Finding a job after getting a PR

[nguyentu2001]

Did I insinuate what? People who come here and seek advice on employment without telling much about themselves are just dumb, especially considering the fact the Canadian job market is not merit-based at all. Employers here don't give a sh*t about what academic degrees you have and where you studied and worked if it wasn't in Canada. Got it, boys? And most of the people coming here and telling you what you want to hear--"There are plenty of good jobs here and you'll get one soon."--make a living as salesmen, someone like a Rogers salesman selling cable subscriptions to recent immigrants. Got it, boys? That is, old immigrants prey on new immigrants. It's dog eat dog in Canada!

Language is somewhat strong but I have to agree on the fact.

For people who don't speak English as their first language and your degrees are not from Canada/US/Enland..etc prepare to have a hard time getting a job in Canada, especially jobs in your preferred fields.

When I first immigrated to Canada…..I worked in restaurants, constructions, volunteer…..all kinds of stuff…..just to get experience in Canada.

Later, I graduated from Canada College and University in Vancouver, BC, specializing in accounting. I have 5 years working experience in Canada, it took me two and a half months to get an entry level accounting position (pay $13 per hour) in Vancouver. It took my wife 3 months to get a job in Vancouver as well. Given that we both have education and experience from Canada.

I hope it gives you a better picture of how the job market is. If you don’t study in Canada….it is really hard, it will take time to get a job. Maybe you can try to get a certificate or designation in your own field in Canada or something…for example: As in accounting, I am pursuing CGA. Many professions need to be certified in Canada in order to get a better job.

So please mentally prepare yourself. YOU WILL GET A JOB YOU WANT, BUT IT WILL TAKE TIME…BE PATIENT AND LEARN.

 

[nguyentu2001]

Hi everybody,

I have graduated with a BSc in electrical engineering, but never worked as electrical engineer, instead, I worked as an Oracel ERP implementer and project manager for almost 6 years, after that I moved into internal auditing, and have been working as an internal auditor for almost the last 8 years. I am Certified Management Accountant (CMA – from IMA, USA), certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Information System Auditor (CISA), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), and Certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

I really don't know how my situation will be handled in Canada (with electrical engineering but working as an internal auditor), how much the certificates I have are recognized, and what is the possibility that I will find a job in Canada.

I got my PR since 2 years and planning to settle in Canad soon.

Regards,

YOu can find auditing jobs in Canada...you can get CMA certified in Canada to become a member. You have a better chance to get a job here than others.

 

[Ketevan]

In my case, education from England does not give much advantage. I have not lived outside Quebec, but I can share my experience in Montreal.
I hold Master's from UK in economics and finance and will sit PhD exam end of this month with a UK university. However, I am PR here in Quebec. Before coming, I was researcher and teaching assistant in UK at a top university. Obviously, I was not expecting to become next prime minister, I was however hoping that I would get a basic minimum wage post in my area, e.g. Bank teller. To my great surprise, the major recruiting firm in finance in Montreal told me that UK education is not recognized here and I need to validate all my diplomas by Ministry of immigration. Currently, the processing time is 9 months for evaluation of credentials and I have to wait 3 months for my appointment.
After getting rejected everywhere, including the lowest ranking colleges, I accepted the only offer thay I got miraculously after visiting a job fair recommended by another forum member (the post is a bilingual call centre agent) and started working. I thought I would be the only overqualified person there, yet all my teammates have university degrees. Moreover, they have Quebec degrees. One lady even has a BSc in biotechnology, which is supposed to be a highly demanded skill, yet even after one year of applying she is still in call centre. Another lady has BA in international relations from Carleton, one more gentleman graduated from UQAM in finance, not to mention the guy with two MSc from France - and all of us are in the same situation.
But the biggest surprise for me is the way call centres function here. Every week we have exams and they eliminate those who do not get the pass mark. It is extremely stressful to work and not know how long you will persist on the job.
Everyday I hear suggestions to do a university diploma from local university, but judging by the experience of my colleagues, I do not see at the moment how this would help.

If anybody wishes to note that french is necessary in Quebec, I reiterate that I am fully bilingual in French/English.

Language is somewhat strong but I have to agree on the fact.

For people who don't speak English as their first language and your degrees are not from Canada/US/Enland..etc prepare to have a hard time getting a job in Canada, especially jobs in your preferred fields.

When I first immigrated to Canada.....I worked in restaurants, constructions, volunteer.....all kinds of stuff.....just to get experience in Canada.

Later, I graduated from Canada College and University in Vancouver, BC, specializing in accounting. I have 5 years working experience in Canada, it took me two and a half months to get an entry level accounting position (pay $13 per hour) in Vancouver. It took my wife 3 months to get a job in Vancouver as well. Given that we both have education and experience from Canada.

I hope it gives you a better picture of how the job market is. If you don't study in Canada....it is really hard, it will take time to get a job. Maybe you can try to get a certificate or designation in your own field in Canada or something...for example: As in accounting, I am pursuing CGA. Many professions need to be certified in Canada in order to get a better job.

