Canadian Experience​ - a systemic unfair employment barrier to new comers

[yuvs]

Indeed very interesting topic...thanks..

 

[jliu]

Signed also....hoping that Honourable Leitch can fix the unfair system. Been here several months already but keep seeing shut doors against immigrants. I never expected so much prejudice against foreigners or I'd select not to come.

 

[on-hold]

Where have you settled, jliu?

 

[Canada Fan]

I won't sign the petition (which already doesn't seem like it would have any useful effect) and this is why..

It's up to a business who hires people as to what qualifications they desire. So long as they respect Canadian and provincial law, and especially protected statuses, I don't see any problem with this in a legal sense. However, even as an American immigrant I noticed this very thing -- my first instinct though was not to fruitlessly try and change the way businesses require Canadian experience (good luck with that) but to move away from provinces like Ontario (rife with anti-immigrant sentiment despite, esp in the GTA, such a high percentage of immigrants) to a province like Alberta which have many businesses that are more likening to recognize foreign experience and education.

You cannot tell a business how to conduct itself when it looks for experience and background any more than you can tell an individual to look for a partner who is experienced with specific people. That really doesn't make sense and is far too much an intrusion upon a business and it's right to conduct itself relating to business matters.

The logical thing to do instead of trying to change the experience requirements of business by signing petitions and fruitlessly trying to change laws dictating to a business what kind of experience they should consider, is to decide where you live based on where you get a job, and if you're stubborn about where to live then deal with the consequences of such limiting decisions. Instead of complaining or wasting time being angry, do what's necessary to get the experience and qualifications that makes companies want to hire you. Or, you can start your own business and have the freedom to decide what kind of employment and educational background you desire.

I want to share my experience with you. I have a bachelor degree in Science and over than 15 years of experience in waste water management and laboratory analysis. Immigrated to Canada in 2000, got my degree accredited from University of Toronto as equivalent to a Bachelor of Science from a Canadian University. Did my best to find a job in my field and my effort came up with nothing. Then I worked in a gas station, where I got the full trust of the owner and he made me the assistant manager. After 2 years I went for a post graduate diploma from Centennial College in the Environment Protection ( Which is a respectable field of business in Canada). I got credits from my bachelor as 2 years out of the 3 years diploma and then I finished the 3rd year with high grades. Tried to find a job in the field, and again nothing except big fate zero. Then tried to do one more try and went for licensing in water quality analyst which was really tough and I managed to obtain the license after passing all the exams required. Again tried to find a job in my field which is related to environment protection or water quality or waste water management. I spent almost a year with no job and almost hardly survived (I have my wife with me and a daughter) So after all the study and accreditation and licensing in Canada and add to that 15 years of work experience, I got nothing. Then I applied for a customer service job in Best Buy and I succeeded and hired and promoted as a senior. Do you think that I was lazy or suborn, I did all my best and came up with nothing because of no " CANADIAN EXPERIENCE". To finish up with my story, a friend of mine came to Canada from Saudi Arabia, and told me what the hill you are doing here? Go to any of the gulf countries like Kuwait since you already became a Canadian citizen and there you will get job and money tax free. I thought about it and then later on moved to Kuwait and got many job offers but in a field that I really loved which is marketing and business development. Now I'm in Kuwait for 9 years working as a Business Development Manager in an mega international company and making almost 7K tax free. In addition, I got my second child which I couldn't have in Canada because of my circumstances. Do you think I'm happy that I dropped all my education and all my years of experience for the money? my answer is NO. BTY, forgot to mention because of my circumstances in Canada and my schooling I had 40K in debts and had to pay them. All of that because of the holy "CANADIAN EXPERIENCE" :-[

 

[emamabd]

