Hi, I decided to share my job searching experience in the hopes that it may help others, as this forum was so helpful when I moved to Canada a bit over 2 years ago. Just don’t DM me as I don’t come here often.
What worked for me, may not work for you. But it might as well be worth the try!
What helped
I’m well educated: I have an Engineering degree from my country and an MBA from the US. I’m fluent in English. I have almost 20 years of work experience, many of those managing large teams. I’ve worked for multinational companies.
What was not in my favour
I had no Canadian experience nor did I know ANYONE in the sector I had lots of experience in. I am not specialized in anything: I’ve worked in finance, marketing, business development, product management, strategy, etc – this means that those softwares screening CVs would never find the volume of keywords they were likely looking for. It had been maybe 10 years since I last had an interview, so I was quite rusted!
What I did
Network: First, I went through my Linkedin and started digging through my contacts, trying to find people who could introduce me to professionals in Canada in my sector. I was able to connect to some nice people and get some insights of the industry. They referred me to some jobs, but I was getting NO interviews. I don’t honestly know whether those referrals made through forms (not personal) do make a difference.
Then I started looking for director level people in some companies in my sector, and started sending them emails introducing myself and asking for coffee or a phone chat (for those not in Toronto). Those emails were not targeting a specific opening, I just wanted to make connections. Out of dozens of emails, I got a few replies and one phone chat. That was a great eye-opening opportunity, it was when I realized how rusty I was! I’m sure the caller was unimpressed with me. I knew I had to change my game (see the 'practice' part).
CV and cover letter: Evaluate if your CV is well written and in more or less Canadian standards. Try, when possible, to tailor it to the position you are applying. Make sure the keywords you see on the job posting appear in your CV. Put time and thought into writing your cover letter. In my country we don’t use cover letters, so I found it painful and hard to write them. At the beginning I must say my CLs were pretty sloppy. I did a 2-hour course at YMCA on cover letters, and while it was quite basic, it pushed me to improve. After a lot of practice, it became easier to write them, and at some point I had so many written that I could lift and shift entire sections depending on which characteristics I wanted to highlight in my past experience.
Reach out to the hiring manager: That was what ULTIMATELY worked for me. For any position I applied for, I tried to identify the hiring manager (not HR). I tried to find what the title of the manager was and googled for him. Most companies' email standard is name.lastname@company.com. I would send an email with a succinct but powerful introduction, and ask for a chat to better discuss the position. I’m now on my second job in Canada and both of them I found this way (skipping HR entirely). ALL interviews I got in Canada happened because I reached out to the responsible.
Practice: Find a friend or family member to PRACTICE for your interview. I would print the job description, look for main keywords and think ‘how can I sell my past experience to match this’ - while making notes. So instead of listing responsibilities and accomplishments in each job, I would focus on things that would resonate with the interviewer for that position, which may not be the most relevant thing you did! I would say things out loud to see how they sounded, and do mock interviews with my husband.
Do the homework: while I don’t think you need to study a company’s balance sheet, it’s good that you study a bit about the company or the business unit within the company you are applying for. It will cause a good first impression and you'll be able to ask more interesting questions.
Follow-up: after an interview, don’t be afraid to follow up! Some people like to send immediately a note thanking for the interview. I’d rather wait for a week or two and then reach out if I hadn’t heard back.
Be humble: Don’t be embarrassed or afraid of taking steps back. I am a senior manager here, and while it’s the same title I had back home, it clearly means less in Canada, so I have a lot less responsibility and scope that I was used to. I used to manage large teams, and my direct reports were also people managers. Here I have 1 report (I had none when I fist started). So it’s a different reality – with large teams I would spend most time managing my teams’ work and offering direction, here I produce as much as an individual contributor, as managing one person only doesn’t take much time.
Be prepared for NOs and indifference: I sent so many emails while job hunting, and most never got a reply. Even some follow up emails after interviews were never answered – unfortunately not everyone is considerate with applicants. Don't take it personally and don't let if affect your self-esteem!
What worked for me, may not work for you, but I hope some of the tips can help you. I was hired in a sector I had no previous experience at after 4 months of job-searching.
