Grade by Grade
C. Planning and Financial Management to Help Meet Postsecondary Goals · Planning and Financial Management for Life After High School

Résumés and Cover Letters That Get Read

C1.3About 70 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can describe chronological, functional and combination résumés and choose the right one for me.
  • I can write accomplishment statements that show my skills with evidence.
  • I can customize a résumé to a specific job or opportunity posting.
  • I can write a cover letter that connects my skills to what the reader needs.

Words to know

résumé
A short document (usually one page for a student) that summarizes your skills, education, experience and achievements.
chronological résumé
A résumé that lists experience by date, most recent first.
functional (skills-based) résumé
A résumé organized around skills rather than dates; useful when you have little paid work.
combination résumé
A résumé with a skills section first, followed by experience listed by date.
accomplishment statement
A résumé line that starts with an action verb, names the task and shows a result.
keyword
An important word or phrase from a job posting, such as "customer service" or "food safety".
cover letter
A one-page letter sent with a résumé that explains why you are interested and how your skills fit the role.
transferable skills
Skills that are useful in many jobs and settings, such as communication and collaboration.

Six seconds

People who hire are busy. Many look at a résumé for only a few seconds before deciding whether to read more. In those seconds, your résumé has to say: this person can do what we need.

Expectation C1.3 asks you to communicate your skills, experience and achievements to people who can help you reach your goal: employers, mentors, community organizations, scholarship committees, even investors if you start a business. This lesson covers two key tools: the résumé and the cover letter. Lesson 4 covers interviews, online profiles and application essays.

Three types of résumé

  • Chronological: experience listed by date, most recent first. Best when you have steady work experience in the field.
  • Functional (skills-based): organized around skills (for example, Communication, Teamwork, Technical) with examples under each. Useful when you have little paid work.
  • Combination: a short skills section first, then experience by date. This works well for most high school students, because it shows your skills and where you used them: a part-time job, volunteering, co-op, school teams, clubs, babysitting, helping in a family business.

What goes on a student résumé

  1. Name and contact: city, phone number, a professional email address (first.last@... is better than a nickname).
  2. Profile: two or three lines saying who you are and what you offer.
  3. Skills: chosen to match the posting.
  4. Education: your school, your current grade and when you expect your OSSD.
  5. Experience: paid, volunteer and co-op roles, each with two or three accomplishment statements.
  6. Activities, awards and certifications: teams, clubs, First Aid, honour roll, music grades.

Leave off: a photo, your age or birthdate, your Social Insurance Number (SIN), marital status, religion and other personal details. In Canada these are not expected on a résumé and can open the door to unfair treatment. Give your SIN only to an employer after you are hired, for payroll.

References: list them on a separate page (name, title, how they know you, phone and email) and bring it to interviews, or write "References available on request".

Anatomy of a one-page student résumé (combination format)Name + contactcity, phone, professional emailProfile (2-3 lines)who you are + what you offerSkillsmatched to the postingEducationschool, grade, expected OSSDExperiencepaid, volunteer, co-op: action + resultActivities and awardsteams, clubs, certificatesLeave off:photoage / birthdateSINmarital status
A combination résumé puts your strongest skills near the top, then backs them up with experience. Keep it to one page.

Accomplishment statements

Weak résumés list duties: "Worked at a day camp." Strong résumés show what you did and how well:

Action verb + task + result.

  • Strong action verbs: led, organized, trained, created, served, solved, improved, coordinated, built, raised, taught, managed.
  • Results can be numbers (12 campers, $450 raised, 30 customers an hour) or outcomes (received a thank-you letter from the coordinator; asked back for a second summer).
Building an accomplishment statementAction verbLedTaskdaily games for 12 campersResultzero missed sign-outs"Led daily games for 12 campers aged 6 to 8, with zero missedsign-outs all summer." (not: "Worked at a camp.")
Action verb, task, result. Numbers make a result easy to picture.

Customize for every posting

One résumé does not fit every job. Read the posting and highlight the keywords: skills, tasks and qualities the employer repeats. Then:

  • move the most relevant skills to the top of your skills section,
  • use the same words where they are honestly true for you (if the posting says customer service, say customer service, not helping people),
  • choose accomplishment statements that prove those skills.

Never add skills you do not have. You will be asked about them in the interview.

Worked example

Let's customize Noor's résumé for a real-style posting

Posting: Part-time Sales Associate, garden centre. Must provide friendly customer service, handle cash accurately, lift up to 15 kg and work weekends in spring. Plant knowledge an asset. Noor (Grade 10) has: volunteered 30 hours at a community garden, babysat two neighbours' kids, ran the class bake sale cash box, and plays on a soccer team.

  1. Highlight keywords: customer service, cash handling, lift 15 kg, weekends, plant knowledge.
  2. Choose a format: combination, because Noor has more skills and volunteer work than paid work.
  3. Skills section (top): Friendly customer service; accurate cash handling; basic plant care (watering, transplanting, weeding); available weekends.
  4. Accomplishment statements: Planted and maintained 12 raised beds at Elm Street Community Garden, answering visitors' questions about vegetables (30 volunteer hours). Handled and counted $620 in cash sales at the Grade 10 bake sale, balancing the cash box to the dollar.
  5. Profile: Reliable Grade 10 student with community-garden experience and accurate cash-handling skills, available weekends.
  6. Check: is every keyword addressed honestly? Lifting: she can mention carrying soil bags at the garden only if she really did.