I want to share my experience with you. I have a bachelor degree in Science and over than 15 years of experience in waste water management and laboratory analysis. Immigrated to Canada in 2000, got my degree accredited from University of Toronto as equivalent to a Bachelor of Science from a Canadian University. Did my best to find a job in my field and my effort came up with nothing. Then I worked in a gas station, where I got the full trust of the owner and he made me the assistant manager. After 2 years I went for a post graduate diploma from Centennial College in the Environment Protection ( Which is a respectable field of business in Canada). I got credits from my bachelor as 2 years out of the 3 years diploma and then I finished the 3rd year with high grades. Tried to find a job in the field, and again nothing except big fate zero. Then tried to do one more try and went for licensing in water quality analyst which was really tough and I managed to obtain the license after passing all the exams required. Again tried to find a job in my field which is related to environment protection or water quality or waste water management. I spent almost a year with no job and almost hardly survived (I have my wife with me and a daughter) So after all the study and accreditation and licensing in Canada and add to that 15 years of work experience, I got nothing. Then I applied for a customer service job in Best Buy and I succeeded and hired and promoted as a senior. Do you think that I was lazy or suborn, I did all my best and came up with nothing because of no " CANADIAN EXPERIENCE". To finish up with my story, a friend of mine came to Canada from Saudi Arabia, and told me what the hill you are doing here? Go to any of the gulf countries like Kuwait since you already became a Canadian citizen and there you will get job and money tax free. I thought about it and then later on moved to Kuwait and got many job offers but in a field that I really loved which is marketing and business development. Now I'm in Kuwait for 9 years working as a Business Development Manager in an mega international company and making almost 7K tax free. In addition, I got my second child which I couldn't have in Canada because of my circumstances. Do you think I'm happy that I dropped all my education and all my years of experience for the money? my answer is NO. BTY, forgot to mention because of my circumstances in Canada and my schooling I had 40K in debts and had to pay them. All of that because of the holy "CANADIAN EXPERIENCE" :-[

Wow, what a tough journey...while i was reading through your story i expected that at some point you would have managed to break in and get a reasonable job in Canada, as it seemed you were getting closer and closer....but amazingly all those efforts could not secure a job

 

[on-hold]

I want to share my experience with you. I have a bachelor degree in Science and over than 15 years of experience in waste water management and laboratory analysis. Immigrated to Canada in 2000, got my degree accredited from University of Toronto as equivalent to a Bachelor of Science from a Canadian University. Did my best to find a job in my field and my effort came up with nothing. Then I worked in a gas station, where I got the full trust of the owner and he made me the assistant manager. After 2 years I went for a post graduate diploma from Centennial College in the Environment Protection ( Which is a respectable field of business in Canada). I got credits from my bachelor as 2 years out of the 3 years diploma and then I finished the 3rd year with high grades. Tried to find a job in the field, and again nothing except big fate zero. Then tried to do one more try and went for licensing in water quality analyst which was really tough and I managed to obtain the license after passing all the exams required. Again tried to find a job in my field which is related to environment protection or water quality or waste water management. I spent almost a year with no job and almost hardly survived (I have my wife with me and a daughter) So after all the study and accreditation and licensing in Canada and add to that 15 years of work experience, I got nothing. Then I applied for a customer service job in Best Buy and I succeeded and hired and promoted as a senior. Do you think that I was lazy or suborn, I did all my best and came up with nothing because of no " CANADIAN EXPERIENCE". To finish up with my story, a friend of mine came to Canada from Saudi Arabia, and told me what the hill you are doing here? Go to any of the gulf countries like Kuwait since you already became a Canadian citizen and there you will get job and money tax free. I thought about it and then later on moved to Kuwait and got many job offers but in a field that I really loved which is marketing and business development. Now I'm in Kuwait for 9 years working as a Business Development Manager in an mega international company and making almost 7K tax free. In addition, I got my second child which I couldn't have in Canada because of my circumstances. Do you think I'm happy that I dropped all my education and all my years of experience for the money? my answer is NO. BTY, forgot to mention because of my circumstances in Canada and my schooling I had 40K in debts and had to pay them. All of that because of the holy "CANADIAN EXPERIENCE" :-[

This is the trap of the mid-career immigrant. Too much experience to be hired at a low level (more expensive), not part of the networks that make one competitive at higher levels. That said, I'm not convinced that lack of Canadian experience was your main problem -- what is the job market like in your field? Were you in Toronto or Vancouver, or Alberta or Quebec? Does your education translate into Canadian qualifications -- in some places, a career like the one you describe requires a degree in engineering, not science.
Were you able to work anywhere in Canada?

Please don't consider these questions to be doubts -- I'm surprised by your story, where I live in Alberta (and across the prairies) there is huge demand for people who work with water management and water quality.

