Formatting and Final Touches

Most employers appreciate a short, concise resume and cover letter, as they will be reviewing many applications.

Try to keep your cover letter to 1 page and your resume to 2 pages. If you are at a senior or executive level, or if you have a lot of work experience, however, make your application longer to ensure you have shared all the information you need to.

When writing your cover letter and resume, be sure to leave lots of “white space”, or areas without text, in the document. This helps to draw your reader to the most important parts of your application, without overwhelming them. You can create more white space by using bulleted lists, headings, and tabs. Just be careful to not have too much white space – don’t give the impression that you have nothing else to say.

Consistency is also important. Use the same font throughout your resume and cover letters, and the same font size (except where you may enlarge or bold your font for emphasis). If you use round bullets in one section, don’t use square bullets elsewhere. Paying attention to these small details show you are conscientious in your work.

Include the page number and your name on page 2 of your resume (and any additional pages), so that if the pages of your application are shuffled, the employer can easily gather your information back together.

Because your application is your introduction to prospective employers, be sure to carefully proofread your resume and cover letter. Some people find it helps to print a draft and review it by hand.

Don’t forget to use Canadian spelling throughout. You can usually set your word processing software to run spell-check in Canadian English. Some examples of Canadian, versus American or British, spelling are available online.  See below.

Most employers now want to receive applications electronically. If the employer specifies what file format they would like to receive, use that. If they do not specify a format, combining your cover letter and resume into a single PDF file is quite standard, and easily opened by most software programs.

Remember to name your file professionally, and to include your name.

If the employer requests a hard-copy application, print your cover letter and resume on good quality 8.5″ × 11″ paper, and submit them, unfolded, in a large envelope.