Survival jobs in Canada

[JOLTBOLT]

Hi all,
I am aware that it is not easy to get a job in line/level with the job you had in your home country. This could take some time however if one is willing to do any job that is available until he gets to prepare himself to get employed in his chosen field, how difficult it is to get any job for the timebeing or how long does it take. What kind of income can one expect in these survival jobs. Planning to land in June so anyone with experience please respond.

 

[beholder69]

Also interested in this as me and my wife will be landing in June as well and will be looking for survival jobs

 

[JOLTBOLT]

Strange, no one has information on this?

 

[Biblo]

You should be able to get a survival job, kindly follow the link below;

http://www.laborready.com/

 

[newtone]

Its very difficult to get even a survival job, like for example if you want to work in McDonalds, Wendy's or KFC they'll see if you have prior experience in the fast food industry, how many years did you work, what kind of job you were doing, reference check. Its like as if they are preparing you to go the moon. Its just like looking for a real job but in the fast food industry. You have to keep in mind working minimum wage in a restaurant is glorified in Canada. Minimum wage in Ontario is $10.25.

So for example if you were a doctor or an Engineer back home you will not be hired even for a survival job because:
1) You are overqualified for this position
2) You dont have relevant work experience in fast food

 

[Bargeld]

Its very difficult to get even a survival job, like for example if you want to work in McDonalds, Wendy's or KFC they'll see if you have prior experience in the fast food industry, how many years did you work, what kind of job you were doing, reference check. Its like as if they are preparing you to go the moon. Its just like looking for a real job but in the fast food industry. You have to keep in mind working minimum wage in a restaurant is glorified in Canada. Minimum wage in Ontario is $10.25.

So for example if you were a doctor or an Engineer back home you will not be hired even for a survival job because:
1) You are overqualified for this position
2) You dont have relevant work experience in fast food

Things are more competitive in Canada.

So you do things the way they're done here and don't expect to be handed a job of any type, you network, and prove you're worthy of the job, or you come in with this entitled attitude (one which even some Canadians have) and get a kick to the gut as a reality check. I'm all for either method of learning, assuming the person is smart enough to figure it out rather than simply throw a tantrum and assume something is wrong with Canada in this regard instead of it being related to their own ability (or inability) to adapt.

 

[newtone]

Things are more competitive in Canada.

So you do things the way they're done here and don't expect to be handed a job of any type, you network, and prove you're worthy of the job, or you come in with this entitled attitude (one which even some Canadians have) and get a kick to the gut as a reality check. I'm all for either method of learning, assuming the person is smart enough to figure it out rather than simply throw a tantrum and assume something is wrong with Canada in this regard instead of it being related to their own ability (or inability) to adapt.

Firstly nobody anywhere gets a job handed to them on a silver platter, regardless of whether you are in Canada or Somalia. Yes you have to network and you have to network with useful people not people who are looking for jobs themselves.

Secondly, yes there are people who come here with a sense of entitlement but they get slugged across the head and soon they realize life here is not all milk and honey, for that matter life is not milk and honey anywhere in the world whether its Canada or Somaila.

Something is wrong with Canada, its not completely true to say nothing is wrong with Canada but you have to strike a balance. Canada is not for everyone, and not everyone is for Canada, people who are more ambitious and want to rise to the top should definately go to US. Canada is mostly for people who want to be average. If you are getting a good paycheck, dont want to take any risks with your career, have a nice house, family, medical care this is the place to be. Which is why its excellent choice for refugees because the next best thing to being shot in the head is be in Canada and make use of all the facilities.

Canada is also a favorite among the Mafia and big shot criminals around the world because laws here are quite relaxed and money can easily be laundered with minimal transparency and accountability. I obviously wont go into details because this is a public forum.

Now if you are a person who wants to be the CEO of a multinational corporation and have already been a well seasoned director for corporations in Asia, Africa, and Europe, then Canada is the worst place to be in. Again this is not to say its impossible but one will face significant challenges, unless you have some political/ corporate connections and are placed as a CEO in Canada prior to your arrival as an immigrant.

Well thats my 2 cents

 

[beholder69]

Cheers for all the responses and for the link by Biblo. Will obviously be able to comment once I'm there but the almost non existent unemployment rates in some cities and a lot of job listings I've seen that mention "no experience needed" or "perfect for a first job" keep me optimistic

 

[newtone]

We have a saying in Canada, there is "no free lunch", jobs that say "no experience needed". They encourage you to do a course that may cost your atleast anywhere from $300 to $1000, once you've done that then you are "eligible" to apply for jobs. No guarantee you'll get the job. At the end of the day they are atleast $300 richer and you are atleast $300 poorer. The condition is doing the course, the prerequisite is "no experience needed". Welcome to Canada

 

[saru_24]

Firstly nobody anywhere gets a job handed to them on a silver platter, regardless of whether you are in Canada or Somalia. Yes you have to network and you have to network with useful people not people who are looking for jobs themselves.

Secondly, yes there are people who come here with a sense of entitlement but they get slugged across the head and soon they realize life here is not all milk and honey, for that matter life is not milk and honey anywhere in the world whether its Canada or Somaila.

Something is wrong with Canada, its not completely true to say nothing is wrong with Canada but you have to strike a balance. Canada is not for everyone, and not everyone is for Canada, people who are more ambitious and want to rise to the top should definately go to US. Canada is mostly for people who want to be average. If you are getting a good paycheck, dont want to take any risks with your career, have a nice house, family, medical care this is the place to be. Which is why its excellent choice for refugees because the next best thing to being shot in the head is be in Canada and make use of all the facilities.