 

[Canada Fan]

This is the trap of the mid-career immigrant. Too much experience to be hired at a low level (more expensive), not part of the networks that make one competitive at higher levels. That said, I'm not convinced that lack of Canadian experience was your main problem -- what is the job market like in your field? Were you in Toronto or Vancouver, or Alberta or Quebec? Does your education translate into Canadian qualifications -- in some places, a career like the one you describe requires a degree in engineering, not science.
Were you able to work anywhere in Canada?

Please don't consider these questions to be doubts -- I'm surprised by your story, where I live in Alberta (and across the prairies) there is huge demand for people who work with water management and water quality.

My dear, as mentioned earlier I got my original Bachelor degree accredited from University of Toronto which means my education already translated into Canadian qualification. In addition I obtained a post graduate Diploma from Canada, and a water quality analyst license from Canada. Doesn't this tell you what kind of education I had. Regarding my field, I was looking in the exact field where I studied and had 15 years experience, do you think after all these years of experience ,education and license, I was looking for a job in the engineering path??!!!. In addition, at this period in 2003/2004 there was a high demand for water quality analysts because of the crisis happened in Ontario in a private water testing facility. Also, I was qualified in other 2 fields, environment protection and waste water management facilities labs. So my 3 fields are on high demand in Canada. On top of that I had a decent network of relatives and friends.
I was living in Toronto, and was looking for a job in any where within Ontario.
My friend, it was always the Canadian experience issue, with all the replies I got. Now do you think I can go after that and resume searching a career in my original field any more? NO WAY, It's history now.

 

[on-hold]

My dear, as mentioned earlier I got my original Bachelor degree accredited from University of Toronto which means my education already translated into Canadian qualification. In addition I obtained a post graduate Diploma from Canada, and a water quality analyst license from Canada. Doesn't this tell you what kind of education I had. Regarding my field, I was looking in the exact field where I studied and had 15 years experience, do you think after all these years of experience ,education and license, I was looking for a job in the engineering path??!!!. In addition, at this period in 2003/2004 there was a high demand for water quality analysts because of the crisis happened in Ontario in a private water testing facility. Also, I was qualified in other 2 fields, environment protection and waste water management facilities labs. So my 3 fields are on high demand in Canada. On top of that I had a decent network of relatives and friends.
I was living in Toronto, and was looking for a job in any where within Ontario.
My friend, it was always the Canadian experience issue, with all the replies I got. Now do you think I can go after that and resume searching a career in my original field any more? NO WAY, It's history now.

Don't worry, I wasn't suggesting you go back -- I was just curious. I understood your first sentence to mean that you had your Bsc accredited by the University of Toronto as equivalent to a Bsc, which wouldn't make a difference if the standard for working in Canada is some sort of engineering degree.

For myself, I trained as an anatomist and qualified as a college instructor (teaching anatomy to nurses); but in the Canadian system, nurses learn their anatomy from nurses -- I knew before I came I wouldn't be teaching.

 

[Rossei]

I want to share my experience with you. I have a bachelor degree in Science and over than 15 years of experience in waste water management and laboratory analysis. Immigrated to Canada in 2000, got my degree accredited from University of Toronto as equivalent to a Bachelor of Science from a Canadian University. Did my best to find a job in my field and my effort came up with nothing. Then I worked in a gas station, where I got the full trust of the owner and he made me the assistant manager. After 2 years I went for a post graduate diploma from Centennial College in the Environment Protection ( Which is a respectable field of business in Canada). I got credits from my bachelor as 2 years out of the 3 years diploma and then I finished the 3rd year with high grades. Tried to find a job in the field, and again nothing except big fate zero. Then tried to do one more try and went for licensing in water quality analyst which was really tough and I managed to obtain the license after passing all the exams required. Again tried to find a job in my field which is related to environment protection or water quality or waste water management. I spent almost a year with no job and almost hardly survived (I have my wife with me and a daughter) So after all the study and accreditation and licensing in Canada and add to that 15 years of work experience, I got nothing. Then I applied for a customer service job in Best Buy and I succeeded and hired and promoted as a senior. Do you think that I was lazy or suborn, I did all my best and came up with nothing because of no " CANADIAN EXPERIENCE". To finish up with my story, a friend of mine came to Canada from Saudi Arabia, and told me what the hill you are doing here? Go to any of the gulf countries like Kuwait since you already became a Canadian citizen and there you will get job and money tax free. I thought about it and then later on moved to Kuwait and got many job offers but in a field that I really loved which is marketing and business development. Now I'm in Kuwait for 9 years working as a Business Development Manager in an mega international company and making almost 7K tax free. In addition, I got my second child which I couldn't have in Canada because of my circumstances. Do you think I'm happy that I dropped all my education and all my years of experience for the money? my answer is NO. BTY, forgot to mention because of my circumstances in Canada and my schooling I had 40K in debts and had to pay them. All of that because of the holy "CANADIAN EXPERIENCE" :-[

I'm surprised as well. Like emamabd, I was also expecting that you would have secured something after all those efforts.

