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Resumes for New Canadian Engineers. Lionel Laroche, Ph.D., P.Eng. EVP, Cross-cultural and Relocation Services CPI Hazell & Associates (416) 961-3700 www.hazell.com. Presentation Scope. Why do we need this webconference? Why create a resume? What makes writing a “winning resume” difficult?
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Resumes for New Canadian Engineers Lionel Laroche, Ph.D., P.Eng. EVP, Cross-cultural and Relocation Services CPI Hazell & Associates (416) 961-3700 www.hazell.com career partners international/hazell & associates
Presentation Scope • Why do we need this webconference? • Why create a resume? • What makes writing a “winning resume” difficult? • What are the typical “mistakes” made by New Canadian Engineers (NCE’s)? career partners international/hazell & associates
Why do we need this webconference? • In the GTA, there are about 50,000 unemployed or underemployed NCE’s. • Canadian Federation of Independent Business stated that 1/3 of their members are limited in their growth by a lack of qualified employees. • Tremendous source of untapped skills. • Why? Because of cultural differences. career partners international/hazell & associates
Why create a resume? • With clients, counselors need to emphasize the fact that resumes are designed to: • Demonstrate what you can do for a prospective employer based on your experience • Obtain an interview career partners international/hazell & associates
What makes writing a “winning resume” difficult? • Cultural differences are the main hurdle • What appears in the resumes of New Canadian engineers is not what Canadian employers of engineers expect in a resume • For example, you need to take out pictures, age, marital status, etc. career partners international/hazell & associates
What are the typical mistakes made by NCE’s? • Their resumes present them as managers – the immediate reaction of employers is: “This person is not technical” • Their resumes present them as highly technical (Ph.D.) – they are then seen as overqualified for many of the jobs in Canadian industry career partners international/hazell & associates
What are the typical mistakes made by NCE’s? • Their resumes make them look like technicians – not engineers • Their resumes make them look like “jacks of all trade, masters of none” – if you say you can do many things, Canadians will think that you cannot do anything well. career partners international/hazell & associates
What are the typical mistakes made by NCE’s? • Their resumes make them look like average engineers – Canadians want to hire a first-class engineer. • Their resumes describe what they did, not what they accomplished. • Their resumes are generic; they send the same resume to hundreds of companies. career partners international/hazell & associates
Conclusions • When you help NCE’s with their resumes, you need to make sure that the resume does not portray them as: • Managers / “Hands-off” engineers • Technicians • Jacks or all trades, masters of none • Overqualified • Average in their professions career partners international/hazell & associates
Conclusions • You also need to make sure that they know how to target the right employers and customize their resumes to the needs and expectations of these employers. • You can refer the difficult cases to me (particularly those who have Ph.D.’s) • I can provide a more comprehensive training session on how to help NCE’s find jobs that make use of their skills career partners international/hazell & associates