Finding job after PR

[vishalv]

I second everything Asivad Anac said. his psts were great.


For me it was "easy" because I found my job while still in my country of origin. But for my spouse it is very difficult even if she made some progress. But in the process we learned a few things that I think can be interesting. Some of these topics have already been mentionned by others. Just so you know we both come from Europe and speak pretty well English (although not 100% fluent), and i don't think coming from a "developed" country particularly helps.

Experience vs Diploma

My spouse just graduated from a master degree in International relations before we arrived. So we thought it would be easy for her to find a job in her field.
Very soon we realized that in Canada, experience is more valued than diplomas. Canadian experience especially. Actually, for most of the positions she applied for, she noticed that almost no one got a master but only a bachelor degree with a lot of diffferent experience as interns. It is kind of a shock for us because in Europe a lot of these positions would never have been granted to a bachelor. Even a hiring manager that she met admitted that.
My advice would be, that if you can afford it, do internships in your field, volunteer, start in a company that works in your field even if it means starting at a level lower than the one you had in your country. You need that experience to start off !


Resume

Your resume and cover letter have to be adapted to the Canadian market!!!
Again my spouse applied for a lot of job in the 2 first months with her european formatted cv (not even a resume) and could not understand why she could not even get a job interview even for a job office as receptionist for which she have experience. After reading a lot on internet she realized the format of her cv was really not adapted. Once she changed the cv to a resume and adapted it to the Canadian market, she got some job interviews.

Networking

Something that was completely new for us, networking. Nobody does that from where we are from but here it is very common and can totally help you. Create a good linkendin profile, and go at job fair, conference,wherever you can meet people in your field. contact people via Linkedin and ask them if they would be willing to discuss about what they are doing...etc You can find a thousand of articles on the internet about networking, how to contact people, how to increase your network. That can be very useful, and that can definitely help you if you know someone in your field to be aware of what is going on in the market. Sometimes you can have someone refer for you to the hiring manager so you can get an interview.

Do NOT underestimate networking. I can tell you that this is a very powerful tool. Being an immigrant is already hard enough, take all the help you can!

Place of living

You can do all of the things I mentionned above, if you are in a place where there are no, or only a few jobs suited to you, it will be extremely hard to get a position.
Calgary is a great city for people who want to work in science like me, and it used to be great also for people who working in the oil field.
But for people in international relations like my spouse, there is almost nothing, one job position per month is advertised on average. The odds of succeding are quite low for her. Sometimes it is not your fault, you are just at the wrong place. If she was in Ottowa, it would be way easier for her to find a job, as more people are looking for her skill set and, there are way ore openings in that field (but in my science field there is almost nothing). That is the reason why it is important to carefully choose your place of living.
For now we are stuck in Calgary because of me, but we definitely already thinking about moving somewhere else if after a long time we cannot find anything for her here.

Another thing is that Canadian citizens and Permanent residents are given priority over foreign workers for a lot of positions, especially in international affairs. For some positions she could not even apply because she was not a PR. Actually that is the reason why we are applying now.


Hope this helps.

Well said my friend, the value of networking & the correct format for resume is so crucial and it's value cannot be emphasized enough.

That being said, the reason I landed in Calgary was to work in the oil industry. Though the economy is down & the oil price is still down, I believe, it wouldn't hurt to search for jobs here. Spend time networking and making connections. You never know when your luck will shine.

If nothing turns up, a change of province would be better. It's just my personal opinion though. ;D

 

[hmk]

I'm an American citizen who lived abroad in Asia for many years, and moved to Canada instead of returning to the US, for a number of personal reasons (I'd gone to college in Canada, and the Canadian PR was far better than a green card for my wife).

I'd like to respectfully disagree with Asvid below -- there are not many criteria when choosing where to live. There is only one criteria -- will I get a job? Will I have money? Will I be able to survive? Do NOT go city-shopping, that's what I did, and it did nothing but enable me to trick myself thoroughly. My process was as follows . . .

Let's see, I really don't feel like moving to Toronto, it's too far East and I'd probably end up living in a suburb. Vancouver is too expensive, and the Prairies, well . . . I'm not sure my wife will like the cold weather. They're dry. I don't think I really want to leave Thailand so I can live in Saskatchewan. Victoria's warm, and it's close to my relatives in the States! Oh look, it's beautiful. What about Halifax? Far away, and I guess the economy isn't too good there. I've got a friend in London, Ontario, but it's so far East. Maybe the Okanagan area? I've heard that's really nice, but I'm afraid all those small towns will be hard to get a job in. Victoria's larger than they are . . . maybe I should check out the unemployment rate? Wow, Victoria has the lowest rate in Canada! Well, I know what, I'll apply everywhere for jobs before we move, and if I don't get anything, then I'll move to Victoria.