But look at the bright side, you're earning 7k/mo w/o tax which is equivalent to 10k/mo salary here in Canada. It takes minimum 10 years to do so in technical field in Canada. I always dreamed of having a North American degree and then working in middle-east for few years to earn tons of money when I was in grade school. Never happened though! ???

 

[clubcanada]

In most cases 'Canadian Experience' is a lame excuse to tell an applicant that he isn't suitable for the job. Very simple.
Truth is that in most cases there are other reasons why people didn't get the job. If you ask further, you might get the true answer.

But before you blame all on lack of Canadian Experience, see it from an external view: In most cases immigrants who just have landed in Canada:
- Are Unemployed (applying out of unemployment is a big disadvantage - for ALL applicants)
- Have language issues (incl. strong accent)
- Gained a foreign degree from a foreign institution
- Are highly educated
- Come from a country that most Canadian haven't been to
- Have no work experience on the local market (I'd call this 'real Canadian experience')
- Have no network
- Might come from a complete different cultural background
- etc.

On top, most people come to Canada with a huge expectation and you also compete against a crowd of local Canadians and immigrants. Most immigrants don't like to hear it, but my experience is that if you are a big shot in your home country, stay where you're - unless you want to risk to start from the bottom again or at least go through some significant down-sizing!

In times where even Canadian have difficulties to find a proper job, it's much harder for immigrants to find one. In addition, Canada isn't a good place for highly educated people - in fact, there's a lot of Canadian college grads moving south the border to find jobs.

Someone wrote, that he couldn't land a job even after accreditation from UoT. I believe it's not so much about the accreditation, it's more about the institution where you got your degree from - unless it's a well-known college that is even know in Canada (Stanford, Harvard, etc.). However, there another thing, it's the networking. It's helpful to attend a Canadian college but from my PoV the value comes from the networking you do during your studies.

What really COULD make a difference is:
- Bringing work experience from a well-know company/competitor (BTW: this is what brought me my job)
- Understanding the playing rules and adapting them (e.g. upgrading or downsizing your resumes, etc.)
- Bringing the right skills
- Building up and leveraging your network in Canada (This is how most immigrants I've met succeeded)
- Coming at the right time
- Going to the right region
- Managing your expectations properly

Also be ready and willing to go back or move on or postpone your move if your plan in Canada doesn't work out. You should also consider to bring your family at a later stage that you can concentrate on your job hunt during the first 6 months...

The worst thing that you can do is to rely too much on others and to blame an 'unfair system' for your failure - this is wasted time! Also get rid of the opinion that Canada needs you. Getting a PR is a privilege and you should be more thankful for being selected. At the end Canada is a club and you should prove that you're worth the membership---


Good luck!

P.S.: I left Canada after approx. 2.5 years for family reasons - even though I had a very well paid job in downtown Toronto. Overall, I had an interesting time and I don't want to miss it!

 

[jliu]

In most cases 'Canadian Experience' is a lame excuse to tell an applicant that he isn't suitable for the job. Very simple.
Truth is that in most cases there are other reasons why people didn't get the job. If you ask further, you might get the true answer.

But before you blame all on lack of Canadian Experience, see it from an external view: In most cases immigrants who just have landed in Canada:
- Are Unemployed (applying out of unemployment is a big disadvantage - for ALL applicants)
- Have language issues (incl. strong accent)
- Gained a foreign degree from a foreign institution
- Are highly educated
- Come from a country that most Canadian haven't been to
- Have no work experience on the local market (I'd call this 'real Canadian experience')
- Have no network
- Might come from a complete different cultural background
- etc.

On top, most people come to Canada with a huge expectation and you also compete against a crowd of local Canadians and immigrants. Most immigrants don't like to hear it, but my experience is that if you are a big shot in your home country, stay where you're - unless you want to risk to start from the bottom again or at least go through some significant down-sizing!