Good luck on your job-hunting journey!
What worked for me, may not work for you. But it might as well be worth the try!
What helped
I’m well educated: I have an Engineering degree from my country and an MBA from the US. I’m fluent in English. I have almost 20 years of work experience, many of those managing large teams. I’ve worked for multinational companies.
What was not in my favour
I had no Canadian experience nor did I know ANYONE in the sector I had lots of experience in. I am not specialized in anything: I’ve worked in finance, marketing, business development, product management, strategy, etc – this means that those softwares screening CVs would never find the volume of keywords they were likely looking for. It had been maybe 10 years since I last had an interview, so I was quite rusted!
What I did
Network: First, I went through my Linkedin and started digging through my contacts, trying to find people who could introduce me to professionals in Canada in my sector. I was able to connect to some nice people and get some insights of the industry. They referred me to some jobs, but I was getting NO interviews. I don’t honestly know whether those referrals made through forms (not personal) do make a difference.
Then I started looking for director level people in some companies in my sector, and started sending them emails introducing myself and asking for coffee or a phone chat (for those not in Toronto). Those emails were not targeting a specific opening, I just wanted to make connections. Out of dozens of emails, I got a few replies and one phone chat. That was a great eye-opening opportunity, it was when I realized how rusty I was! I’m sure the caller was unimpressed with me. I knew I had to change my game (see the 'practice' part).
CV and cover letter: Evaluate if your CV is well written and in more or less Canadian standards. Try, when possible, to tailor it to the position you are applying. Make sure the keywords you see on the job posting appear in your CV. Put time and thought into writing your cover letter. In my country we don’t use cover letters, so I found it painful and hard to write them. At the beginning I must say my CLs were pretty sloppy. I did a 2-hour course at YMCA on cover letters, and while it was quite basic, it pushed me to improve. After a lot of practice, it became easier to write them, and at some point I had so many written that I could lift and shift entire sections depending on which characteristics I wanted to highlight in my past experience.
Reach out to the hiring manager: That was what ULTIMATELY worked for me. For any position I applied for, I tried to identify the hiring manager (not HR). I tried to find what the title of the manager was and googled for him. Most companies' email standard is name.lastname@company.com. I would send an email with a succinct but powerful introduction, and ask for a chat to better discuss the position. I’m now on my second job in Canada and both of them I found this way (skipping HR entirely). ALL interviews I got in Canada happened because I reached out to the responsible.
Practice: Find a friend or family member to PRACTICE for your interview. I would print the job description, look for main keywords and think ‘how can I sell my past experience to match this’ - while making notes. So instead of listing responsibilities and accomplishments in each job, I would focus on things that would resonate with the interviewer for that position, which may not be the most relevant thing you did! I would say things out loud to see how they sounded, and do mock interviews with my husband.
Do the homework: while I don’t think you need to study a company’s balance sheet, it’s good that you study a bit about the company or the business unit within the company you are applying for. It will cause a good first impression and you'll be able to ask more interesting questions.
Follow-up: after an interview, don’t be afraid to follow up! Some people like to send immediately a note thanking for the interview. I’d rather wait for a week or two and then reach out if I hadn’t heard back.
Be humble: Don’t be embarrassed or afraid of taking steps back. I am a senior manager here, and while it’s the same title I had back home, it clearly means less in Canada, so I have a lot less responsibility and scope that I was used to. I used to manage large teams, and my direct reports were also people managers. Here I have 1 report (I had none when I fist started). So it’s a different reality – with large teams I would spend most time managing my teams’ work and offering direction, here I produce as much as an individual contributor, as managing one person only doesn’t take much time.
Be prepared for NOs and indifference: I sent so many emails while job hunting, and most never got a reply. Even some follow up emails after interviews were never answered – unfortunately not everyone is considerate with applicants. Don't take it personally and don't let if affect your self-esteem!
What worked for me, may not work for you, but I hope some of the tips can help you. I was hired in a sector I had no previous experience at after 4 months of job-searching.
Good luck on your job-hunting journey!
