provide a short summary line about the company and /or project and where you fit in the hierarchy; this will help hiring managers to envisage the scope of your role. Be sure to document if the business name has changed. Eg. Suncor (formally PetroCanada.)
Explain what you do and your key achievements
Duties must be concise and achievements should demonstrate how you impacted the business, including quantified results.
No references at this stage
Actual references are typically not relevant at this stage. It is fine to simply say ‘References are available on request’.
About this author
Travis O'Rourke
President of Hays Canada & CCO, Hays Americas
Travis is a Marketing graduate from Fanshawe College and was the 2023 recipient of their Distinguished Alumni Award. He joined Hays after holding various leadership roles elsewhere in the Canadian staffing industry. Travis setup and established Hays' outsourced talent solutions business and played an integral role in building Hays’ temporary and contract divisions throughout Canada. Initially joining Hays with a deep background in Technology, he holds extensive cross functional knowledge to provide clients with talent solutions in Financial Services, Energy, Mining, Manufacturing, Retail, and the Public Sector.