In times where even Canadian have difficulties to find a proper job, it's much harder for immigrants to find one. In addition, Canada isn't a good place for highly educated people - in fact, there's a lot of Canadian college grads moving south the border to find jobs.

Someone wrote, that he couldn't land a job even after accreditation from UoT. I believe it's not so much about the accreditation, it's more about the institution where you got your degree from - unless it's a well-known college that is even know in Canada (Stanford, Harvard, etc.). However, there another thing, it's the networking. It's helpful to attend a Canadian college but from my PoV the value comes from the networking you do during your studies.

What really COULD make a difference is:
- Bringing work experience from a well-know company/competitor (BTW: this is what brought me my job)
- Understanding the playing rules and adapting them (e.g. upgrading or downsizing your resumes, etc.)
- Bringing the right skills
- Building up and leveraging your network in Canada (This is how most immigrants I've met succeeded)
- Coming at the right time
- Going to the right region
- Managing your expectations properly

Also be ready and willing to go back or move on or postpone your move if your plan in Canada doesn't work out. You should also consider to bring your family at a later stage that you can concentrate on your job hunt during the first 6 months...

The worst thing that you can do is to rely too much on others and to blame an 'unfair system' for your failure - this is wasted time! Also get rid of the opinion that Canada needs you. Getting a PR is a privilege and you should be more thankful for being selected. At the end Canada is a club and you should prove that you're worth the membership---


Good luck!

P.S.: I left Canada after approx. 2.5 years for family reasons - even though I had a very well paid job in downtown Toronto. Overall, I had an interesting time and I don't want to miss it!

So u already left Canada but why do u care if someone else's got a different point of view or experience than u? U realize that immigrants are just here to live their lives and not trying to be the prime minister or a CEO right? Geez u make it sound like immigrants are the ones at fault. I've been here for several months and I've only gotten a handful of interviews though I've tried so hard. In the interviews the interviewers were very condescending about my immigrant background and one guy used the word "CANADIANS EXPERIENCE" about 14 times.....yes I counted it. He also used the world "ORIENTAL" 3 times to refer to my ethnic background. I've studied and worked in Europe and no one there ever said that to me or looked down at me that way. I've got a masters in engineering from a good Germany univ and solid work experience as engineer from a major automobile manufacture in Germany so I don't know why they keep bringing up "CANADIAN EXPERIENCE".... It's not like the physical laws or engineering principles are different in Canada compared to everywhere else. But you're correct about being highly educated being a disadvantage here....I've never seen crazy barriers like this in Europe....even in my home country Malaysia where there's an official policy of racial discrimination against ethnic Chinese people like me, the social and employment barriers aren't nowhere close to being this high.

 

[emamabd]

U realize that immigrants are just here to live their lives and not trying to be the prime minister or a CEO right?

Miracles do happen in Canada too....as an example the CEO of ROGERS is an immigrant who grew up in an african country before moving to Canada,

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/08/0821_most_successful_immigrants/28.htm

Despite the many sad stories that we hear and read and might even experience ourselves ???, some people have made huge success in Canada.

 

[corazon3]

So u already left Canada but why do u care if someone else's got a different point of view or experience than u? U realize that immigrants are just here to live their lives and not trying to be the prime minister or a CEO right? Geez u make it sound like immigrants are the ones at fault. I've been here for several months and I've only gotten a handful of interviews though I've tried so hard. In the interviews the interviewers were very condescending about my immigrant background and one guy used the word "CANADIANS EXPERIENCE" about 14 times.....yes I counted it. He also used the world "ORIENTAL" 3 times to refer to my ethnic background. I've studied and worked in Europe and no one there ever said that to me or looked down at me that way. I've got a masters in engineering from a good Germany univ and solid work experience as engineer from a major automobile manufacture in Germany so I don't know why they keep bringing up "CANADIAN EXPERIENCE".... It's not like the physical laws or engineering principles are different in Canada compared to everywhere else. But you're correct about being highly educated being a disadvantage here....I've never seen crazy barriers like this in Europe....even in my home country Malaysia where there's an official policy of racial discrimination against ethnic Chinese people like me, the social and employment barriers aren't nowhere close to being this high.

