Customizing your Resume for Success in Canada’s Public and Private Sectors

As an IT consultant, you may find that you work primarily in either the private or public sector. Then, when the time comes to look for a new contract, you look only to opportunities within that sector. While this approach may feel comfortable, it also dramatically cuts down on the number of opportunities available to you. 

In this series of three articles, we describe some of the key differences in the hiring processes between the public and private sectors and then give you tips for how to customize your resume so that you can effectively pursue opportunities in both sectors. 

This first article gives some context for how and why the hiring processes are different and how that affects the role your resume plays in that process. The second and third articles then provide specific tips for how to customize your resume for the public and private sectors respectively. 

Two hiring processes. Two perspectives on the resume.

Over the years, the hiring practices of public and private sector employers in Canada have diverged dramatically. 

Public Sector

With a goal of representing all citizens equally, Canada’s federal government has attempted to make its hiring process as fair and transparent as possible. This has led to a highly formalized process where the importance of documentation—hence the resume—is paramount. In terms of evaluation, detailed project-specific experience takes priority over soft skills, such as leadership or adaptability, which are difficult to judge transparently and typically not evaluated in the hiring process.

To land a contract with Canada’s federal government, the resume is both your foot in the door and the key to closing the deal. In many cases, interviews are either not permitted by procurement rules or serve only as a tool for verifying what is already in the resume. In other words, in the public sector, you need to win the job in your resume. And that means complying with very specific requirements.

For more information on this topic, read Five tips for how to customize your resume for the public sector.

Private Sector

In the private sector, the purpose of the resume is to entice the employer to set up an interview. It is in the interview where you will land the job. In contrast to the public sector, soft skills are a large part of hiring decisions in the private sector—and these skills can most easily be judged in an interview setting.

To get your foot in the door in the private sector, your resume must excite the employer with the promise of how you will bring not only specific project expertise but also additional value to the team—your willingness to share your skills or take leadership initiative, for example. This value will be hinted at through a resume that communicates accomplishments and career growth. 

For more information on this topic, read Five tips for how to customize your resume for the private sector.

We are here to help 

At Veritaaq, we understand the hiring practices of the public and private sectors and have 28 years of experience providing IT consulting services to departments and firms within those sectors. We work with you to ensure you make the strongest possible submission for each engagement opportunity. We are committed to your success.  

If you are an IT consultant looking for employment opportunities, please contact us for more information about how we can help you find your ideal contract opportunity and work with you to win the contract.