Oh Yes Jeca, you are right on track....thats how AEO applications work.
Employer gets AEO approved from HRSDC > you apply with AEO for PR> wait for PR approval> Land> and begin working for your employee.
I thought your question was -If the employer had to look for PR/Citizen before he arranged the AEO for you....anyways doubts cleared now.
Mitali
Yes, for AEO, employer doesn't have to prove that he tried to recruit Canadian citizen. However, from what I understood, I think that employer's company has to be stable, he has to have at least one employee and have a good prospect. That's something which HRSDC will check in the application process right?