That guy must be an immigrant himself, mostly from the UK. Unlike in the UK the word Oriental is rarely used in North America where it has a racist connotation. You've been here for just six months. LOL. With degrees from a German and Malaysian university, you expected to get a job in your field. LOL. You're very naive. Speaking of Canadian experience, read my previous post:


Why is finding work in Canada so hard?

LOL.

Because Canada is a big lie, a big fraud, a big time con artist.

Read this MacLean's article: Canada-Land of Misfortune

http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/04/24/land-of-misfortune/


There are many honest responses to this article in the comments section and I think this one below hits the nail on the head:

Immigration to Canada is a Canadian industry and $$$ is the main objective. Here is how it works.

(1) Canada targets middle class in various countries. While it is true that no body is using a gun to force these immigrants to come, immigrants are lured by clean air, free education, high quality of living etc. to come to Canada.

(2) Since these immigrants are mostly professionals under Federal Skill Worker Programs, they usually have some means to bring to Canada. After they come, they may purchase house, rent an apartment, buy a car etc. and these represent injection into the economy.

(3) When immigrants settle down and start to look for a job, the "Canadian experience" barrier is erected and the major objective is to shut out professional immigrants from the job market.

(4) Now these immigrants faced a dilemma: go back to home country or stay in Canada. If they stay, they need to look for jobs and these manual and labor intensive jobs are waiting for them. Some immigrants stayed forever in these so-called survival jobs and others may choose to go back after obtaining their citizenship.

And I like this one too:

Canada is a sh*t country - worst in the world! Freaking frozen tundra wasteland of a country filled with uneducated rednecks with a crumbling economy - truly a frozen wasteland!! A place to avoided at all costs!!

And this one too. LOL

stupid Canadians! years ago I migrated to that foolish nation. couldn't find a job due to the stupid requirement of "Canadian work experience". Got fed up and moved to the US. Now I am an American citizen doing very well. If I had continued in Canada, I would be living below poverty level. If I see a Canadian, I won't hesitate to spit on him/her. Canadians are a petty minded as well as small minded; moreover these idiots are one of the most laziest people anywhere in the world. Canada is nothing more than America's whorehouse.

LOL. Oh yeah, don't expect to get a hug if you meet fellow Canadians in the US or abroad, they might spit on your face!

Originally from northern Europe, I came to Canada 5 years ago after a 10 year stint in the US where I completed an MBA from a top 10 business school. I landed here (in Canada) as an immigrant because it was relatively easy back in 2005-2006 for someone with my qualifications to get Permanent Residency and I thought Canada would be the promised land with a common-sense immigration system, entrepreneurial and socially progressive culture and a robust economy. With the exception of the first, I have come to realize that my expectations - however right or wrong - were completely off mark. The drive, ambition, risk-tolerance, dynamism, social sophistication that you see in people in the Northeastern United States, California or certain parts of Europe far surpass the laid-back, nepotistic, comfortable, socially disengaged and unbothered attitude of many Canadians and Canadian employers. I have tried everything to fit in professionally, but constantly feel that I am wanting for more in terms of opportunity, professional growth and social interaction. I live in Toronto, a city of moderate size and equally moderate ambition. I am seriously considering relocating before the end of 2013 because by all accounts I would consider myself going nowhere professionally and personally. The time I spent in other countries, including the US, was far more professionally fulfilling, so I may move there or head back to Europe. Some friends have told me - both Canadians and foreigners - that it helps to take into account the fact that present-day Ontario was founded by conservative British lawyers who thought that US and George Washington/Ben Franklin were way too exciting for them. Taking that into account, I can certainly see how today's conservatism and lack of drive in Ontario are linked to their historical origins. Canada is a comfortable country, but it's not for you if you are striving to achieve ultimate professional heights and are seeking a rich social fabric with multiple layers.

What a familiar story here in Canada? Listen folks, even people with degrees from top US programs and schools can get a decent job here. Do you hear me boys? It's so f--ked up here.

And lastly, there are a lot of trolls here in this forum claiming they found a job in a week or month.

 

[SenoritaBella]

Ok, so it is difficult to get that first break into the job market. Isn't it more productive to share/discuss what we can do to help each other and what has worked for us? It seems this isn't particularly "interesting" compared to the sad stories? There is no need to have self-pity or dislike Canadians in general, there are some good people in every part of the world.
Whatever happened to the determination that brought you from your home country to here?

