Personal job search experience

[wyho007]

Moved to Vancouver since March. Would like to give some job searching advice and hope can benefit someone:

• Not all work agencies support all new comers, check to make sure which one support yours depending on your immigration status (well before arrival)
• Best if you can register with an agency that allows you sign up prior to your arrival, like Mosaic, they'll work with you as soon as 6 months prior to arrival
• If not eligible for agencies like Mosaic/ISS, you can only go to WorkBC. Sign up as soon as you arrive and take their workshops as many as you can, while you are still in your honeymoon stage.
• If you're eligible for all agencies, pick the one that offers the widest range of services and just sign up one. What the agencies offer are mostly overlapping each other.
• Regardless of your profession, remember that you need to train yourself to be a job searching expert first. In other words, you need to train yourself first to do the "job searching" job well before you will be given an opportunity to work on what you're originally good at. Without that, no one will even give you an interviewing opportunity, let alone hiring you (assuming you have no connections, of course).
• Aim high at the beginning and use as much as you've learned at the work centers/agencies for job searching. As time goes by, you'll lower your expectations. Also, your morale will start deteriorating as you go on.
• Key is to keep one's psyche and not let yourself accept survival jobs as long as you can still afford (financial and emotionally) to persevere your target.
• I was told it's normal, ie NORMAL, to take 4 to 6 months to get hired.
• I sent out about 60 job applications during the course of 3.5 months, got 4 interview invitations and 1 job offer and that's a contract job, not full time. However, lucky enough to get hired in the same profession and similar level.

 

[rad_mak]

Th

Moved to Vancouver since March. Would like to give some job searching advice and hope can benefit someone:

• Not all work agencies support all new comers, check to make sure which one support yours depending on your immigration status (well before arrival)
• Best if you can register with an agency that allows you sign up prior to your arrival, like Mosaic, they'll work with you as soon as 6 months prior to arrival
• If not eligible for agencies like Mosaic/ISS, you can only go to WorkBC. Sign up as soon as you arrive and take their workshops as many as you can, while you are still in your honeymoon stage.
• If you're eligible for all agencies, pick the one that offers the widest range of services and just sign up one. What the agencies offer are mostly overlapping each other.
• Regardless of your profession, remember that you need to train yourself to be a job searching expert first. In other words, you need to train yourself first to do the "job searching" job well before you will be given an opportunity to work on what you're originally good at. Without that, no one will even give you an interviewing opportunity, let alone hiring you (assuming you have no connections, of course).
• Aim high at the beginning and use as much as you've learned at the work centers/agencies for job searching. As time goes by, you'll lower your expectations. Also, your morale will start deteriorating as you go on.
• Key is to keep one's psyche and not let yourself accept survival jobs as long as you can still afford (financial and emotionally) to persevere your target.
• I was told it's normal, ie NORMAL, to take 4 to 6 months to get hired.
• I sent out about 60 job applications during the course of 3.5 months, got 4 interview invitations and 1 job offer and that's a contract job, not full time. However, lucky enough to get hired in the same profession and similar level.

This is so scary..

 

[Maxpandey]

Moved to Vancouver since March. Would like to give some job searching advice and hope can benefit someone:

• Not all work agencies support all new comers, check to make sure which one support yours depending on your immigration status (well before arrival)
• Best if you can register with an agency that allows you sign up prior to your arrival, like Mosaic, they'll work with you as soon as 6 months prior to arrival
• If not eligible for agencies like Mosaic/ISS, you can only go to WorkBC. Sign up as soon as you arrive and take their workshops as many as you can, while you are still in your honeymoon stage.
• If you're eligible for all agencies, pick the one that offers the widest range of services and just sign up one. What the agencies offer are mostly overlapping each other.
• Regardless of your profession, remember that you need to train yourself to be a job searching expert first. In other words, you need to train yourself first to do the "job searching" job well before you will be given an opportunity to work on what you're originally good at. Without that, no one will even give you an interviewing opportunity, let alone hiring you (assuming you have no connections, of course).
• Aim high at the beginning and use as much as you've learned at the work centers/agencies for job searching. As time goes by, you'll lower your expectations. Also, your morale will start deteriorating as you go on.
• Key is to keep one's psyche and not let yourself accept survival jobs as long as you can still afford (financial and emotionally) to persevere your target.
• I was told it's normal, ie NORMAL, to take 4 to 6 months to get hired.
• I sent out about 60 job applications during the course of 3.5 months, got 4 interview invitations and 1 job offer and that's a contract job, not full time. However, lucky enough to get hired in the same profession and similar level.

Thanks for the insights. It is always helpful to get some useful info. However, what was your profession? Also, when you say that one need to train himself, can you please elaborate a bit on this point. Thanks for your inputs once again

 

[bossofbees]

Hi, what is your profession?

 

[wyho007]

Accountant

 

[jacksparrow1]

Great post. Thank you

 

[Onpoint]

Very insightful post. Do you have any recommendations for the work agencies for people in the IT sector?

Moved to Vancouver since March. Would like to give some job searching advice and hope can benefit someone:

• Not all work agencies support all new comers, check to make sure which one support yours depending on your immigration status (well before arrival)
• Best if you can register with an agency that allows you sign up prior to your arrival, like Mosaic, they'll work with you as soon as 6 months prior to arrival
• If not eligible for agencies like Mosaic/ISS, you can only go to WorkBC. Sign up as soon as you arrive and take their workshops as many as you can, while you are still in your honeymoon stage.
• If you're eligible for all agencies, pick the one that offers the widest range of services and just sign up one. What the agencies offer are mostly overlapping each other.
• Regardless of your profession, remember that you need to train yourself to be a job searching expert first. In other words, you need to train yourself first to do the "job searching" job well before you will be given an opportunity to work on what you're originally good at. Without that, no one will even give you an interviewing opportunity, let alone hiring you (assuming you have no connections, of course).
• Aim high at the beginning and use as much as you've learned at the work centers/agencies for job searching. As time goes by, you'll lower your expectations. Also, your morale will start deteriorating as you go on.
• Key is to keep one's psyche and not let yourself accept survival jobs as long as you can still afford (financial and emotionally) to persevere your target.
• I was told it's normal, ie NORMAL, to take 4 to 6 months to get hired.
• I sent out about 60 job applications during the course of 3.5 months, got 4 interview invitations and 1 job offer and that's a contract job, not full time. However, lucky enough to get hired in the same profession and similar level.

 

[wyho007]

Very insightful post. Do you have any recommendations for the work agencies for people in the IT sector?

IT sector shouldn't be too hard if you have all the certifications commonly accepted here. I don't know any work agencies though. Sorry.

All I know is employers can be sensitive with your age, so be sure to be wise with resumes writing techniques should you are a little older.

 

[Onpoint]

Thanks

IT sector shouldn't be too hard if you have all the certifications commonly accepted here. I don't know any work agencies though. Sorry.

All I know is employers can be sensitive with your age, so be sure to be wise with resumes writing techniques should you are a little older.

 

[el_0211]

IT sector shouldn't be too hard if you have all the certifications commonly accepted here. I don't know any work agencies though. Sorry.

All I know is employers can be sensitive with your age, so be sure to be wise with resumes writing techniques should you are a little older.

Hi there wyho007. We've talked before on the forum asking about bringing our dogs to Vancouver haha. I just want to ask as I'm also Canadian but living in Macau, how is finding a job back in Canada? I got my bachelor's in Macau...do they accept that in Vancouver or do I need to do further studies? Thanks...