Canadian Resume Format for Students: What Changes From a US Resume

The biggest change between a US and a Canadian student resume is the second page — at least on paper. Job Bank, the Government of Canada's job search site, tells applicants to limit a resume to two pages. US career offices often say one page for internships. William & Mary's career office, for one, lists "one page in length for internships and entry-level positions" on its resume checklist.

That's the headline, but it isn't the only difference. We read the Job Bank guide, CPA Alberta's student advice, two Canadian university sample resumes and a University of Waterloo post on co-op resumes on 21 October 2026, and this guide sticks to what those sources actually say. Where they disagree with each other, we say so.

What Job Bank says to leave out#

Job Bank's resume guide (the page shows a modified date of 30 May 2024) is the closest thing to an official Canadian baseline — and its list of things to cut is more specific than most US advice:

• A photo. It calls a picture "not the norm in Canada."

• Age, weight, height, marital status, religious preference and political views.

• Your Social Insurance Number. The page says never to include it.

• Personal pronouns. Skip "I," "my" and "me."

• References. Keep them on a separate sheet and share them only when asked.

• Hobbies, unless they relate to the job. Job Bank's reason is that employers may judge them.

It also asks for 5-7 bullets per section and says employers take about 30 seconds to skim a resume on average. A US source, William & Mary, puts the first skim at "6 seconds or less" — so treat both numbers as a reminder that nobody reads closely at first. Neither page says how it measured that.

Open with a profile, not an objective#

CPA Alberta's student recruitment tips are written for accounting students, but the resume rules apply to anyone. They say don't start with an objective. Start with a profile statement that covers your background, specialties and experience, then follow it with a key skills section tailored to the job.

The Canadian samples we opened do the same thing in two different ways.

The University of Manitoba's marketing student sample opens with a profile paragraph, then Education, then a course project, then work experience. The McMaster Engineering computer engineering co-op sample opens with a "Highlight of Qualifications" block of four bullets. Both run two pages.

US advice is split. William & Mary says a summary or objective is typically not necessary for an undergraduate. A Towson University accounting sample opens with a professional summary anyway. If you're applying in both countries, a two-line profile is the safer thing to carry across.

Put your education to work#

Both Canadian samples treat Education as more than a school name and a date.

The Manitoba sample lists GPA (4.2 on a 4.5 scale), relevant coursework by course name and an honour list entry, then gives the class project its own entry with bullets and results. CPA Alberta says the same thing in advice form: put awards and academic projects under Education.

The McMaster sample lists coursework as topics, not just titles. A Digital Systems Design line, for example, names Verilog, synthesis and verification. That gives a recruiter something to match against a posting when you have no internship yet.

Do you need to show your GPA? Job Bank is silent on it. The Manitoba sample shows one, the McMaster sample doesn't — so check what your own career office recommends.

Add a co-op term line if you're in a co-op program#

This is the part most US guides skip — and it's the first thing the McMaster sample says. Its opening bullet reads like a scheduling note: the student is in level 3 of the Computer Engineering Co-op Program, eligible for 4-, 8- and 12-month positions starting September 2026.

That's useful to an employer who needs a term length that fits a posting. If you're in a co-op stream, put your level, the term lengths you can do and your start date near the top. If you're not, skip it.

Keep the formatting boring#

CPA Alberta's tips ask for a standard font such as Times New Roman, Arial or Calibri, bold for headings, job titles and companies, and no tables, borders or page-width underlining. Its stated reason is that this formatting can interfere with applicant tracking systems. Bullets should start with an action verb, run no more than two lines, and stop at five or six per position.

The Waterloo Writing and Communication Centre says the same in its co-op resume tips (posted 21 July 2020): reverse-chronological order, action verbs, numbers where you have them, keywords from the posting, and a proofread by someone else.

One small gap. Job Bank doesn't say how to format a contact line. The Manitoba sample lists a full street address, city and province, while the McMaster sample shows only phone, email, GitHub and LinkedIn. Job Bank itself asks for name, address, email and phone. For a first resume, city and province plus email and phone is enough, and Job Bank wants the email professional and based on your name, with no nicknames, numbers or special characters.

A quick check before you send it#

• Two pages at most, and the second page is more than a few stray lines.

• No photo, no age, no SIN, no marital status.

• A short profile or highlights block instead of an objective.

• Coursework, awards and projects under Education.

• Five to seven bullets per section, each starting with a verb.

• Co-op term line, if it applies.

• No "references available on request."

If you're also writing a cover letter, our cover letter guide covers when one is worth the time. For the rest of the resume, the university internship resume guide walks through each section. It recommends one page for most undergraduates, so if you're sending the same resume in both countries, trim to one and expand only when a Canadian employer has room for the second.