I have experienced all these hurdles of getting the first job that is described here. I felt discouraged too but you have to tell yourself you won't give up. More than just sending out endless resumes, it is just as important to ask the interviewer what you could improve upon to increase your chances and also do your research on how to 'sell' yourself well.

There are many reasons we may not get a job:
1. we are not the right 'fit'. In a high paced environment, employers prefer people who work well under pressure, etc. It's really a personality thing, plus how you come off, etc.
2. we did not research the work culture of the place - an interview is also about figuring out if you would like working there. Chances are they will ask you what you know about them, so read about the company and especially their news section.
3. did not send a brief thank you note/email after the interview - in addition to thanking them for the opportunity to interview, it's an opportunity to make one last push by highlighting a few of your strengths again and your interest in the position.
4. we don't know how to convert what is on our resume into words to make someone understand what we did.
5. applicants who come from a country where collective work is highly emphasized, really don't know how to highlight(or separate) their achievement from that of their group/team. So they say things like, "we made record high sales of $1,000,000 in 2 months". That is great, but what did you as an individual contribute towards those sales? This is what interests the interviewer because you could very well have contributed nothing, but still got credit for it since you are in a group. It would be better to say, "the company realised $1,000,000 in sales in 2 months and I brought in 40% of the sales in a group of 7 by doing blah blah blah". It is important to elaborate how you did it because employers want results. Now that quantifies your own role, though it was a group effort.
6. when you get the job, go above and beyond(within reason ofcourse) - you won't see the "pay-off" immediately, but don't be surprised when you get that promotion in a very short time period.

This is what worked for me and though I am happy with where am at now, I still have a long way to get to where I want to be and I am confident I will get there. So let's not just be doom and gloom here, let's share encouraging stories too. For those still struggling to find work, try new approaches to your job search and I pray it things work out well for us all.

 

[clubcanada]

So u already left Canada but why do u care if someone else's got a different point of view or experience than u? U realize that immigrants are just here to live their lives and not trying to be the prime minister or a CEO right? Geez u make it sound like immigrants are the ones at fault. I've been here for several months and I've only gotten a handful of interviews though I've tried so hard. In the interviews the interviewers were very condescending about my immigrant background and one guy used the word "CANADIANS EXPERIENCE" about 14 times.....yes I counted it. He also used the world "ORIENTAL" 3 times to refer to my ethnic background. I've studied and worked in Europe and no one there ever said that to me or looked down at me that way. I've got a masters in engineering from a good Germany univ and solid work experience as engineer from a major automobile manufacture in Germany so I don't know why they keep bringing up "CANADIAN EXPERIENCE".... It's not like the physical laws or engineering principles are different in Canada compared to everywhere else. But you're correct about being highly educated being a disadvantage here....I've never seen crazy barriers like this in Europe....even in my home country Malaysia where there's an official policy of racial discrimination against ethnic Chinese people like me, the social and employment barriers aren't nowhere close to being this high.

hm, for a start why don't you try to read AND understand what people write?
As I wrote before, 'canadian experience" is often used as an excuse and pretty much a pretense. It's easier to tell someone 'you're lacking Canadian experience' than 'I don't like you' or 'you're not a good fit' or 'I kept the position open for my buddy' or 'we got a bunch of people willing to work for half the money'...
I also mentioned that it's also important to bring the right skills - not too sure about automotive skills. Germany has a strong automotive industry and people working in these companies enjoy a good reputation - especially in engineering. In addition, the German automotive sector has become quite global and open for international staff - again this is in Germany. However, how adaptable is this work experience in Canada where there's no large car maker and only a handful of global companies with a reach beyond the US? Ok, there're the US car maker production plants, Magna (with a fraction of it's staff located in Canada) and Bombadier (how good is your French?) but nothing compared to Germany or the US.
In addition, an ordinary Canadian employer does know nothing about Germany and German universities in direct comparison to local institutions (even in Canada it tends to be quite regional). They also don't care about engineering degrees from outside Canada as there are a lot of degrees in engineering that are regulated in Canada and require foreign degree holders to go back to college in order to practice their jobs in Canada that they've done many years before.
Is it a fair system? I don't know. But it’s your free choice to stay. If you want to make it in Canada, you'd better understand the playing rules and use them properly...