Step-By-Step Guide to IEC Canada Work Permits — International Co-op, Young Professionals and Working Holiday Applications

Gaps in your work or education history are always a resume red flag for employers—and in this case for the Government of Canada. Mind these gaps, don’t let them damage your application. There are dozens of perfectly acceptable reasons for not working or studying. Maybe you were looking for a job, fixing your place, taking time off to figure life out, recovering from health issues, raising a child or listening to angry music in your bedroom. Just say so! On the forum, applicants who left month-long gaps on their resume reported they were asked for more information and had to fill out IMM5257 — Schedule 1 listing all their trips abroad. Some of them were asked to provide this info for the past six or seven years—good luck trying to remember the dates of every long weekend and every short holiday abroad! If it doesn’t sound like a fun exercise to you, make sure to offer a comprehensive resume without gaps.