Noor's résumé now uses the employer's own words (customer service, cash, weekends, plant) and proves each with a specific, honest accomplishment.

The cover letter

A cover letter is a one-page letter that goes with your résumé. It is your chance to show why this job and why you, in sentences.

  • Greeting: use a person's name if you can find it (Dear Mr. Singh:). Otherwise, Dear Hiring Manager:.
  • Opening: the position, where you saw it and a one-sentence hook.
  • Middle: pick two or three things the employer needs and give evidence for each from your experience. Do not just repeat your résumé; tell the story behind one accomplishment.
  • Closing: thank them and say you would welcome an interview. Give your availability.
  • Sign-off: Sincerely, then your name and contact information.

A cover letter is also used for co-op placements, volunteer roles, scholarships and some programs. Change it for every application.

Cover letter: one page, five partsGreetingDear Ms. Okafor: (a name if you can find one)Opening paragraphthe position, where you saw it, one-line hookMiddle paragraph(s)2-3 of their needs, each matched with your evidenceClosing paragraphthank them; say you would welcome an interviewSign-offSincerely, + your name and contact
Most of the work happens in the middle paragraph: their needs, matched with your evidence.
Just for fun

A real kind of résumé mistake: "I am detail-orientated with excellent attention to detial."

The lesson: read it out loud, backward from the last line, and ask someone else to proofread before you hit send.

Hands-on activity

Draft, customize and swap

You need: a computer or paper, a job or volunteer posting (from a local job board, a library notice board, a community centre or a family member's workplace; read it with a parent or guardian), and a family member or friend to give feedback.

  1. List everything you have done in the last two years: jobs, chores for pay, babysitting, volunteering, teams, clubs, awards, certificates, projects.
  2. Turn at least four of them into accomplishment statements (action verb + task + result).
  3. Highlight the keywords in your posting.
  4. Write a one-page combination résumé customized to that posting.
  5. Write a cover letter (opening, one or two middle paragraphs, closing).
  6. Ask your reader to look at the résumé for six seconds and then tell you what they remember. If it is not your top skills, move them higher.
  7. Proofread: read aloud, check names and dates, save as a PDF named like FirstName-LastName-Resume.pdf.

What to look for: one page; professional email; no photo, age or SIN; at least four accomplishment statements with results; posting keywords used honestly; a cover letter whose middle paragraph matches needs with evidence.

Your turn

1

Name the three types of résumé and say which usually suits a high school student with little paid work.

2

Rewrite as an accomplishment statement: "Helped at the library."

3

List four things that should not be on a Canadian résumé.

4

What is a keyword in a job posting? Give two examples.

5

What goes in the middle paragraph of a cover letter?

6

When should you give an employer your SIN?

7

Why should you customize your résumé for each posting?

More practice: warm-up

1

How long should a student résumé usually be?

2

Which is a stronger action verb: did or organized?

3

True or false: you should send the same cover letter to every employer.

4

Which email address is more professional: skaterboi2010@... or alex.martin@...?

5

What should a references page include for each person?

More practice: on your own

1

A posting for a summer camp counsellor asks for leadership, First Aid, creativity and working with children aged 6 to 10. Write a three-item skills section for a student who coaches a youth basketball team and has Standard First Aid.

2

Explain why a functional résumé might suit Kai, who has never had a paid job but has volunteered, run a school club and repaired bikes for neighbours.

3

Find the problems: "Hi there, I want this job because I need money. I am a hard worker. Thanks, Sam"

4

Turn this into an accomplishment statement with a number: "Sold things at the school fundraiser."

5

Why is it a mistake to list a skill you do not really have?

Challenge

1

Write the middle paragraph of a cover letter for Noor's garden centre job (from the worked example). Match two employer needs with evidence.

2

The curriculum says you may communicate your skills to scholarship funders or investors, not only employers. How would a résumé for a scholarship differ from one for a part-time job?

3

Some employers use software to scan résumés for keywords before a person reads them. Give two résumé choices that help with this, and one that would hurt.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which résumé type puts a skills section first and then lists experience by date?

2.

Which line is the strongest accomplishment statement?

3.

What should not be on a Canadian résumé?

4.

What is the main job of a cover letter's middle paragraph?

5.

Why should you use keywords from the posting?

6.

Which is the best greeting for a cover letter when you know the manager's name?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Expectation C1.3 asks students to use effective forms and styles to communicate their skills, experience and achievements. Résumés and cover letters are the first tools; Lesson 4 adds interviews, online profiles and application essays.

How to help: Teens often think they "have nothing to put" on a résumé. Help them list everything: babysitting, helping in a family business, caring for siblings, sports, clubs, religious or cultural community roles, volunteering. Be the six-second reader in the activity and give honest, kind feedback. If you hire people at work, share what makes you keep reading.

Common difficulties:

  • Listing duties instead of accomplishments. Ask, "How well? How many? What happened because of you?"
  • One résumé for every job. Show them how to highlight posting keywords.
  • Too much personal information. Remind them: no photo, age or SIN.
  • Typos. Proofread together, reading aloud.