CONTACT INFO
Your details appear at the top of your resume as plain text. That matters more than it sounds: an ATS often can't read contact details placed inside a header, a footer or an image.
SUMMARY
2–4 sentences. Lead with your title, years of experience, and biggest value. No "I am a..." — just dive in.
EXPERIENCE
Most recent first. Start each bullet with an action verb and put a number in it wherever you honestly can — a resume gets about seven seconds of a recruiter's attention, and a figure is the fastest thing on the page to read.
EDUCATION
Most recent credential first. GPA is optional on a Canadian resume — include it only if it's strong, and write the scale out so it's unambiguous.
SKILLS
Add technical skills, tools, and competencies, hitting Enter after each. Use the wording the job posting itself uses — keyword matching is literal, so "Excel" and "Microsoft Excel" are not always read as the same skill.
Not sure these match the posting?
The ATS scanner in the menu above grades a finished resume against one job description and shows you which of its keywords you never actually say.
PROJECTS
Side projects, personal work, open source — anything that shows what you can actually do.
CERTIFICATIONS
Professional certs, licenses, and credentials. Most recent first.
LANGUAGES
List languages and your proficiency level.
VOLUNTEER WORK
Community involvement, board positions, pro bono work. Shows character, not just credentials.