Federal Skilled Worker process clarification

Hi there,

I'm in the planning stages of immigration to Canada (currently living in the States if that matters), and after having done a bit of research, i've determined that i'm eligible to immigrate as a skilled worker. However, i don't have the points or the money to immigrate 'on my own', so i will need to have arranged employment first.

This raises a question that i haven't been able to find the answer to on any of the CIC or Canada Visa pages i've looked at: What exactly will the time-line be in terms of my would-be employment?

Specifically, i want to clarify this: Suppose i have my job offer, my employer gets approval from HRSDC, and so forth, and i submit my application. Am i (and my employer) then just sitting there for 6 to 12 months, waiting for them to approve my permanent residence? Or would i be able to work for them in the interim, on a temporary work visa or such?

(The HRSDC site does mention that i would apply for a work permit before submitting the FSW paper-work, but other than that it's unclear.)

Probably a stupid question, but as you can see i have little experience with this. Cheers!