Canada is also a favorite among the Mafia and big shot criminals around the world because laws here are quite relaxed and money can easily be laundered with minimal transparency and accountability. I obviously wont go into details because this is a public forum.

Now if you are a person who wants to be the CEO of a multinational corporation and have already been a well seasoned director for corporations in Asia, Africa, and Europe, then Canada is the worst place to be in. Again this is not to say its impossible but one will face significant challenges, unless you have some political/ corporate connections and are placed as a CEO in Canada prior to your arrival as an immigrant.

Well thats my 2 cents

Thanks for the bluntness, hope it helps a lot of future immigrants. Including me.

 

[newtone]

Your welcome, but this is more honesty than bluntness

 

[beholder69]

We have a saying in Canada, there is "no free lunch", jobs that say "no experience needed". They encourage you to do a course that may cost your atleast anywhere from $300 to $1000, once you've done that then you are "eligible" to apply for jobs. No guarantee you'll get the job. At the end of the day they are atleast $300 richer and you are atleast $300 poorer. The condition is doing the course, the prerequisite is "no experience needed". Welcome to Canada

Well, if it's a security guard job, yes I'd expect a relative course, same as with a CPR or first aid course for lifeguards or similar professions. That wouldn't surprise me at all. It *would* surprise me if they needed such a course for a cleaner or dishwasher job for example. Moreover, if for other jobs a course (not company specific) would be required but would be valid for all similar jobs and not only for the specific opening/company, then I'd also see it as some kind of investment towards finding a relative job, so no problem with it either.

Seeing that you're Canadian, I *could* wonder why you are so negative about your country but I don't as I'm exactly the same about mine. I keep saying the worse because I think it's a filthy and corrupted dump, even though people who come here on vacation, think it would be a paradise to live in. Yes, it's probably among the best places on earth for vacation but that's about it. I do know though that I'm saying all this due to the fact I've never experienced living in a worse country and that's why several 3rd world immigrants that have come here, still see it as a massive improvement. So you might see the flaws of Canada first hand but have no doubt that it's massively better than most other developed countries, not perfect but in a level good enough to draw the attention of potential immigrants who are just looking for a better place to live, even if that's not perfect.

In any case, time will tell. We'll either get settled and enjoy our new lives or fail and get back penniless, in which case we're losers and it won't be Canada to blame since everyone is responsible for their own choices and actions.

 

[lovekoto]

Its very difficult to get even a survival job, like for example if you want to work in McDonalds, Wendy's or KFC they'll see if you have prior experience in the fast food industry, how many years did you work, what kind of job you were doing, reference check. Its like as if they are preparing you to go the moon. Its just like looking for a real job but in the fast food industry. You have to keep in mind working minimum wage in a restaurant is glorified in Canada. Minimum wage in Ontario is $10.25.

So for example if you were a doctor or an Engineer back home you will not be hired even for a survival job because:
1) You are overqualified for this position
2) You dont have relevant work experience in fast food

Wow. So sad..

 

[JOLTBOLT]

Well, if it's a security guard job, yes I'd expect a relative course, same as with a CPR or first aid course for lifeguards or similar professions. That wouldn't surprise me at all. It *would* surprise me if they needed such a course for a cleaner or dishwasher job for example. Moreover, if for other jobs a course (not company specific) would be required but would be valid for all similar jobs and not only for the specific opening/company, then I'd also see it as some kind of investment towards finding a relative job, so no problem with it either.

Seeing that you're Canadian, I *could* wonder why you are so negative about your country but I don't as I'm exactly the same about mine. I keep saying the worse because I think it's a filthy and corrupted dump, even though people who come here on vacation, think it would be a paradise to live in. Yes, it's probably among the best places on earth for vacation but that's about it. I do know though that I'm saying all this due to the fact I've never experienced living in a worse country and that's why several 3rd world immigrants that have come here, still see it as a massive improvement. So you might see the flaws of Canada first hand but have no doubt that it's massively better than most other developed countries, not perfect but in a level good enough to draw the attention of potential immigrants who are just looking for a better place to live, even if that's not perfect.

In any case, time will tell. We'll either get settled and enjoy our new lives or fail and get back penniless, in which case we're losers and it won't be Canada to blame since everyone is responsible for their own choices and actions.

Which country are you from?

 

[Yorker13]

Firstly nobody anywhere gets a job handed to them on a silver platter, regardless of whether you are in Canada or Somalia. Yes you have to network and you have to network with useful people not people who are looking for jobs themselves.

Secondly, yes there are people who come here with a sense of entitlement but they get slugged across the head and soon they realize life here is not all milk and honey, for that matter life is not milk and honey anywhere in the world whether its Canada or Somaila.

Something is wrong with Canada, its not completely true to say nothing is wrong with Canada but you have to strike a balance. Canada is not for everyone, and not everyone is for Canada, people who are more ambitious and want to rise to the top should definately go to US. Canada is mostly for people who want to be average. If you are getting a good paycheck, dont want to take any risks with your career, have a nice house, family, medical care this is the place to be. Which is why its excellent choice for refugees because the next best thing to being shot in the head is be in Canada and make use of all the facilities.

Canada is also a favorite among the Mafia and big shot criminals around the world because laws here are quite relaxed and money can easily be laundered with minimal transparency and accountability. I obviously wont go into details because this is a public forum.

Now if you are a person who wants to be the CEO of a multinational corporation and have already been a well seasoned director for corporations in Asia, Africa, and Europe, then Canada is the worst place to be in. Again this is not to say its impossible but one will face significant challenges, unless you have some political/ corporate connections and are placed as a CEO in Canada prior to your arrival as an immigrant.

Well thats my 2 cents

hey ....whats with u and somalia?....quit using it if u aint from there.