3 degrees no job offer !

[sana123]

one more comment for that (I guess you guys can get some idea how bad we are F*d up !)

"I like your article and your attitude. BTW, my family came here about 200 years ago, and I sure as hell wouldn't want to go through what they did. They were displaced by those Nasty English and the Highland Clearances. They had two choices: stay and starve or leave and try for a better life somewhere else. We've all got it easy compared to the people of that era.

Harjyot, it took my younger daughter over three years to find full-time employment as an RN after finishing her B.Sc. Nursing degree at Western (known to be a pretty good school). Before that, she had to pick up random shifts whenever she could at two different hospitals. Sometimes it meant getting a call to fill in for someone 30 minutes before the shift started (and it was a 45 minute drive to get there!). What you're describing really has nothing to do with being an immigrant. It's tough these days for all young people to get started in their careers, no matter which field you're discussing. Any young person who got any of their secondary and all of their post-secondary education here should be on even footing with anyone else.

Turfa, it's terrible that your parents couldn't practice medicine here, especially since there continues to be a chronic shortage of MDs in Ontario (especially outside of Toronto), but if you want to know how insane it really is, read on: One of my best friends is an MD in Montréal. He got his degree at McGill (also thought to be a pretty decent school), did his residency at Montréal General Hospital, and had a family practice for a number of years before taking a permanent position with a hospital just outside the city. He can't come to Ontario and practice medicine. Why? Because the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons won't accept his credentials and he can't get an OHIP billing number without their stamp of approval. You see, he's from outside Ontario (and apparently that means he is somehow inferior, I guess). He would have to take courses and write an exam in order to be licensed here. How's that for idiotic and insulting? I give it a 10.5 on the Olympic scale. Unfortunately, some people who are new to the country (and don't know how messed up we actually are here) presume that it's all about discrimination against them because they're immigrants, something other than white Christians, and possibly saying things like "I am not knowing" instead of "I dunno". Some of that may be true, but a lot of it is just because of good old-fashioned stupidity on our part...."

read more comments here if you are on linkedin

http://www.linkedin.com/e/ep221l-hk44qc77-2s/vai/2066926/263243495/member/eml-anet_dig-b_pd-ttl-cn/?hs=false&tok=1Y3FNk2ov9XlQ1

 

[sharat_joshi77]

Hi Guys,
All of you seems to be very well qualified in your areas.
Have you tried any bridging programs offered by Acces employment.
Well, now all of you would be highly frustrated because of the reasons stated, but go to any one of the office of Acces Employment once and check out if there is any occupation specific program of your domain.

It would really be helpful and they are more aggressive than other agencies.
Plus its free of cost.

 

[sana123]

One of my friends adviced me to "modify" or westernize my name in the resume ? do you think that have an impact ?

 

[emamabd]

One of my friends adviced me to "modify" or westernize my name in the resume ? do you think that have an impact ?

not sure what you mean by "westernizing the resume"....but i assure you that its a must to have a "canadian CV".

 

[sharat_joshi77]

not sure what you mean by "westernizing the resume"....but i assure you that its a must to have a "canadian CV".

I guess westernizing the name is being referred to having a nick name or a short English name if the actual name is too complicated to pronounce.

Not sure if that makes much of a difference though...

 

[Ketevan]

A professor from one of Quebec universities (don't remember the name) has conducted a study by sending mock resumes and found that having an angli-saxon name significantly increases the chance of interview.

In my case, it did not make any difference - I have "westernized" name and I am white, but in 6 months I did not have even one interview in my field.

I guess westernizing the name is being referred to having a nick name or a short English name if the actual name is too complicated to pronounce.

Not sure if that makes much of a difference though...

 

[sana123]

I found this ....
You might wonder what difference a name change makes if an employer is racist. Clearly, if an employer intentionally discriminates, you'll be rejected during the interview. On the other hand, some employers only subconsciously eliminate an applicant based on an “ethnic” name. Once a job candidate appears in person, the employer might be more moved by the applicant's persona and interview skills than by ethnicity.

read the full article here
http://racerelations.about.com/od/theworkplace/a/AvoidHiringDiscrimination.htm

and this too

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1375499-there-way-hide-your-real-last-name-resume.html

 

[emamabd]

I found this ....
You might wonder what difference a name change makes if an employer is racist. Clearly, if an employer intentionally discriminates, you'll be rejected during the interview. On the other hand, some employers only subconsciously eliminate an applicant based on an “ethnic” name. Once a job candidate appears in person, the employer might be more moved by the applicant's persona and interview skills than by ethnicity.

read the full article here
http://racerelations.about.com/od/theworkplace/a/AvoidHiringDiscrimination.htm

and this too

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1375499-there-way-hide-your-real-last-name-resume.html

I think this issue is being overrated. Its not about racism, its about Canadian experience....that's what employers want.

Lets not blame employers, and instead see what we can further improve/enhance in ourselves (gaining canadian experience,
raising competence level, skills, ...etc) and keep trying....there are no other options.

It can't be true that "employers" are racist because there are many immigrants who found decent jobs...it might
be that a "small percentage of them" are racist - but that's beyond our influence anyway..we can't do much about it.

 

[sana123]

I think this issue is being overrated. Its not about racism, its about Canadian experience....that's what employers want.

Lets not blame employers, and instead see what we can further improve/enhance in ourselves (gaining canadian experience,
raising competence level, skills, ...etc) and keep trying....there are no other options.