What I didn't realize is that the unemployment rate is calculated to only include the number of people who are actually looking for jobs -- a huge part of Victoria's population is retired, it does not have a dynamic economy, and most of that is service jobs. There were good reasons for me to live in Victoria, I was 10 miles away from half my relatives, the weather was awesome, and the city beautiful. However, when you don't have a job, the awesome weather, beautiful city, and relatives all turn into nothing. You don't enjoy the weather and the city because you're really worried, and you don't go visit your relatives because you can't pretend things are OK.

Furthermore, Victoria is Canada's 12th largest city! It's not a small town (I told myself). The truth is, Canada's 12th largest city is not very large, nor dynamic. Canada is like a long string of little lights strung across 5000 miles -- the lights are small and not very bright, and the country is huge. Really, when you're thinking about moving here, you really only have about 8-9 choices, and most of those are obviously bad . . . (counting all of southern Ontario as one choice).

When you land there is only one criteria to consider -- WHERE IS MY JOB? It's better to be in Yellowknife with a job than Niagara Falls with a lease and a family and no money coming in. After you've had that job for a while and are doing OK is when you start figuring out what kind of Canadian you want to be. Don't build up some complicated matrix before you get here and decide that you are only going to live in White Rock, B.C., because the climate, your friends, the price of seafood, and the time zone are exactly perfect.

So what should you do now? Go to Ontario. When I came to Canada, Alberta was the place where you could find any kind of work and wages were good. We moved here from Montana at the end of that time, but it's gone now. Ontario is your best bet.

Thankyou nope for such an insightful post, it has certainly helped me clear my dilemma regarding the POE

 

[ellia]

Thank you nope and Asivad, I'm in the middle of choosing a city to land, so your posts were very helpful.
Actually, I can honestly say I'm glad to be in the process of immigration at the same time as you guys, it helps tremendously

Well said my friend, the value of networking & the correct format for resume is so crucial and it's value cannot be emphasized enough.

That being said, the reason I landed in Calgary was to work in the oil industry. Though the economy is down & the oil price is still down, I believe, it wouldn't hurt to search for jobs here. Spend time networking and making connections. You never know when your luck will shine.

If nothing turns up, a change of province would be better. It's just my personal opinion though. ;D

Thank you for your post! It was very interesting for me, as I was initially planning to land in Calgary. Actually, I did exactly the thing nope warned against, building up this place that is exactly perfect for me in my head) I'm following Canadian news though and realized some time ago that I'll need to change my plans, and am looking at smaller cities around Hamilton, ON.
But now you're saying that it's not that bad, even in the oil&gas sector?
I don't have big expectations and/or high standards for my future job, I'm actually planning to study at a Canadian college starting next winter, so I just wanted a first job for the half year before that, to slow down the spending of my savings before I started my studies. I don't think my background would be helpful here since it's a mostly technical work in academia.
What do you think, is it reasonable to still try Calgary, and if yes, after how long of "nothing turning up" should one change the province?

 

[Caliban]

I don't have big expectations and/or high standards for my future job, I'm actually planning to study at a Canadian college starting next winter, so I just wanted a first job for the half year before that, to slow down the spending of my savings before I started my studies.

If it's not a secret, what degree are you going to get?

 

[ellia]

If it's not a secret, what degree are you going to get?

I want to do a 2 year postgraduate diploma. I wanted to do a bit of a career shift, and this plan coincided with my immigration plans. So I'm hoping to get a new career and a Canadian degree out of this.

 

[Caliban]

I want to do a 2 year postgraduate diploma. I wanted to do a bit of a career shift, and this plan coincided with my immigration plans. So I'm hoping to get a new career and a Canadian degree out of this.

That's cool!
But I actually meant, what area of expertise (agriculture, sociology, etc.), if you don't mind my impertinence?

 

[ellia]

That's cool!
But I actually meant, what area of expertise (agriculture, sociology, etc.), if you don't mind my impertinence?

Ah, sorry, I misunderstood) GIS, as in, geographic information systems.

 

[Caliban]

Ah, sorry, I misunderstood) GIS, as in, geographic information systems.

Oh, cool! And what is your first education (unless, again, it's a secret)?
Your level of English made me believe you were some kind of English teacher or a synchronous interpreter.

 

[ellia]

Oh, cool! And what is your first education (unless, again, it's a secret)?
Your level of English made me believe you were some kind of English teacher or a synchronous interpreter.

Oh wow, that's such an ego boost, thanks))
I'm a physicist, actually. But after graduating I was mostly working with data (along with doing the technical work that is always taking, like, 30% of a researcher's time, alas). So I decided to move in the direction of IT (but not too far in that direction)), and GIS looks very interesting, and also promising.

 

[Caliban]

Oh wow, that's such an ego boost, thanks))
I'm a physicist, actually. But after graduating I was mostly working with data (along with doing the technical work that is always taking, like, 30% of a researcher's time, alas). So I decided to move in the direction of IT (but not too far in that direction)), and GIS looks very interesting, and also promising.

Impressive. I'm positive you're gonna get huge.

 

[ellia]

Impressive. I'm positive you're gonna get huge.

