Finding finance jobs in Canada post PR

[GargiS]

Hi all,
Apology for a long message and too many queries in one message. But I have too many questions in my mind and I would really appreciate some guidance on the below:

My Background :
I am from India, have done MBA ( from an Indian institute recognised as masters in canada). I am in my mid/late thirties. I have around 9 years of work experience in corporate finance as finance manager/senior finance manager in well known pharmaceutical companies/brands. During these work exps, I have handled variety of roles eg FP&A, managing M&A activities, Compliance and risk mitigation, Budgeting & Strategic planning and so on - for various international markets.

I received Ppr few days back. I have submitted my passport and awaiting the COPR now. If all goes well, I am planning to land in last week of March 2018 or early April 2018.

Queries:
I have a decent job here in India and my motivation to move to Canada is not really money. It is about a better life. So leaving a good job here and staying unemployed in Canada for some time is really giving me cold feet. Need some guidance on:

a) what are the chances of a person of my background finding a job in Canada and how long does it take to find a job?
b) What are the good websites,agencies,consultants that help in job search?
c) What is a various ways to network once I land in Canada - websites/institutions/social groups etc?
d) I am planning to land in Toronto - is there any other city/cities I should consider landing at, considering my background and job prospects?
e) which part of Toronto is easy to live in - safe, decent housing - ie comfortable not luxurious housing, well connected to commercial centres etc, not very expensive, well connected to commercial areas via public transport.
f) are there any courses I can do from here before landing or later once I land in canada, that can increase my chances of getting a job.
g) I am pretty much open to changing my field ( ie outside finance) or sector ( ie outside pharma) for getting a job. Also, what are the kind of small jobs available for a person like me before I find a good one.
h) Also, I am quiet interested in doing a masters or another MBA (international MBA as my current one is from an Indian institute) - part time if I get a job and full time if I don't get a job - Any suggestions which college/institute etc.

Will appreciate any guidance on this.
Thanks a ton in advance!
Regards,
G

 

[khushal.khanal]

HI G,
Yeah i have same questions in mind. Only difference is I am a Cost Accountant. Experience fields are more or less same.

I find no other post explaining about job finding for Finance domain people. Lets see if someone from Finance background who have moved there can help by responding to the queries.

B/R,
k.

 

[rehanacca]

I have been looking for same answer from past few months on the forum.

 

[sapguru]

a) what are the chances of a person of my background finding a job in Canada and how long does it take to find a job?
>> Finding job could be timing and luck factor too along with skills. It can take 1 month to 1 year for few people.
b) What are the good websites,agencies,consultants that help in job search?
>> Indeed.ca, Workopolis, LinkedInd
c) What is a various ways to network once I land in Canada - websites/institutions/social groups etc?
>> LinkedIn. New immigrants can avail services from community like TIREC, Access Employment. Few info on Settlement.org.
d) I am planning to land in Toronto - is there any other city/cities I should consider landing at, considering my background and job prospects?
>> Toronto is the financial hub of Canada and recommended.
e) which part of Toronto is easy to live in - safe, decent housing - ie comfortable not luxurious housing, well connected to commercial centres etc, not very expensive, well connected to commercial areas via public transport.
>> Staying close to Subway lane in Toronto is recommended. GO train is alternative after one gets job as it is expensive. Rents are high in Toronto. Mississauga and Brampton has community from South Asia.
f) are there any courses I can do from here before landing or later once I land in canada, that can increase my chances of getting a job.
>> better check the jobs from indeed.ca or workpolis, and check type of skills required for your kind of job. Most of people go thru additional education here.
g) I am pretty much open to changing my field ( ie outside finance) or sector ( ie outside pharma) for getting a job. Also, what are the kind of small jobs available for a person like me before I find a good one.

h) Also, I am quiet interested in doing a masters or another MBA (international MBA as my current one is from an Indian institute) - part time if I get a job and full time if I don't get a job - Any suggestions which college/institute etc.
>> Finance MBA is popular in Ryerson, UoT, Wilfier Laurier, Queen university.
Hope it helps.

 

[canuck78]

a) what are the chances of a person of my background finding a job in Canada and how long does it take to find a job?
>> Finding job could be timing and luck factor too along with skills. It can take 1 month to 1 year for few people.
b) What are the good websites,agencies,consultants that help in job search?
>> Indeed.ca, Workopolis, LinkedInd
c) What is a various ways to network once I land in Canada - websites/institutions/social groups etc?
>> LinkedIn. New immigrants can avail services from community like TIREC, Access Employment. Few info on Settlement.org.
d) I am planning to land in Toronto - is there any other city/cities I should consider landing at, considering my background and job prospects?
>> Toronto is the financial hub of Canada and recommended.
e) which part of Toronto is easy to live in - safe, decent housing - ie comfortable not luxurious housing, well connected to commercial centres etc, not very expensive, well connected to commercial areas via public transport.
>> Staying close to Subway lane in Toronto is recommended. GO train is alternative after one gets job as it is expensive. Rents are high in Toronto. Mississauga and Brampton has community from South Asia.
f) are there any courses I can do from here before landing or later once I land in canada, that can increase my chances of getting a job.
>> better check the jobs from indeed.ca or workpolis, and check type of skills required for your kind of job. Most of people go thru additional education here.
g) I am pretty much open to changing my field ( ie outside finance) or sector ( ie outside pharma) for getting a job. Also, what are the kind of small jobs available for a person like me before I find a good one.

h) Also, I am quiet interested in doing a masters or another MBA (international MBA as my current one is from an Indian institute) - part time if I get a job and full time if I don't get a job - Any suggestions which college/institute etc.
>> Finance MBA is popular in Ryerson, UoT, Wilfier Laurier, Queen university.
Hope it helps.