It can't be true that "employers" are racist because there are many immigrants who found decent jobs...it might
be that a "small percentage of them" are racist - but that's beyond our influence anyway..we can't do much about it.

yes Agree with you, But according to this artical this issue was already studied and analyzed

By Mariel Angus | Wednesday, May 27th, 2009 - 12:30PM
Filed under

Refugees and Newcomers

Yesterday, the Progressive Economics Forum posted a blog about a new study conducted by Phil Oreopoulos at the University of British Columbia. The results of the study revealed that racism is a significant barrier to employment for new immigrants.

Entitled, “Why Do Skilled Immigrants Struggle in the Labour Market? A Field Experiment with Six Thousand Resumes,” the study sent out six thousand fabricated resumes in response to online job postings in Toronto.

The resumes were created to represent recent immigrants from China, India, Pakistan and Britain, as well as non-immigrants with and without ethnic-sounding names. The resumes were also randomly given either foreign or domestic educational experience.

According to the study, “interview request rates for English-named applicants with Canadian education and experience were more than three times higher compared to résumés with Chinese, Indian, or Pakistani names with foreign education and experience (5 percent versus 16 percent) but were no different compared to foreign applicants from Britain.”

It also found that discrimination against applicants with ethnic names or foreign experience was very common. “[Resumes] with English-sounding names received inter¬view requests 40 percent more often than applicants with Chinese, Indian, or Pakistani names, with a call-back rate of 16 percent versus 11 percent.”

This has not been the only recent study to reveal the prevalence of racism in Canada. A study released in Toronto last month revealed that race, more than religion or income, was the biggest barrier that recent immigrants faced in feeling like they belonged in Canada.

The results of these studies are both saddening and disturbing. Newcomers to Canada are now more educated than ever before, and yet face increasing barriers to employment, education, and a life free from poverty.

Canadians are experiencing racism every day, and yet many people still believe that racism is no longer an issue in Canada. We cannot continue to let this happen. We all have a responsibility to help foster greater inclusiveness in this country and ensure that everyone – regardless of race or origin – feels that they belong.

http://www.cpj.ca/en/blog/mariel/new-study-highlights-employment-barriers-immigrants
http://www.nber.org/papers/w15036.pdf

 

[emamabd]

yes Agree with you, But according to this artical this issue was already studied and analyzed



http://www.cpj.ca/en/blog/mariel/new-study-highlights-employment-barriers-immigrants
http://www.nber.org/papers/w15036.pdf

I'm sure no one has a doubt that a "John Smith" would be preferred over any african/asian/middle eastern name if they both have the same qualification and are competing for the same job...but if the african/asian/middle eastern immigrant has higher qualifications/better
experience i guess he would be given a chance....its business afterall.

At this stage i'd rather not believe that study because it doesn't help. I'd rather search the web for immigrants success stories ..that would be more inspiring

You might want to have a look the link on my earlier post:

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/transitional-jobs-vs-survival-jobs-nice-article-to-read-t160014.0.html

 

[on-hold]

I'm sure no one has a doubt that a "John Smith" would be preferred over any african/asian/middle eastern name if they both have the same qualification and are competing for the same job...but if the african/asian/middle eastern immigrant has higher qualifications/better
experience i guess he would be given a chance....its business afterall.

At this stage i'd rather not believe that study because it doesn't help. I'd rather search the web for immigrants success stories ..that would be more inspiring

You might want to have a look the link on my earlier post:

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/transitional-jobs-vs-survival-jobs-nice-article-to-read-t160014.0.html

Well, I do doubt that -- I believe that John Smith will be prefered sometimes, at some places, and the strength of the preference will vary. Remember also, many people hiring are immigrants themselves, and (hopefully) this percentage will increase steadily. The thing is, qualifications are never exactly equal -- for myself, I would consider a sign of discrimination to be getting lots of interviews but no job offer: interviews are a sign of good formal qualifications, no job offers are a sign that this is not enough and that there are informal barriers. For someone who's not getting any interviews at all, I'm not inclined to suspect discrimination, at least before I consider a terrible job market, hundreds or thousands of applicants first, or other issues (like difficulty of confirming credentials, etc.).

 

[Pandora]

Hello Guys,

I also having hard time finding a job in my field. I have a PhD in Economics and have to return back home where I got a high paying job. I am in dilemma because I don't want to quit my job just to live in canada where I am pretty sure will end up doing survival job but for how long? On the other hand, If I hang on until I get my Canadian passport, I may end up having an international job (like UN, Worldbank..etc) as a Canadian.

 

[bethfaint]

Is anyone living in Alberta right now? I found a job in Calgary after 4 weeks, I now work in HR for a large Gas company.

Ontario and Quebec have the worst economies in Canada. Alberta's economy grew like 6-9% last year.

Also Saskatchewan is meant to be an up and coming place to find a professional career too.

 

[Hasher]

I live in Calgary, but at the very moment job market is stagnant.

We are expecting by November this sluggish mode would change a bit but not as it was during last few years. Reason is still not clear but most likely companies are closing watching US economy and pending Canada-US contracts. If Keystone pipeline project approved by end this year than AB would be opened for whole Canada even for world, otherwise -----

 

[mrFoce]

Is anyone living in Alberta right now? I found a job in Calgary after 4 weeks, I now work in HR for a large Gas company.

Ontario and Quebec have the worst economies in Canada. Alberta's economy grew like 6-9% last year.

Also Saskatchewan is meant to be an up and coming place to find a professional career too.

Doesn't this really depend on the work area youre' trying to find a job for. In Ontario there are many job openings for software development, I never had trouble getting interviews etc. But I know some professions have a tough time here.