Have you ever worried that your international experience is the factor that stops you from getting interviews? If yes, then continue reading. We will walk through how to position your international experience on the Canadian resume.
Firstly, let’s address it, all experiences should be recognized, regardless of where the work was done. Although you might not be speaking in English while working there or understanding the landscape of Canadian industry, the nature of the work and the soft skills demonstrated are similar.
Here are some tips on how to include international experience on the resume.
- Do not need to mention the country
Most resume templates out there have the city and country listed beside the company name in the experience section. However, this is not mandatory and many other people do not include location on the resume! Try removing the location mentions and see how this improves your interview response rate.
- Give an explanation
One problem why international experience is not recognized by recruiters is that oftentimes, they do not know the brand name. Let’s say you work for the largest telecommunication company in India, you definitely have a lot of good experience. Employers in Canada might not recognize the brand name entirely. A pro tip is to include a small 1 sentence describing the company and what it does right under the company’s name in the experience section.
- Focus on technology and technical skills
Technologies are what many corporates have in common. If you have used globally recognized software in your previous role in your home country, then include technology skills right at the top of your resume. That is a skill that is transferable and a brand name that recruiters & hiring managers will recognize!
- Quantify the achievements
Numbers don’t lie! In order to ensure recruiters & hiring managers are impressed with your experience from your international experience, quantify all your achievements on the resume. Numbers are easy benchmarks employers can relate to and use to compare candidates’ achievements.
Don’t let this bothers you! We believe in you!
If you need some help in job searching from recruiters & hiring managers, check out our Career Launcher Bootcamp that covers key elements such as application preparation, interview, networking, and more!