Yeeeah, I just need to land that first job)))
Trust me, it's not as impressive as it can sound. But thanks!

 

[vishalv]

Thank you nope and Asivad, I'm in the middle of choosing a city to land, so your posts were very helpful.
Actually, I can honestly say I'm glad to be in the process of immigration at the same time as you guys, it helps tremendously

Thank you for your post! It was very interesting for me, as I was initially planning to land in Calgary. Actually, I did exactly the thing nope warned against, building up this place that is exactly perfect for me in my head) I'm following Canadian news though and realized some time ago that I'll need to change my plans, and am looking at smaller cities around Hamilton, ON.
But now you're saying that it's not that bad, even in the oil&gas sector?
I don't have big expectations and/or high standards for my future job, I'm actually planning to study at a Canadian college starting next winter, so I just wanted a first job for the half year before that, to slow down the spending of my savings before I started my studies. I don't think my background would be helpful here since it's a mostly technical work in academia.
What do you think, is it reasonable to still try Calgary, and if yes, after how long of "nothing turning up" should one change the province?

The economy is still down in Calgary and last week two major companies conducted mass lay offs. Asivad has a valid point. It's better to concentrate on the smaller cities. Hamilton is a good option. It mostly depends on which is a higher chance of getting a job in your profession.

 

[Scottygirl]

I'm an American citizen who lived abroad in Asia for many years, and moved to Canada instead of returning to the US, for a number of personal reasons (I'd gone to college in Canada, and the Canadian PR was far better than a green card for my wife).

I'd like to respectfully disagree with Asvid below -- there are not many criteria when choosing where to live. There is only one criteria -- will I get a job? Will I have money? Will I be able to survive? Do NOT go city-shopping, that's what I did, and it did nothing but enable me to trick myself thoroughly. My process was as follows . . .

Let's see, I really don't feel like moving to Toronto, it's too far East and I'd probably end up living in a suburb. Vancouver is too expensive, and the Prairies, well . . . I'm not sure my wife will like the cold weather. They're dry. I don't think I really want to leave Thailand so I can live in Saskatchewan. Victoria's warm, and it's close to my relatives in the States! Oh look, it's beautiful. What about Halifax? Far away, and I guess the economy isn't too good there. I've got a friend in London, Ontario, but it's so far East. Maybe the Okanagan area? I've heard that's really nice, but I'm afraid all those small towns will be hard to get a job in. Victoria's larger than they are . . . maybe I should check out the unemployment rate? Wow, Victoria has the lowest rate in Canada! Well, I know what, I'll apply everywhere for jobs before we move, and if I don't get anything, then I'll move to Victoria.

What I didn't realize is that the unemployment rate is calculated to only include the number of people who are actually looking for jobs -- a huge part of Victoria's population is retired, it does not have a dynamic economy, and most of that is service jobs. There were good reasons for me to live in Victoria, I was 10 miles away from half my relatives, the weather was awesome, and the city beautiful. However, when you don't have a job, the awesome weather, beautiful city, and relatives all turn into nothing. You don't enjoy the weather and the city because you're really worried, and you don't go visit your relatives because you can't pretend things are OK.

Furthermore, Victoria is Canada's 12th largest city! It's not a small town (I told myself). The truth is, Canada's 12th largest city is not very large, nor dynamic. Canada is like a long string of little lights strung across 5000 miles -- the lights are small and not very bright, and the country is huge. Really, when you're thinking about moving here, you really only have about 8-9 choices, and most of those are obviously bad . . . (counting all of southern Ontario as one choice).

When you land there is only one criteria to consider -- WHERE IS MY JOB? It's better to be in Yellowknife with a job than Niagara Falls with a lease and a family and no money coming in. After you've had that job for a while and are doing OK is when you start figuring out what kind of Canadian you want to be. Don't build up some complicated matrix before you get here and decide that you are only going to live in White Rock, B.C., because the climate, your friends, the price of seafood, and the time zone are exactly perfect.

So what should you do now? Go to Ontario. When I came to Canada, Alberta was the place where you could find any kind of work and wages were good. We moved here from Montana at the end of that time, but it's gone now. Ontario is your best bet.

I have a friend who is from Victoria and she says the population is very much 'newly wed or nearly dead'!!

 

[ellia]

The economy is still down in Calgary and last week two major companies conducted mass lay offs. Asivad has a valid point. It's better to concentrate on the smaller cities. Hamilton is a good option. It mostly depends on which is a higher chance of getting a job in your profession.

Thank you for your answer! It's decided then, I should leave Alberta for a better time.
I'm not really counting on getting a job in my profession, I don't think that's likely. We'll see, I guess.

 

[vishalv]

Thank you for your answer! It's decided then, I should leave Alberta for a better time.
I'm not really counting on getting a job in my profession, I don't think that's likely. We'll see, I guess.

Yes ultimately, the decision is upto you. Just be really patient and dont lose hope mate.

Good luck