So please mentally prepare yourself. YOU WILL GET A JOB YOU WANT, BUT IT WILL TAKE TIME...BE PATIENT AND LEARN.

 

[polara69]

And in the end it all comes down to the colour of your skin..No one says it, but it is true.

 

[on-hold]

I have advantages that many of you perhaps don't: I went to the University of Toronto, have a graduate degree from the United States, and am an American (i.e. a totally invisible minority in Canada, even my accent). My resume can disguise the fact that I am not Canadian. When I landed in Victoria, I found NOTHING for an entire year, beyond a grocery store job. It was a massive disaster, I felt that my life might literally have ended, and I was going to spend my last 30 years putting stuff on shelves.

Two years later, I've come to Edmonton, it is like night and day. Jobs everywhere to apply for, job interviews are not rare, consulting opportunities. I know how extremely frustrating it is to feel like you are running in deep sand, with no response from the world at all when you look for a job -- but remember, besides accent, lack of local education or experience, and colour of skin -- it might be where you are. The economy took a huge hit 5 years back, unemployment is still high, and a lot of Canadians are out of work too, especially young ones (and they are often in a better situation than recent immigrants, with local degrees and language abilities).

 

[Ketevan]

As a QSW, I am scared of moving to another province soon after landing because I signed a contract that I will reside in Quebec. However, my colleagues advised that living costs in Alberta are so high, that even despite lower wages in Montreal they are better off here. Others claim that english speaking provinces value british education unlike Quebec, so are more appropriate for UK graduates. Never had a chance to verify this myself.

I am sure this is an exaggeration. The job market in Alberta might look better than in other provinces mostly because there's less competition as people don't want to live close to the Arctic Circle. But it's still and mostly a rural area and so if you look for an oil-field related job and other service industry jobs generated by the booming oil field, you might want to go there, but I doubt any other highly skilled immigrants hoping to find a job in his or her field will have a better chance there.

 

[on-hold]

e-bulldog -- Edmonton is Canada's 6th largest city, and Calgary is its 5th, this is not a rural area. Sure, it has a winter, I chose to immigrate to Canada.

And it might be an exaggeration, I don't know -- it's my experience as I understand it. I don't work in oil and gas, I'm in public health, and there are a lot of jobs here. Blue collar workers can make a ton of money, there's a lot of job churn, and the job market is great. When we decided to move here I was able to find a contract professional job before arriving, I'm getting consistent interviews as the contract ends, and I've been invited to apply for another professional contracting position (all in my field, public health and health promotion).

Ketevan, you might be right about your contract, I know nothing of that. My wife is studying English with an LPN from Quebec, and there are many other immigrants here who came into the Quebec program and then came to Alberta for work. I don't know their opinion on British education; there is a francophone university, and a small community, in Edmonton. As for living costs, I'm comparing them to Victoria, they are much better here.

But I'm not arguing Edmonton is better than Montreal -- if I could live there, that would be a dream come true, I would consider myself truly blessed. Edmonton is a nice city, working class, diverse, and it has an arts scene, but it's not Montreal. Alas, I don't speak French and for the fields I work in that would be a terrible handicap.

 

[nguyentu2001]

e-bulldog -- Edmonton is Canada's 6th largest city, and Calgary is its 5th, this is not a rural area. Sure, it has a winter, I chose to immigrate to Canada.

And it might be an exaggeration, I don't know -- it's my experience as I understand it. I don't work in oil and gas, I'm in public health, and there are a lot of jobs here. Blue collar workers can make a ton of money, there's a lot of job churn, and the job market is great. When we decided to move here I was able to find a contract professional job before arriving, I'm getting consistent interviews as the contract ends, and I've been invited to apply for another professional contracting position (all in my field, public health and health promotion).

Ketevan, you might be right about your contract, I know nothing of that. My wife is studying English with an LPN from Quebec, and there are many other immigrants here who came into the Quebec program and then came to Alberta for work. I don't know their opinion on British education; there is a francophone university, and a small community, in Edmonton. As for living costs, I'm comparing them to Victoria, they are much better here.

But I'm not arguing Edmonton is better than Montreal -- if I could live there, that would be a dream come true, I would consider myself truly blessed. Edmonton is a nice city, working class, diverse, and it has an arts scene, but it's not Montreal. Alas, I don't speak French and for the fields I work in that would be a terrible handicap.

Absolutely agree that Edmonton and Calgary have great job market.
In terms of job wise, the two cities are much much better than Vancouver and Victoria. I live in Vancouver and also lived in Calgary....I can guarantee you.

You have to trade off the weather between Vancouver/Edmonton/Calgary/Winnipeg......nice weather but low wages in Vancouver, almost no jobs in Victoria.

 

[Davs]

Dear Friends,

This forum is really an eye opener. I am currently evaluating whether to apply for PR in Canada or not. Please suggest ..below is my profile.

I have completed my certification in Lean Six Sigma Black Belt from Motorola University, Certification in Six Sigma Green belt and ISO 9001:2008 Lead Auditor Certification from British Standard Institution,UK

I have completed my PT MBA from NMIMS in Systems and Bachelor's degree in Physics and Computer Science.

