Finding work after landing...

[marlasinger]

so, my husband has been out of work going onto 6 months. we live in kitchener, ontario. he has a great resume, is coming from a career he held with New York state for 14 years, tons of experience and gives a good interview...and, despite getting a couple dozen of interviews, putting a million resumes out there and working with staffing agencies, he can't seem to land a job.

it's incredibly disappointing and becoming a massive struggle - his savings is dwindling and i'm supporting 4 people on my paycheque. i'm starting to wonder if it's because he's not canadian, people aren't willing to pick him over others applying for the same job? it's feeling that way. when i was moving about from job to job before settling into my career now, I couldn't throw a rock without getting a job offer. that was four years ago, but still. i didn't have nearly the kind of qualifications he does.

just curious if anyone else has experienced this kind of job rejection after landing? any tips for getting a job? and for surviving, not only the search, but the strain it's putting on our marriage?

thanks guys

 

[Amalthea]

Oh gosh, I'm so sorry. It can be really tough finding work in small cities, even in the States I watched friends throw out thousands of resumes, followup with preferred ones, contact staffing companies etc.. with no luck. All my strength for you guys, it's so tough out there.

Hoping you get lucky soon. Does he have a field of expertise? What did he do previously? Have you considered having a professional look at his resume?

 

[marlasinger]

thanks for your kind thoughts. i guess i didn't realize it would be this difficult. it shouldn't be. it's not like he's a 20 something with a light resume. he's been working for two decades.

previously he worked for a new york state max security prison. not as a guard, but within the industrial side. he has a ton of customer service experience, shipping/receiving, ordering and general labour but mostly clerical work - HR experience with payroll and and invoicing, etc,. and he was a supervisor with 6 employees under his command. he did this for 14 years, and was working his way up the ladder to become the industrial superintendent before he met me and moved here with his two kids.

i'm feeling incredibly guilty - they came here with the promise of a good life with me and we are failing so far. it's depressing.

 

[Johninsask]

Where in Canada are you guys? The only hint of anti Americanism I've ever seen was in Ontario.

 

[Amalthea]

In her original post she says they're in Kitchener.

I guess my next question is, would you be willing to move to find work ?

 

[Mrs. Turan]

I know how frustrating it can be. My husband spent his first year in Canada just learning about the culture and of course learning english. The next year the people from ESL began helping him with resume making. In Turkey he never ever had a problem finding work. He was a skilled cabinetmaker with over 15 years experience. Yes his english wasn't that great either but he is really skilled! Anyway he ended up doing a job that was pretty well equal to a labourer and just focused on building up a good relationship with his co-workers' and boss. It was mostly part time but it got him in there and a year later he found work in his profession. Now he has a excellent job, but his previous work experience, I think, showed that he was not too proud, and he ended up getting rave reviews about his work ethic. I don't know if his experience can help you, but thought I'd put it out there.

 

[jamsham12]

so, my husband has been out of work going onto 6 months. we live in kitchener, ontario. he has a great resume, is coming from a career he held with New York state for 14 years, tons of experience and gives a good interview...and, despite getting a couple dozen of interviews, putting a million resumes out there and working with staffing agencies, he can't seem to land a job.

it's incredibly disappointing and becoming a massive struggle - his savings is dwindling and i'm supporting 4 people on my paycheque. i'm starting to wonder if it's because he's not canadian, people aren't willing to pick him over others applying for the same job? it's feeling that way. when i was moving about from job to job before settling into my career now, I couldn't throw a rock without getting a job offer. that was four years ago, but still. i didn't have nearly the kind of qualifications he does.

just curious if anyone else has experienced this kind of job rejection after landing? any tips for getting a job? and for surviving, not only the search, but the strain it's putting on our marriage?

thanks guys

Have you thought of relocating? Calgary is a hotbed for industrial jobs, i found work within a month while i was on a work visa back in 2013. I am an american.

 

[keesio]

If you look in the "Settlement Issues" forum, you will see many with the same problems. Canada's job market isn't as large or dynamic as the US so it can be difficult at times. Also, many have complained that many employers will discriminate based on the lack of "Canadian Experience". This really depends on the type of job. However, Americans do get impacted less by this as the American experience is not so much different and many employers recognize this.

My wife is still unemployed after almost 2 years after landing. But her situation is different because she worked in health care and she needed to get re-licensed in Ontario and that whole process (multiple exams) took over a year to finish. Now she has been looking for the past few months and gotten a few nibbles but nothing yet. Though this is partly due to the fact that she was being really selective in her job hunt (looking for the exact position she wanted in a very specific location (near where we live) ). The key thing is to be patient. Hang in there

 

[marlasinger]

*snip* ... I don't know if his experience can help you, but thought I'd put it out there.

thank you for sharing this with me. I feel like perhaps he's headed for a similar situation - taking something much lower than what he expected and working his way up.

i'd definitely agree that there seems to be a discrimination against PRs for their lack of canadian work experience. when i was first out of college and trying to find work I came across a lot of "entry level" jobs that required "3+ years of experience." I was always ranting - how can I get experience if I need experience to get it? I thought it would be easier for my husband since he has so much going for him in that regard - yet it seems to be a case of same s***, different pile.

to those that asked about relocating - it's not an option for us. he moved here with my two stepchildren. besides the hardship that switching schools again would place on them after settling and finally making friends, there is also their mother to consider. while my husband has physical custody of the kids, we can't do anything that would violate her visitation with them. so that limits us.

thanks for all of the replies. for whatever reason it is encouraging to know others have dealt with the same and it's working/worked out eventually.

 

[Alurra71]

The only thing that I can throw into the pile would be make sure he is following up. Follow up follow up follow up. I put out numerous resumes myself when I was first able to work legally. I never really got any nibbles, the standard, yeah, thanks, we'll get back to you. So I just picked the one that I would like the most, and continued to follow up with them by stopping by once or twice a week to see if they had yet filled the spot or if they were even interested in my resume.

It worked. I have been working there for 18 months now

Granted, its not the top of the food chain, but I got my foot in the door so I can easily climb the ladder again.

 

[automaton82]

I have to agree with the above posts asking I'd you're willing to move.

Toronto has many jobs, and you can get housing in the area (Pickering/Newmarket etc) that is commuteable for not a bad price.

I can't leave Toronto area until I'm ready to retire.

 

[Johninsask]

To the OP, don't worry it'll turn out okay. Job hunting is a numbers game, and we don't know enough to really offer a good opinion. There are a lot of other factors at play than work experience. If he has a degree, and no obvious red flags, then he will certainly land something if he is persistent.

I remember living in NY and having to send out my resume uncounted times to get replies and a single good offer. Even with a degree it was tough.

Above all, it's a numbers game. Sending you guys good karma!!!