Just wanted to correct something. If looking for top MBA schools look at U of T, York, Western and Queens.

Also banks are somewhat in transition at the moment so have been trying to streamline their operations so make sure to look beyond the big banks.

 

[sonali.kaushal]

Hi all,
Apology for a long message and too many queries in one message. But I have too many questions in my mind and I would really appreciate some guidance on the below:

My Background :
I am from India, have done MBA ( from an Indian institute recognised as masters in canada). I am in my mid/late thirties. I have around 9 years of work experience in corporate finance as finance manager/senior finance manager in well known pharmaceutical companies/brands. During these work exps, I have handled variety of roles eg FP&A, managing M&A activities, Compliance and risk mitigation, Budgeting & Strategic planning and so on - for various international markets.

I received Ppr few days back. I have submitted my passport and awaiting the COPR now. If all goes well, I am planning to land in last week of March 2018 or early April 2018.

Queries:
I have a decent job here in India and my motivation to move to Canada is not really money. It is about a better life. So leaving a good job here and staying unemployed in Canada for some time is really giving me cold feet. Need some guidance on:

a) what are the chances of a person of my background finding a job in Canada and how long does it take to find a job?
b) What are the good websites,agencies,consultants that help in job search?
c) What is a various ways to network once I land in Canada - websites/institutions/social groups etc?
d) I am planning to land in Toronto - is there any other city/cities I should consider landing at, considering my background and job prospects?
e) which part of Toronto is easy to live in - safe, decent housing - ie comfortable not luxurious housing, well connected to commercial centres etc, not very expensive, well connected to commercial areas via public transport.
f) are there any courses I can do from here before landing or later once I land in canada, that can increase my chances of getting a job.
g) I am pretty much open to changing my field ( ie outside finance) or sector ( ie outside pharma) for getting a job. Also, what are the kind of small jobs available for a person like me before I find a good one.
h) Also, I am quiet interested in doing a masters or another MBA (international MBA as my current one is from an Indian institute) - part time if I get a job and full time if I don't get a job - Any suggestions which college/institute etc.

Will appreciate any guidance on this.
Thanks a ton in advance!
Regards,
G

HI G,

Any luck so far? or what has been your experience? I will be in the similar situation a a few months. I am still in the ITA phase. I am a finance professional too.

 

[sonali.kaushal]

HI G,
Yeah i have same questions in mind. Only difference is I am a Cost Accountant. Experience fields are more or less same.

I find no other post explaining about job finding for Finance domain people. Lets see if someone from Finance background who have moved there can help by responding to the queries.

B/R,
k.

HI Khushal ,

Any luck so far? or what has been your experience? I will be in the similar situation a a few months. I am still in the ITA phase. I am a finance professional too.

 

[khushal.khanal]

HI Khushal ,

Any luck so far? or what has been your experience? I will be in the similar situation a a few months. I am still in the ITA phase. I am a finance professional too.

Hi Sonali,
I am moving to Canada in June'18. I have done loads of research and my conclusion is, you cannot find a job by simply sitting in your home land (unless you have a very special specific skill which is not available in Canada).

The employers wants to meet you F2F to see you and check about you. Therefore it is imperative to prepare yourself from that perspective so that when you land, you get a decent job.

I also found out that people generally dont get same level job in Canada. All of your existing experience n qualification becomes Null n Void there so it is like starting afresh. Although for Canadian employers your existing experience n qualification doesnt matter much, it helps you indirectly by over achieving your targets in workplace. Thts the reason i saw many people stating that they got their home country job profile level within 1-2 years. For each person period differs according to profession.

So till you move, make sure you are determined to get a decent entry level job first n than overachieve n move to your same level in 1-2 years.

This post may sound very discouraging but that is the reality. I am not yet in that condition but i know i need to be ready to face that. Brighter side is all hard working people who planned their move well get settled in 2-3 months.

--Khushal

 

[Kalika18]

Hi Sonali,
I am moving to Canada in June'18. I have done loads of research and my conclusion is, you cannot find a job by simply sitting in your home land (unless you have a very special specific skill which is not available in Canada).

The employers wants to meet you F2F to see you and check about you. Therefore it is imperative to prepare yourself from that perspective so that when you land, you get a decent job.

I also found out that people generally dont get same level job in Canada. All of your existing experience n qualification becomes Null n Void there so it is like starting afresh. Although for Canadian employers your existing experience n qualification doesnt matter much, it helps you indirectly by over achieving your targets in workplace. Thts the reason i saw many people stating that they got their home country job profile level within 1-2 years. For each person period differs according to profession.

So till you move, make sure you are determined to get a decent entry level job first n than overachieve n move to your same level in 1-2 years.

This post may sound very discouraging but that is the reality. I am not yet in that condition but i know i need to be ready to face that. Brighter side is all hard working people who planned their move well get settled in 2-3 months.

--Khushal

Hi Kushal,

Have you moved to Canada ? How has your experience been until now both in terms of life and job search?

 

[Kalika18]

HI Khushal ,

Any luck so far? or what has been your experience? I will be in the similar situation a a few months. I am still in the ITA phase. I am a finance professional too.

Hello Sonali,

If you have started your job search or have landed in Canada, please share your experiences so far.

Regards,
Ruchira

 

[parttimebasement]

g) I am pretty much open to changing my field ( ie outside finance) or sector ( ie outside pharma) for getting a job. Also, what are the kind of small jobs available for a person like me before I find a good one.
Basically all small jobs at minimum wage where you work part time and do shift work.
This is because new immigrants are easy prey and will do them to survive.
- cleaner in resturants
- supermarket employee
- serving in mc donald

 

[TK.]

Hi All,

I am also in similar situation - wanted to know the experience of those of you who have landed.

Thanks a Lot!
T.