I have undergone PMP training and I am Prince 2 Certified.

I have more than 8 years of work experience in Banking, Mutual fund and BPO Industry.I am currently working as AVP with HSBC bank and have my own car and house in India. My current salary in INR is more than 13.5 Lacs p.a. The reason why i am stating all this is to understand how low will be my lifestyle if i come to canada. Entering as a Student better option then directly going for PR? Does a post graduate diploma from a community college in canada valuable? Should i pursue MBA in Canada or PG diploma?

Please please please do reply seniors.

 

[nguyentu2001]

Dear Friends,

This forum is really an eye opener. I am currently evaluating whether to apply for PR in Canada or not. Please suggest ..below is my profile.

I have completed my certification in Lean Six Sigma Black Belt from Motorola University, Certification in Six Sigma Green belt and ISO 9001:2008 Lead Auditor Certification from British Standard Institution,UK

I have completed my PT MBA from NMIMS in Systems and Bachelor's degree in Physics and Computer Science.

I have undergone PMP training and I am Prince 2 Certified.

I have more than 8 years of work experience in Banking, Mutual fund and BPO Industry.I am currently working as AVP with HSBC bank and have my own car and house in India. My current salary in INR is more than 13.5 Lacs p.a. The reason why i am stating all this is to understand how low will be my lifestyle if i come to canada. Entering as a Student better option then directly going for PR? Does a post graduate diploma from a community college in canada valuable? Should i pursue MBA in Canada or PG diploma?

Please please please do reply seniors.

Depending how old you are. I came to Canada as an international student, I took a one year course at Red River College in Winnipeg...got a job after graduation, become PR 6 months after. The Provincial nominee program in Manitoba is awesome.

You should check out Red River College website...they have post graduate program. In my opinion, the best way to immigrate to Canada is to go back to school full time for a year or more...then apply for provincial nominee program. Winnipeg is cold but easy to get PR status. You can spend 2 years there and once you got yout PR you can move to other cities. I moved to Vancouver after I got my PR.

 

[nguyentu2001]

Is a post graduate diploma from a community college in canada valuable?

Yes, it is...it is better than MBA from many coutries in Asia. Just saying! ;D

 

[Ketevan]

I suggest that you do PG certificate that will give you access to certified professions in finance. MBA provides general management training and it is very unlikely that you get a managerial post without canadian experience. Even if your employer is HSBC, canadian employers want canadian experience only. I was teaching at 53rd best university (10th best in UK) before coming, here I cannot even get a temporary contract at the lowest ranking community college.
I am thinking of getting an online certificate from TELUQ in financial planning, then sit exams and get license. In the meantime I am working in call centre for media company to accummulate client advise experience. You should come to canada with the idea to start life from zero and drop your expectations close to zero. But stuff your pockets well before coming.
As for PR, apply as soon as you can. I came to UK to study with the idea to apply for post study work permit. 3 months before I finished course, that immigration programme was closed. So please do not miss your train.
Regarding lifestyle, be prepared for modesty and for goods of inferior quality but You can survive even on a minimum wage quite well thanks to Walmart, Dollarama and friends.

Dear Friends,

This forum is really an eye opener. I am currently evaluating whether to apply for PR in Canada or not. Please suggest ..below is my profile.

I have completed my certification in Lean Six Sigma Black Belt from Motorola University, Certification in Six Sigma Green belt and ISO 9001:2008 Lead Auditor Certification from British Standard Institution,UK

I have completed my PT MBA from NMIMS in Systems and Bachelor's degree in Physics and Computer Science.

I have undergone PMP training and I am Prince 2 Certified.

I have more than 8 years of work experience in Banking, Mutual fund and BPO Industry.I am currently working as AVP with HSBC bank and have my own car and house in India. My current salary in INR is more than 13.5 Lacs p.a. The reason why i am stating all this is to understand how low will be my lifestyle if i come to canada. Entering as a Student better option then directly going for PR? Does a post graduate diploma from a community college in canada valuable? Should i pursue MBA in Canada or PG diploma?

Please please please do reply seniors.

 

[Ketevan]

Not only Asia. I am afraid canadian community college is also better than british education in the eyes if canadian employers, because none of my UK education is recognized here I have to apply for validation by Ministry of Immigration and wait for 9 months before I can even work as bank cashier.

Is a post graduate diploma from a community college in canada valuable?

Yes, it is...it is better than MBA from many coutries in Asia. Just saying! ;D

 

[on-hold]

Ketevan, that is so stupid . . . At higher levels, like university professorships, UK education is competitive and accepted without review.

 

[Davs]

Ketavan,

Thank you for your response. I understand that going for a PG diploma from a community college is your suggestion. But should i directly apply as a student in PG diploma course or would you suggest that i should take PR and then go to Canada...try my luck in job market and simultaneously apply for PG diploma while i am in Canada. Do you think with my qualification i can get a job in Canadian market? Thanks again in advance for the guidance.....Other seniors please reply to my initial query.