I absolutely agree with you that I am working for sub-par pay. This phenomenon was discussed some time back in this thread and Once I demand higher pay, a newer immigrant will take my place and I will be out.Your income is pretty much poverty level in Toronto although I am not surprised. You probably got low-balled due to being an immigrant, these Toronto HR/recruiters are predatory.
The thing is with procurement jobs, a lot of superficial things matter, since it is a client/vendor facing role:
Your level of english
Your accent
Your culture (making smalltalk and knowing how business is done)
Your education (Canadian degree with help)
Procurement jobs can be lucrative, especially public procurement (just imagine the no. of public agencies that waste taxpayer dollars) but unlike tech where demand is high, it's more competitive and knowing how to network to get those desired jobs
Your work experience abroad will be written off instantaneously (maybe except WE with MNCs, which could help with that company here in Canada). They will always choose a bilingual Canadian professional over you for all those reasons. After that, an Anglo Canadian. If they can't find anyone else they'll hire a recent immigrant at sub-par pay.
Fortunately in my case, my previous work experience in Saudi Arabia actually worked wonders to get me this job. I applied directly and got the call, zero networking and during the face to face interview, I was answering all the questions they had without them even asking! It was an excellent interview, best one of my life so far.
But over the years I have really learned how to dress up my skills and past experience well to tell a story and cover up my educational/professional draw backs and that helped me a lot. Not lying, just presenting things in a better manner.
Public procurement requires expertise either in terms of education or experience, both of which I dont really have right now.
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