the jobs are not forth coming

[richie4U]

hu guys wow , i have had lots of resume out in kamloops british columbia, since i got my SIN NUMBER but still nothing yet
most jobs are high school job, maybe i have to forget about my degree and just get a job
we got to pay bills right....   and all part -time jobs i need a full time but what can i do
i need a job. and hoping MY PR card arrives soon. anyway idea  of company hiring in kamloops

[Love_Young]

Well I am not a PR yet myself but have done some research to prepare myself.

Here are some tips that may help you:
- Dress nicely to hand in resume's and going to the interview
- Prepare resumes and CV's according to what job you are taking
- Write about the skills you have that you can contribute to that certain job you're applying for
- Have another person look at your resume and see if it is done right. Make sure it is done to Canadian standards.
- Don't be afraid to look at job positions that you normally wouldn't do.
  A regular minimum wage job for a few months is better than none.
- Go to a place that helps with immigration settlement in your area. They help teach you about getting a job, applying, etc.
- Look into applying to a Temporary Employment Agency. Some will hire you on a permanent basis later if they like you.
- If English or French isn't your first language, brush up on your language skills by registering for English/French classes.
- If you can, hand your resume/CV personally to the manager and show your desire to work for them.
- Practice with a family member/friend of standard job interview questions so you are prepared for an interview.
- Clean up your look a bit. Get a nice haircut, if male then shave your face, hide tattoos and piercings if possible.
- Volunteer or take an internship for a few months. A few months of Canadian experience is always helpful and looks good.
- And if worse comes to worse, go back to school and brush up on your skills to the Canadian standard.

It can take a lot of effort but if you are strong-willed, you can definitely do it. You may not get the job you would like at first, the pay you would like, the location you like, the permancy you like, or get a job within the first few weeks or months but if you keep at it, you will find that job you are looking for. Good luck!

[Cdagal]

Hi Richie4U...Convergy's is always hiring if you just need a job.  What field is your degree in?

[kourts]

What exactly is "Canadian Standard" ?

[AllisonVSC]

It's similar to American style. Don't include your photo, marital status, number of children, sexual orientation, age, religion. Write accomplishments instead of listing duties. Most common is chronological, but functional resumes are often accepted and generally understood. Keep it to two pages and don't over exaggerate. Stuff like that.

[SmoothiesQueen]

This is going to sound wrong, but I've learned its true. I used to work with an organization on a volunteer basis that helped new immigrants get settled. The truth is, their is some prejudice or something that is often held by employeers towards immigrant applicants. I'm not sure if its intentional prejudice because although racism and what not exists in every country, I'd like to think Canada is not to bad in regards to that issue. It could be assumptions combined with a lack of understanding. Maybe employeers feel more comfortable hiring another born n raised Canadian where their is no struggle to understand accents, or fear they can't communicate as well with each other. Plus there is alot of immigrants that come that are not qualified for alot of jobs due to being denied educational oppurtunities in their home country due to money issue or conflict, or education not transfering over to Canada, and end up doing manuel labour jobs and warehouses and stuff like that.  So alot of employeers seem to think this means most immigrants are not qualified unless their resume is ridiculously obviously well qualified.

This may not be the case everywhere, but in my experience of helping new immigrants, degree or not, this seems to be an issues.

The same thing I told them, put EXTRA effort into how you present yourself. Present yourself so well, that any preconcieved idea's or doubts they might have had, go right out the window. Dress well in a nice pair of dress pants and a button up dress shirt and tie. Be very confident and on top of things in the way you speak. Obtain knowledge of the company before you do anything, drop your resume off in person and ask to speak to management. Shake their hand, give them the resume in person and share a brief speech of your desire for the position, and a few ways you feel you would be a asset to the company. Nothing to rehearsed sounding, and don't over do it in how much of their time you take up. Its an introduction to you that will cause them to look a bit harder at your resume.

I've gained some amazing jobs by doing just this. I always drop of resumes in person, I always ask to speak to the person doing the hiring to introduce myself. I generally make it a rule to not just drop off a resume and leave it. If I do, do that, I come back to introduce myself when the manager is there. I also call after a reasonable amount of time to ask if the manager has had a chance to look at the resume and if the job is still open, and I express my continued interest.

I've run a successful business before, and when I hired people, I would get plenty of qualified people. So to pick who I wanted to hire, I focused on the ones that showed that extra interest. I knew someone who took the time to really fight for the job would be not only an asset to the company, but also someone who would do their work properly with pride, and could be entrusted with their duties.Because realistically when someone is looking for a job they hand out a whole heap of resumes, it doesn't mean they have a personal interest in any particular job, they just want a job. So as an employeer you don't really want someone whose just looking for " a job", you want someone who is looking for " this job". It makes a difference in their job performance believe me!

I don't know if this helps, and I hope nobody takes this the wrong way. Its just my opinion as someone who is married to a soon to be immigrant and has helped many settle into Canada in the past!!

[AllisonVSC]

Here is an example resume posted in the Finding Work in Canada thread. I've edited out some of the personal info using ***, but you can see this contains several egregious spelling, formating and grammar errors and info that is inappropriate. It is not up to the Canadian standard, imho.

