Resume & Interview Tips from a Career Coach in Canada

Nearly half of Canadians live paycheque to paycheque, with financial anxiety highest in Ontario compared to other provinces. What gives? Soaring grocery prices, a housing crisis, and high household debt are some factors. 

Our credit counsellors know this all too well with the influx of calls they’ve received lately from Canadians seeking support to get out of debt. 

So what can you do? 

The first lever is to lower expenses and reduce debt. A quick call to our certified credit counsellors can get you started on the right track. But the other lever is to increase your income, which might look like a career change, raise, or side hustle. A career coach can help you improve your income potential with resume support and interview prep.

In the most recent Moolala: Money Made Simple podcast, Credit Canada CEO Bruce Sellery sat down with Taylor Urquhart, Lead of Indeed’s Job Squad division, to talk about career coaching in Canada. 

“The Job Squad partners with community organizations to help job seekers facing barriers find their next role,” explains Urquhart. 

Below, we’ll cover some highlights from their conversation, including career coaching, resume and interview best practices, and how you can elevate your income this year with Credit Canada and Indeed.

What is career coaching?

A career coach helps you market yourself as effectively as possible so you can move up in your career, find new work opportunities, or even switch gears to a different field. They consult with you one-on-one to help you identify your strengths and skills, fill in any gaps, and tailor your interview skills, resume, and cover letter to best support your career goals. 

Anyone can benefit from career coaching, whether you’re returning to the workforce after a long hiatus as a stay-at-home parent or looking to level up as an executive. Urquhart describes the job search as essentially selling yourself — a new concept for many, but not impossible to master: 

“Sometimes, a little bit of guidance can be needed to tailor their resume and make sure that all of the great skills and assets they possess are being portrayed in the best light possible.”

Here’s some guidance Urquhart shares with Bruce in the Moolala interview:

1. Keep your resume succinct yet relevant and accurate

The two-page rule for resumes remains relevant today, as HR professionals prefer resumes that get to the point. But you still need to make sure you capture all the right details.

Urquhart’s criteria for a winning resume is:

“Being succinct while also being detailed enough that you capture the attention of whoever it is scanning through and reading that resume.”

But do you ever find that the job hunt feels like deja vu? That’s just a natural result of reviewing countless job ads for similar roles. Many job descriptions for your dream career will end up sharing keywords within the job titles, duties, and role descriptions. 

But Urquhart points out that these common elements act as a great baseline for your resume:

“You want to make sure that you’re encapsulating that [those common job details] in your own skillset and your own performance, and the way that you are showcasing yourself so that whether it’s the recruiter or the HR manager, or whoever it is scanning through your resume, sees those similarities as well and hopefully moves you to the next step of the interview process.”

Another important resume tip: don’t oversell yourself with experiences that exaggerate your true job history — it’ll come back to bite you in the end. Your skills and competency should be accurate in your resume so that you set the right expectations.

You’ve covered relevance and accuracy, but how about succinctness? This comes in the resume edit. Review your resume and cut out anything that feels too flowery or irrelevant to the role. 

2. Research the employer

Employers appreciate it when you take the time to learn about them. This helps you stand out from the hundreds or even thousands of other candidates applying for the same position.

“It’s important that you can pull out some little facts or tidbits about that company, why you want to work there, why their unique mission really speaks to you,” advises Urquhart.

To start your research, check out the employer’s:

• Company website: Look at the services page to understand exactly how the organization helps its customers. You can also use the website to learn more about company values and guidelines.
  
  
• News releases: You’ll usually find this on the company website. Pay special attention to any community events or associations that you might feel passionate about as well.
  
  
• Online mentions: Google the company or search their hashtag on social media and see what other industry publications highlight about them.
  
  
• LinkedIn: Bonus if you take the time to find the hiring manager’s LinkedIn profile and ask them relevant questions about their own experience and career journey!
  
  
• Reviews: Look at what current and past employers say and relay any positives back to the interview.

Next stop? The interview.

3. Show continuity between your experience and new role

Now for those dreaded behavioural and situational interview questions. It’s always a good idea to consider all of your relevant experience before the interview and craft a narrative about how those experiences will serve you well in the next role.

So, how do you first approach a situational question like, “Tell me about a time you solved a problem”? Urquhart reminds us to account for the “why" and do your best to satisfy it in your response.

“What’s the real reason you think the employer is asking this? Is this something that comes up frequently on the job? Whatever it might be, use examples, ideally from more recent roles, that show some continuity between the work you've done and work you’re hoping to do with this new employer.”

4. Confidence comes from preparation

In the age of Zoom interviews, it won't necessarily be obvious if you have a sheet of paper with potential interview answers in front of you. However, chances are that you won’t pull the wool over an interviewer’s eyes. Why? Because confidence is obvious — you either have it or you don’t, and looking down says you don’t.

The best solution to calm interview nerves is to prepare. Instead of holding a sheet of answers in front of you, give yourself ample time to practice reciting those answers. A career coach is a great resource to practice interviews (more on that later). Otherwise, you can rely on the mirror or a close friend. 

5. Be proactive and ask questions at the end

Remember, interviews aren’t a one-way street. Candidates have an opportunity to find out more about the role and employer at the end of the interview. In fact, employers pay close attention to the questions you present:

“I don’t think we’ve ever hired someone who wasn’t ready with insightful questions [at the end of the interview],” says Bruce.

Some thought starters are:

• Ask the employer to elaborate on any information you found in your research, i.e., company associations, product unique selling propositions (USPs), work-life balance, employee events, etc.

• What makes the workplace unique from other similar companies?

• What do you [directed to the hiring manager] like the most about your job?

• What is something your company is actively looking to improve (i.e., customer service speed, employee work-life balance, technological adoption, etc.)

Urquhart recommends a concise follow-up email no sooner than 48 hours after the interview. 

Elevate Your Income with Credit Canada

Confidence, interview skills, and the art of resume writing are just a few items to master on your career journey and the quest for higher income. 

Credit Canada has teamed up with Indeed to offer a variety of resources to support you with your career goals, including career guides (like this one!), a webinar, and even the chance to win a career counselling package valued at $470 with Indeed’s skilled coaches. The prize package includes career counselling, professional resume writing support and a mock interview.

Learn more about how to elevate your income today!