Finding jobs in Canada in IT Industry - What is the perfect age??

[nidakh]

Assumptions:
1) You are really good at your job
2) You have very good communication skills
3) You have tried applying for any job where you think your skills could be the slightest match and salary is no constraint

Based on past few months of my job search I have concluded that if you have to start your professional life in Canada:
EITHER you do it when you are just little more than entry level and you don't mind going back to the books, if you have to
OR you have 12 to 15 years of experience by which you have gathered a lot of network in your industry to pass around your resume.

At 30 with 6 years of experience I think is the worst time to be looking for a job in a new Country. I admit my conclusion is biased and based on what I have seen around me but I just wanted to have a positive discussion and what people had to go through to maybe get some fresh motivation.

Note: I am not second guessing my decision to come to Canada and so far my whole experience has been great.....I am already in love with this country and will go back to college if I have to

 

[hsinxh]

Whats the scenario for Computer Programmers?

 

[prads_s]

I have 6 year of IT experience, and I have already tried to get in touch with recruiters in Canada.

All I could hear is 'contact me when you have your PR'.

So, I feel jobs are there...

@nidakh
Are there any particular issues you're facing?

 

[Alexios07]

People keep saying "I have x years experience with IT and programming why I cannot find a job ???". I'm sorry but IT world is so big and so specialized, years of experience don't mean jack sh*t, if your skills are not usable in the new country.

10 years working in a small company running servers 2003 with outdated server equipment, networking gears with no backup solutions can only get you a cashier job at SuperStore. Or 10 years of being a web developer but only doing some super simple stuff with html or css here and there without knowing javascript, php or python, also can only land you a job at a gas station. Remember people, 1 + 1 equals 2 everywhere in the world, it means your if you are a good coder or a good network engineer in your home country, I bet you can find a good paying job here in Canada within 3 months because technical knowledge are the same wherever you are.

/rant

 

[ShahidF]

People keep saying "I have x years experience with IT and programming why I cannot find a job ???". I'm sorry but IT world is so big and so specialized, years of experience don't mean jack sh*t, if your skills are not usable in the new country.

10 years working in a small company running servers 2003 with outdated server equipment, networking gears with no backup solutions can only get you a cashier job at SuperStore. Or 10 years of being a web developer but only doing some super simple stuff with html or css here and there without knowing javascript, php or python, also can only land you a job at a gas station. Remember people, 1 + 1 equals 2 everywhere in the world, it means your if you are a good coder or a good network engineer in your home country, I bet you can find a good paying job here in Canada within 3 months because technical knowledge are the same wherever you are.

/rant

Well said 8)

 

[cempjwi]

Assumptions:
1) You are really good at your job
2) You have very good communication skills
3) You have tried applying for any job where you think your skills could be the slightest match and salary is no constraint

Based on past few months of my job search I have concluded that if you have to start your professional life in Canada:
EITHER you do it when you are just little more than entry level and you don't mind going back to the books, if you have to
OR you have 12 to 15 years of experience by which you have gathered a lot of network in your industry to pass around your resume.

At 30 with 6 years of experience I think is the worst time to be looking for a job in a new Country. I admit my conclusion is biased and based on what I have seen around me but I just wanted to have a positive discussion and what people had to go through to maybe get some fresh motivation.

Note: I am not second guessing my decision to come to Canada and so far my whole experience has been great.....I am already in love with this country and will go back to college if I have to

You have to consider that IT competition in Canada is very high. The person with the most experience, who's willing to take on the greatest responsibility at the lowest salary possible will get the job after employers post a job for 4 to 6 months. Few to none will give anyone an opportunity, and as you say, if you have no network, you have no job. Plus many employers directly or indirectly discriminate silently looking for that Canadian experience new immigrants surely don't have. I have over 20yrs of professional work experience 17 of which were acquired in the US, a postgrad in Project Management from a Canadian institution and I was recently offered a Business Analyst position, working in a Project Management capacity, making the salary of a data entry assistant. I told them to shove it.

 

[msudershan2]

Age is not the factor! It all come to skills. I am not in IT, however, do feel skills could easily get you the job.

In my field 'Pharma Consulting' (I know half of the people say what they do is anyhow useless )....McKinsey /BCG/ Bain / ZS do hire people who could do research (that is on of the lowest skill in consulting industry)...but that being said, you could not go to big consulting firms and tell them I have 10 years of work experience doing Secondary Research and Primary Research....you need to be good at analysing using various tools, client engagement, business development....then you might able to get job easily in Canada.

So it is all about skills which could be used in that country

 

[nidakh]

I have 6 year of IT experience, and I have already tried to get in touch with recruiters in Canada.

All I could hear is 'contact me when you have your PR'.

So, I feel jobs are there...

@nidakh
Are there any particular issues you're facing?