C v
PERSONAL  IFORMATION :
Name : O**r F***l O***n A*****a
Nationality : Sudaness
Place& Birth of date : Khartoum 1982
Gender : Male
Martial Status : Single
Religious : Muslim
University : University of Juba
Adress : K****m Bahry
Tel : 002499156948 – 002499121604 – 002499129132 - 002492117201
Email: o****a82  @  hotmail.com -
ACADMIC PROFIL :     
■Bsc. Honour in Geology & Mining . College of National Resources & Environmental Studies
Uinversity of Juba. Division Tow Class Tow (2008).
■Dibloma in Computer Microsoft Office.
LANGUAGES
■Arabic                             ■English
SKILLS
■Surbac Mine                        ■GIS
CAPABILITY
■Ability to learn and understand new skills with in specific time

[Jurjen]

  @  AllisonVSC: it contains way too much info that you shouldn't release.

Scrape out: nationality, place of birth, marital status, religion. Put English before Arabic.

You don't want people that are easily prejudiced to through your CV in the paper bin right away just because of some details that won't even influance your job. Also, don't throw away too much information to talk about during a job interview. A CV is to make the potential employer curious. I had too scrape a lot of info the first time, when I visited Centre Jeunesse d'Emploi (an agency from the provincial or local government to help young people find jobs, help them prep their cv and practice interviews), and I had a lot more interested responses from employers (even as a white Western European). I got turned down for a job, because I was married. I even got turned down for a job as a janitor/mr.-fix-it-for-the-photo-copier, because my French wasn't good enough.

For the TS I have to confirm: forget to look only at jobs that suite your degree. Their's people with PhDs in nucliair science that need to take work in restaurants to make a first living in Canada. There is definitely discrimination, but don't make it your day job to work around it: you'll fail. Start with work on your cv, but even that is not even the most important. There's only three ways you can get a nice job:
1) you need to know someone that wants to put his hand in the fire for you and introduce you to people in charge of hiring new staff.
2) have ANY Candadian experience on your cv.
3) start at the very bottom and then start to impress everyone.

Extra tip: employers tend to prefer hiring working people over unemployed people.

So yeah: forget your degree, get any job (even as a bust boy at the local restaurant) so you have some money coming in and some Canadian experience on your cv and keep your eyes open for new oppertunities while working.

Cheers,
Someone who had to search for nearly 10 months, but now had his second raise in 6 months

[HoneyBird]

I understand how you feel ritchie.

I spent a few weeks looking for a job and I was totally stressed out. It seemed liked I was sending my resumes into space.

Every single thing that has been said in this thread is true.

The less information you put in your resume the better regarding what can give away your identity. People have lots of perceptions about immigrants..you have to have a resume that gets you in the door so that they can meet you in person and then that gives you a winning chance.

I know you don't want part time but if thats what you get take it! It might turn out into a full time job. You can also try a temporary agency..thats how I am working at the moment. And I got my job through CRAIGsLIST. So you can have a look just be careful.

BTW I am currently working as a Recruiter.

[mossee]

Have you looked at jobbank.gc.ca ? I know that there are tonnes of listings there for all different types of jobs. I know from personal experience, that with my ex, he was successful in getting a trades job through this site on multiple occasions.

Good luck.

I would post the link but it won't let me  Weird

[kourts]

Do they discriminate against all immigrants, or just ones who arent fluent in speaking and writing english?

[mossee]

Discriminate is a harsh word. I don't believe MOST places discriminate against immigrants because really there are so many different ethnic backgrounds that it would be unlikely you could tell if someone was born in Canada or immigrated.
I feel that if you are not fluent in English or French (Quebec) that an employer would feel that you would not be as great as a asset as someone who had a better grasp of the language used to communicate with the clients/co-workers. Only because mis-communication could be a potential for problems.

[miksterz]

Here is an example resume posted in the Finding Work in Canada thread. I've edited out some of the personal info using ***, but you can see this contains several egregious spelling, formating and grammar errors and info that is inappropriate. It is not up to the Canadian standard, imho.

C v
PERSONAL  IFORMATION :
Name : O**r F***l O***n A*****a
Nationality : Sudaness
Place& Birth of date : Khartoum 1982
Gender : Male
Martial Status : Single
Religious : Muslim
University : University of Juba
Adress : K****m Bahry
Tel : 002499156948 – 002499121604 – 002499129132 - 002492117201
Email: o****a82   @   hotmail.com -
ACADMIC PROFIL :     
■Bsc. Honour in Geology & Mining . College of National Resources & Environmental Studies
Uinversity of Juba. Division Tow Class Tow (2008).
■Dibloma in Computer Microsoft Office.
LANGUAGES
■Arabic                             ■English
SKILLS
■Surbac Mine                        ■GIS
CAPABILITY
■Ability to learn and understand new skills with in specific time

This is a terrible example. Please don't follow it. It is illegal for employers to even ask for most of that information during the application process.

[cleo]

Just sending out resumes will not get you a job.  You need to make personal contact with employers. Make phone calls, introduce yourself and say you'd like to drop off your resume.  That way when you drop it off the receptionist will remember your name.  Then after a few days you need to follow up as well.     You also need to tell everyone you meet that you are looking for a job (and maybe at this point, any job).  Making connections is the best way to get jobs here.  Kamloops is a pretty friendly town, you shouldn't have too much trouble.  Don't get discouraged.   It's difficult for anyone to get a job these days, but not impossible.  Looking for work is a full time job in itself.

[Kaycee1]

This is a terrible example. Please don't follow it. It is illegal for employers to even ask for most of that information during the application process.

I think this example was posted as an example of what NOT to do in a resume!! As an employer myself, I can say I don't even look at resumes that have spelling/grammatical mistakes and are obviously form resumes dropped off at hundreds of businesses. However, if I get a resume that has a nice cover letter specifically mentioning my company by name without spelling mistakes, I'm much more likely to look at it!!