A resume needs five things: contact information, a brief objective or summary, skills, work experience (or education if you have none), and references. Everything else is optional. The challenge isn't knowing what to include — it's knowing what to leave out. Irrelevant sections pad a resume without helping you; specific, relevant content is what gets you the interview.
Required resume sections
Contact information: name, phone number, email, and city. No full mailing address, no photo, no date of birth.
Objective or summary:2 sentences at the top. State who you are and what you're offering. If you have experience, write a summary; if this is your first job, write an objective. For help with this section, see how to write a resume summary.
Skills:hard skills first (cash handling, POS systems, forklift, food prep, bilingual), then practical soft skills with evidence. Skip generic adjectives like "team player" — list what you can actually do.
Work experience: listed newest-first, 2-3 bullets per job starting with action verbs. If you have no work history, replace with education, volunteer work, or relevant informal experience.
References: two people who can speak to your reliability — former managers, teachers, coaches, or community leaders. Include name, title, and phone number. Ask them before listing.
Optional sections worth including
Certifications — if relevant to the role. Food Handler, Smart Serve, WHMIS, First Aid, and forklift certification are all worth listing prominently for the right jobs. Put them in the skills section or a dedicated certifications section.
Volunteer work — valuable for filling an experience gap or demonstrating community involvement. List it exactly like work experience: organization, role, dates, bullet points.
Languages— if you're genuinely conversational or fluent in a second language and it's useful for the role, include it. Don't list a language you studied in high school ten years ago.
Availability— for part-time or shift work, this is often the deciding factor. A dedicated availability line near the top of the resume ("Available Monday-Friday evenings and all day weekends") makes a hiring manager's scheduling calculation instant.
What not to put on a resume
A photo — Canadian employers do not want photos on resumes; including one creates liability under human rights guidelines.
Personal details — age, marital status, nationality, religion, or SIN number. None of these are appropriate on a Canadian resume.
Every job you've ever had — list the last 10 years or 3-4 most relevant roles. Older jobs add length without adding value in most cases.
"References available upon request" — this line is assumed. It wastes space.
Salary expectations — unless the posting explicitly asks for them, leave salary off the resume. Discuss it at the interview stage.
Frequently asked questions
What are the 5 main sections of a resume?
Contact information, objective or summary, skills, work experience (or education if you have no experience), and references. These five sections appear on every effective resume regardless of experience level or industry.
Should I include a photo on my resume?
No. Canadian employers do not expect or want photos on resumes. Including one is unusual and can create unintended issues for the employer under human rights guidelines.
What skills should I list on a resume?
Hard skills relevant to the job first — cash handling, food prep, forklift operation, POS systems, bilingual ability, specific software. Then practical soft skills with evidence. Skip generic phrases like 'team player' or 'strong communicator' without supporting detail.
Do I need to list references on my resume?
Yes — include two references with their name, title, relationship to you, and phone number. Ask them before listing. Do not write 'references available upon request' — it's implied and wastes space.
What should I not put on a resume in Canada?
Photo, age, marital status, nationality, SIN number, salary expectations (unless asked), jobs older than 10 years (unless directly relevant), and 'references available upon request.'