Gap in my career

[Mariajudy]

Hi everyone,

Hope u guys are fine

We accepted the ITA n submitted our docs on sept 9 n got AOR on the same day. Awaiting for the visa to be stamped mean time can I search for jobs in canada? N in my case I have gap in my career for nearly 5yrs. I will nyway start from the scratch in Canada... Will my gap years affect my job search in Canada? I worked as HR in banking ops for 2.2 yrs. I am looking for admin assistants jobs in Canada..as I have researched dat employers there prefer Canadians for HR roles as they know the country's culture better..

Am I on the right track?

Share ur experiences who are already in jobs in Canada.. it might be helful..

Thank u!

Take care n bye,
Maria

 

[Metalhead_666]

Hi everyone,

Hope u guys are fine

We accepted the ITA n submitted our docs on sept 9 n got AOR on the same day. Awaiting for the visa to be stamped mean time can I search for jobs in canada? N in my case I have gap in my career for nearly 5yrs. I will nyway start from the scratch in Canada... Will my gap years affect my job search in Canada? I worked as HR in banking ops for 2.2 yrs. I am looking for admin assistants jobs in Canada..as I have researched dat employers there prefer Canadians for HR roles as they know the country's culture better..

Am I on the right track?

Share ur experiences who are already in jobs in Canada.. it might be helful..

Thank u!

Take care n bye,
Maria

• You may certainly try your luck and start looking for jobs, however the chances of you getting a call for an interview is higher if you are in Canada (assuming that you are currently not in Canada).
• The gap shouldn't really affect your chances provided you are able to explain it in your cover letter/interview. Most people start from scratch once they move here (unless they highly sought skills).
• Your research about employers preferring Canadians is partially accurate. Racism does exist and it may take quite some time before you land that first job in your field and the initial months may not be easy. A lot of people work at coffee shops, pizza places, call centers to pay their bills but eventually find their way.
• Make sure to start working on the Canadian way of writing your resume and cover letter!

 

[Mariajudy]

Hi,

Thank you for replying

Yes I have reconstructed my resume in Canadian way ( in a single page - lyk a "movie poster")

But I can still apply for admin assistant jobs for which again chances are less for me? Becoz I need to gain experience not exactly in my feild but in an office environment. Hope you are getting my point.

Furthermore, I came across articles stating that immigrants getting into odd jobs seems to be continuing in the same job for years for which they lose to gain yrs of experience are n in terms of their respective fields..

 

[Mariajudy]

Consider this post!

Hi,

Thank you for replying

Yes I'm in India ryt now awaiting for the visa to be stamped.

Yes I have reconstructed my resume in Canadian way ( in a single page - lyk a "movie poster")

But I can still apply for admin assistant jobs for which again chances are less for me? Becoz I need to gain experience not exactly in my feild but in an office environment. Hope you are getting my point.

Furthermore, I came across articles stating that immigrants getting into odd jobs seems to be continuing in the same job for years for which they lose to gain yrs of experience in their respective fields or profession..

 

[Mariajudy]

Dear All,

Any comments on my recent post?

Thanks and take care guys

 

[Vitesze]

Residing in India, only 2yrs of work experience, not worked in your field for the last 5yrs, not even a PR yet...it is extremely unlikely an employer isn't going to toss aside your application/resume right away when they receive it. With a vast supply of (very) skilled Canadian workers, the typical Canadian employer is of course always going to favour Canadian employees.

Whenever my own employer is hiring for a new position, they receive applications from people residing in other countries all the time (new PRs, work permit holders, LMIA-seekers) and these applications almost always get thrown aside right away. The only reason I got in was because my first 4 months were an internship where I was paid less than minimum wage and I moved up from there.

Unless you have a crazy skill-set, a new PR should expect starting off at the bottom of the hierarchy in Canada and working their way up.

Work on:
(1) Actually getting your PR
(2) Moving to Canada - preferably one of the bigger cities with decent employment (e.g. Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal).
(3) Lower your bar for a job a bit (unlikely you'll land a HR job right away) and work your ass off
(4) Move up from there. If you're skilled enough, you'll be able to land a better job or receive promotions.

 

[Mariajudy]

Hi

Thanks for the response.

Your answer was straightforward, was expecting a response like this
Will work on your points

¶ And yes I am not exactly looking for HR jobs in Canada. I am ready to start from the scratch eg. internship (a scenario like urs)
¶ Meantime,awaiting for our visa to be stamped being part of the PR process.
¶ Also, as per my findings ppl shared their stories like moving to bigger cities when starting ur life in Canada is quite challenging in terms of getting a job as the competitions are quite high there. Is it true?

 

[Vitesze]

Hi

Thanks for the response.

Your answer was straightforward, was expecting a response like this
Will work on your points

¶ And yes I am not exactly looking for HR jobs in Canada. I am ready to start from the scratch eg. internship (a scenario like urs)
¶ Meantime,awaiting for our visa to be stamped being part of the PR process.
¶ Also, as per my findings ppl shared their stories like moving to bigger cities when starting ur life in Canada is quite challenging in terms of getting a job as the competitions are quite high there. Is it true?

Internships can be a good way to start to gain valuable experience when Canadians (because Canadian education/experience) hold an edge over you in the application process. It's very common in Canada for university students to do several so-called co-op internships, sometimes even after graduation. So even the fresh graduates that you will be competing with for jobs (assuming you have limited work experience) may already have a considerable amount of work experience.

Competition in the bigger cities of course is higher, but there's also a lot more jobs. I would strongly advise against a new immigrant to settle in a smaller city with lower employment, unless you know what you're doing and believe you stand a good chance at landing a job. Places like Vancouver (where I live) have a huge international community and there's literally thousands of jobs being advertised every day - there's also plenty of organizations that can help you with settling in Canada, and you will face less discrimination in the application process because if anything, having a non-immigrant background makes you a minority here. If you're able-bodied and willing to work hard, finding a job won't be a problem.