New landed immigrants - how's your job hunting experience?

[SkilledPro]

can anyone share please?

thanks

[Olias]

can anyone share please?

thanks

The experience is usually like a horror movie. There are very few decent jobs for immigrants in Canada. Most immigrants from the skilled worker class are either unemployed or underemployed. The Canadian job market is not based in meritocracy, but rather in "contacts". Immigrants are the target of what they called  Systemic Discrimination.  They need immigrants with PhDs and MAs here to drive cabs and do housecleaning. There are some exceptions - people who had success. But the true is that most immigrants are and will stay stuck in poverty.

[SkilledPro]

when did you land and which part of Canada are you living?  also, under what NOC are you?  pls share your experience.

thanks

[malu08]

The experience is usually like a horror movie. There are very few decent jobs for immigrants in Canada. Most immigrants from the skilled worker class are either unemployed or underemployed. The Canadian job market is not based in meritocracy, but rather in "contacts". Immigrants are the target of what they called  Systemic Discrimination.  They need immigrants with PhDs and MAs here to drive cabs and do housecleaning. There are some exceptions - people who had success. But the true is that most immigrants are and will stay stuck in poverty.

very discouraging.

[m2canada]

hi guys! i hope that the newly landed immigrants can share their job hunting experiences as this matter really concerns me now that we are almost thru with the application process. pls share ur experiences! thank you!

[Deeaar]

Dear Friends,

It seems Olias was misguided before going there or he didnt do his homework well.
If any one is saying that as soon as u reach there, irrespective of your profession you will get a good job....He himself is a big fool or fooling others big time.

It is a place of new immigrants and Canada expects everyone to know their standards by upgrading their qualification/edu and then aspire for a good job. BTW no job is bad, there is a dignity of labour and everyone needs to do that to give themselves a jump start. Yes there are few exceptions who get good jobs in first place...very few.

Give urself 1 year of toil and struggle and you are most likely be through and successful or there is some problem with you and not with the country... Be positive and open to all the odd jobs that comes ur way, dont be choosy.

Best wishes.

[Lucky11]

Why dont you you consult job websites before moving to canada

[SkilledPro]

 @  Lucky11 - of course looking into the job website is one of the important considerations. however, it is helpful to hear from actual experiences in order to analyze the trends.

To landed immigrants in IT field - how's IT jobs so far?

[lpntocanada]

We landed in Vancouver on Oct. 14 2010. I am a Licensed Practical Nurse and my husband is I.T. Manager. I initially applied here in Vancouver but no response. I applied in the province in Alberta and in a span of 5-6 days, they offered me a position. I will have to move to Alberta though but that is o.k. I suggest to people to try to do their homework as to where their job market has the most job vacancies to minimize moving around. Another thing is to try to get your regulatory board to issue you the license prior to coming so when you get here then you can start looking for a job in your field. Hope this helps...    

[SkilledPro]

lpntocanada, thanks for sharing your experience and advice.  Did your husband found a job already? are you both moving to Alberta?

[trinatocanada]

I got a job in less than two weeks after landing and in the same field of my profession. I am a physical therapist working as a physical therapy assistant while working out my license to practice.

What did I do?
Before landing:
1. Learn about credentialing in your profession. It differs for every profession in every province. I started two years before landing.
2. Identify provinces/areas where your job is most in need. In my case I knew that it was Ontario so I concentrated there.
3. A few months before landing, I sent out my resume to every clinic I could find in the province of Ontario... and even a few in Alberta just in case.
   Canadians are friendly and accommodating. I got replies, both promising and not. I just kept at it and finally ended up with a few interviews.
4. Timed my landing towards the end of summer where most jobs are open.

After landing:
1. I confirmed the dates for the few interviews I got.  I went to all of them and finally decided to settle in Ottawa when the clinic offered me a full time position.
2. Leased an apartment for a year then started work the following monday.

Kindness goes a long way so be kind and polite and doors will open. Be open minded and ready to recognize a blessing when you see it. Be brave and always have a positive outlook. Be honest in interviews and mastering the english language helps a lot too. 

So far my story has been a happy one and I am praying that it continues to be. So chin up, good luck, be inspired

[piolo]

Hi Trina,

You are always an inspiration to us. Thanks again for sharing inspite of your heavy
scheds.  Godbless!!

Piolo

[pv]

IT job market is okay and now days ( due to Nov-Dec month) the hiring is bit slow
My fren over 13 yrs of IT exp, searching for last 2 months+ but no luck. The bad part is not enough calls coming back.
Resumes go to consultants but after that no feedback... It looks either positions are less and applicant are more OR hiring is less in last two months of the year.
Again the job search exp is purely a unique exp for everyone, some one gets job very quick and for some it takes more time than expected..

[gjp]

Getting IT jobs in Canada is not consistent. Some get jobs easily and some do not. For people from USA, it is comparitively easy if the person has US experience working with a US firm. If people come from anywhere else, it is a struggle for most people.
There are IT job postings in the job web sites. But immigrants do not get calls easily. To increase your chances ensure that you have a very good resume. Most of the resumes get rejected since they are not presented well and/or have spelling and grammar mistakes.
Browse for Canadian Resume Guidelines and check what Canadian employers look for and modify your resume accordingly.

[Neel09]

Hi, i completed my landing procedure in Canada ( Edmonton) in June 2010 and came back to US and continue working here. I am a civil engineer by profession, i did all my higher studies in US and working in US for last 5 years. Last week i just sent my first resume to a very big company in Canada and they already did my phone interview, then asked for my references. They finished checking all references and he called me this friday to say he liked all my references and would like to arrange a trip for me to edmonton office to meet them this coming wednesday. Hopefully it would hit i am just keeping my fingers crossed. Its same job profile what i am working now in US but actually would get to work on more diversified projects like dams and tunnels design. They have offices worldwide and also many branches in US so i guess they could also utilize me on US projects since i have a professional engineering license in US. But lets see how it goes.

My question is: now when i go to canada this wednesday do i need to show again proof of funds or something like that/ or any other document? or just can show my pr card and get in and come back next day? last time when i landed i did not even open a bank account as i had to rush out within one day. so i dont have proof of address in Canada. i did apply for SIN number and got a SIN card though, but did not apply for health card.Any advise from anyone?