Some specific issues I am facing and have been denied interviews are

1) I am on a open work permit & I am not a PR or Citizen
2) I am a Business Analyst which is a client facing role so Companies are more critical of hiring someone who has never worked in Canada (I have US offshore experience but recruiters say even if you had just 2 to 3 months Canadian experience thing would be different)
3) I have a small network (What most people who are already here have told me that they were able to get a job through networking because most positions are filled through employee referrals)

 

[kryt0n]

I have a computing degree and worked 2171 for the MoD... I am in NO WAY qualified for a real industry job...

Happy to start low on min wage and work my way up a single company...

 

[nidakh]

]

People keep saying "I have x years experience with IT and programming why I cannot find a job ???". I'm sorry but IT world is so big and so specialized, years of experience don't mean jack sh*t, if your skills are not usable in the new country.

10 years working in a small company running servers 2003 with outdated server equipment, networking gears with no backup solutions can only get you a cashier job at SuperStore. Or 10 years of being a web developer but only doing some super simple stuff with html or css here and there without knowing javascript, php or python, also can only land you a job at a gas station. Remember people, 1 + 1 equals 2 everywhere in the world, it means your if you are a good coder or a good network engineer in your home country, I bet you can find a good paying job here in Canada within 3 months because technical knowledge are the same wherever you are.

/rant

I guess you did not read my assumptions.....As I said I am very good at my job and have at least three to four recruiters tell me that if I just had a month or two of Canadian experience things could be very different......IT is more than technical knowledge specifically outside India.....I am a Business Analyst......I am not saying I am perfect but I am pretty damn sure I am very good at my job and I have strong and successful professional career working for an American Software Company developing and enhancing their leading software for top tier American Insurance Companies....My company considered me one of the pillars of their team....Having said all this 8)

I just wanted to have a positive discussion about how I can improve my job search and some motivation from people who might have gone through similar situations before they landed a job.......People keep telling me you take on an average of 6 months to land a decent job and I just thought what better place to discuss this other than this fourm

 

[nidakh]

Age is not the factor! It all come to skills. I am not in IT, however, do feel skills could easily get you the job.

In my field 'Pharma Consulting' (I know half of the people say what they do is anyhow useless )....McKinsey /BCG/ Bain / ZS do hire people who could do research (that is on of the lowest skill in consulting industry)...but that being said, you could not go to big consulting firms and tell them I have 10 years of work experience doing Secondary Research and Primary Research....you need to be good at analysing using various tools, client engagement, business development....then you might able to get job easily in Canada.

So it is all about skills which could be used in that country

My skills are useful in this country......I have applied for opportunities where almost every word of what they want is a match with my resume.....but no positive outcome.....At least if I could get interviews I would understand but not even getting shortlisted is sad!!

 

[nidakh]

You have to consider that IT competition in Canada is very high. The person with the most experience, who's willing to take on the greatest responsibility at the lowest salary possible will get the job after employers post a job for 4 to 6 months. Few to none will give anyone an opportunity, and as you say, if you have no network, you have no job. Plus many employers directly or indirectly discriminate silently looking for that Canadian experience new immigrants surely don't have. I have over 20yrs of professional work experience 17 of which were acquired in the US, a postgrad in Project Management from a Canadian institution and I was recently offered a Business Analyst position, working in a Project Management capacity, making the salary of a data entry assistant. I told them to shove it.

Exactly but it takes lot of motivation to keep going and I am trying my best to learn from this situation rather than give up! :-X

I will be giving a certification examination for Business Analyst soon, which is considered a huge asset in the Canadian IT Industry and then I have taught myself a couple of new technologies to broaden my resume! I am still hoping for the best!

 

[Aal_]

I'm still so far away to get ita, and beginning to stress out about all this ???

10 years software development, leading and experience in process management.

 

[nidakh]

Everybody makes their own destiny.......One thing I know for sure is that their are lots of opportunities in IT but my only suggestion is to improve your network in Canada starting now......One positive thing for us who work in the IT industry is we have lot of Friends and colleagues who work in different countries and companies....Time to make a list of all those people you know in Canada or who might know someone in Canada or work for a company which has a office in Canada!! All the Best

 

[teekayx]

Elaborating on the original question..

What are the best resources available online like job portals, hiring agencies, online forums to build your network which will help you land a job in Canada?

I am from India and I recently applied for a PR under NOC 2173. I plan to start my job hunt with Canadian companies soon. I have NO prior Canadian experience or degrees :-X. From the forum some one has already shared their experiences suggesting companies don't entertain applicants until they have a PR. But boy will that stop us from trying! Hell no. 8)

I'd greatly appreciate if some of you can share any portals / forums that you frequent to stay updated with the latest job trends, openings, which technology is in demand in Canadian market, any e-meetups we can attend etc. etc.