Canva is a web-based graphic design tool that boasts 1000+ customisable resume templates designed to help you land your dream job.
Canva is a fantastic graphic design tool. However, using Canva to create your resume has some drawbacks.
In fact, despite the eye-catching design, using a Canva template could be harming rather than helping your job search.
Here is what you need to consider:
Contents
1. Incompatibility with Applicant Tracking System (ATS) Scanning
Applicant Tracking Systems are used to perform the initial screening of your resume.
An actual person won’t read your resume unless you can first get past the ATS. The ATS will check your resume for keywords and phrases and rank your resume.
The formatting of your resume can impact the ability of the ATS to scan your resume.
To help demonstrate, I downloaded this resume template from Canva as a PDF.
From here, I uploaded the Canva resume template as a PDF to Jobscan.
If you are not familiar with Jobscan, it is a free online tool that assesses your resume against a job for ATS optimisation. Jobscan then guides you to improve your ATS ranking. (It is a great tool – I will link to it again at the end)
I used an example Social Media Manager job ad I found on Seek.
Here are the Jobscan results received:
As you can see, it wasn’t good. We are aiming for 80%!
You can see some of the issues when you look at the text version of the Canva template created by Jobscan.
It’s a mess.
The corresponding content was separated from the headings. In fact, all the content is in the wrong place.
I suspect that the extra spacing added in Canva has caused the headings to be translated as individual letters, and therefore, they are now unrecognisable by the ATS as words.
If you have ever applied for a role using an online application form and used your uploaded resume to pre-populate the fields, you may have run into similar issues. If the fields populated incorrectly or not at all, then the system was unable to read your resume.
This was the outcome when the same information was submitted via a PDF created within MS Word.
The text version created is readable:
And the result?
It should be noted – this is still a terrible result, but you can see just how significantly the Canva template’s format impacted the ATS scan result.
Remember, the text was the same in both versions. This 23% difference is based on formatting alone.
ATS Formatting Tips
Here are some of the key formatting tips to take away from this:
- Keep it simple. Remember to focus on function over style. A well-presented resume is important but in a much more practical sense. Good formatting is about drawing attention to your strongest content.
- Use recognisable section headings. The ATS will not be able to make sense of the information in your resume unless it has a corresponding heading.
- Use Jobscan to check how scannable your resume is. If it doesn’t scan well, you will need to create a text-only version to use when submitting via an ATS.
Your resume will not always be scanned by an ATS. However, the 23% result should still make you wary of the Canva resume template. The fact is, there is simply not enough information in this resume template to achieve a high match in the ATS.
A potential employer, even if they are not using an ATS, is looking for a match between your skills and experience and their role. You need to give them more information.
This brings us to the second reason why a Canva Resume Template can impact your job search.
2. You may end up excluding necessary content
By trying to fit your unique set of experience and skills into a predesigned template, you risk leaving important information out or sacrificing the quality of your content to fit the template.
The best format for your resume is one that adds value to your unique career story.
Here are some examples of how this template can steer you in the wrong direction:
It is light on details
There is no such thing as a one-page resume rule in Australia. Longer resumes are the norm.
If Angela were applying for a Social Media Manager position, she would need two pages to prove she is the best candidate. Her resume would be at least 1000 words.
Angela doesn’t have a lot of experience; however, her experience section should still be considerably more detailed.
Trying to add any more than a year of experience into this small space will result in the exclusion of necessary information.
Each bullet point in the experience section should highlight results achieved, be supported by numbers, and explain the actions taken to achieve the result.
There are also no achievement examples in this resume that demonstrate employability skills.
The layout doesn’t lead with the strongest content first
You should always present your best content first. You want to get the hiring manager’s attention immediately.
The profile section of this resume provides a weak first impression. A hiring manager might even stop reading there.
If they did, they would miss that Angela was the ‘Most Outstanding Social Media Producer’ in 2014 and ‘Best Intern’ in 2013.
This is convincing evidence as to why Angela would make a good Social Media Manager. Except it’s buried at the end of her resume.
A better start would be a hard-hitting personal branding statement and then immediately drawing attention to Angela’s top achievements.
A template won’t be structured perfectly for your career. Depending on your experience, you might need to start with your awards, your education, or an incredible testimonial.
There are sections missing altogether
This template doesn’t include several critical sections; Professional Development, Testimonials, Technical Skills, Professional Memberships, and Volunteer Work.
Each of these sections provides valuable information that will impact the success of your resume.
So, before you use a Canva Resume Template, keep in mind these two things:
1: If you are going to use a template – make sure that you modify the template to suit your content and not modify your content to suit the template!
You need to create a second page, add additional sections, and provide a lot more detail.
It should also be said, that just because a section is included on a template doesn’t mean you need to use it. A common one is objective statements. Never include an objective statement.
2: Check that the template is compatible with ATS scanning. If it is not, you need to create an alternative version to use when applying via an ATS. (Jobscan provides a guide to spotting an ATS)
Helpful Resource: Jobscan
