How was your experience finding your first Canada IT job?

[toronto h1b boy]

Starting a thread for people moving to Canada..
Those currently with PR/ already found a job pls help us new folks!

1. Years of work experience -
2. Position/Job title/Skills-
3. Company (if possiblle)-
4.How much Time it took to find-
5. Pay difference between US and Canada

The minute I find one, I promise to help.. I'm just starting. Thank you!

 

[dks2323]

it was easy for me as well as for my spouse..

Had 10 yrs of exp in IT when moved in 2014...I was hired as senior analyst in TD bank...it took me around a week and couple of months for my spouse...The salary for me was 30K usd more than what i was earning in US...my spouse had almost similar salary as in states...and am taking cad to usd conversion in account...

 

[ajithj]

How much time it took to find an IT job - this really depends on your skillset and specialization.

I know SAP guys getting jobs pretty quickly and people with only testing experience struggling to find a job.

 

[dks2323]

I would like add one thing here...come to Canada with some globally recognized certifications....to name a few, CBAP, PMP, scrum master....believe me these really help...The number of technologies used here are limited....it is not like US or India that there is a job for every technology...but if you have these or similar certs then you can get into business analyst or manager roles in your domain (ofcourse mostly all the domains are here in Canada).....prepare yourself really well to answer behavioral question (most of us can answer technical questions so it really comes down to behavioral when it comes to BA/manager roles)....be prepared to answer questions on Agile...it is just a methodology but they all want to see if you have worked in such a situation...and it is all my personal experience but this is the trend I have seen in Canada....

 

[navid2014]

Better apply for jobs from US before moving to Canada & look for the similar jobs in your stream in my case I started looking for jobs just 1 month before moving to Canada and luckily got a job offer from Manitoba Govt.

 

[kk09]

it was easy for me as well as for my spouse..

Had 10 yrs of exp in IT when moved in 2014...I was hired as senior analyst in TD bank...it took me around a week and couple of months for my spouse...The salary for me was 30K usd more than what i was earning in US...my spouse had almost similar salary as in states...and am taking cad to usd conversion in account...

Hi - Just wanted to ask, I am on H1b in the USA earning 90K USD/Year. But earning 30K USD/year in Canada, Do you think it will be okay to survive in Canada, based on Cost of living in Canada? Even I am getting ready to apply for EE.

 

[dks2323]

Hi - Just wanted to ask, I am on H1b in the USA earning 90K USD/Year. But earning 30K USD/year in Canada, Do you think it will be okay to survive in Canada, based on Cost of living in Canada? Even I am getting ready to apply for EE.

Please go back and read my post again...I said 30K MORE than what I was earning in US.....I was in a similar range as you are in US....I did not wish to provide numbers but its fine if that helps others...

Just to add to it....I am working as a contractor.....but have an option to move to full time any time....that will definitely be a hit on the salary if I go full time....but still not bad at all....

 

[kk09]

Please go back and read my post again...I said 30K MORE than what I was earning in US.....I was in a similar range as you are in US....I did not wish to provide numbers but its fine if that helps others...

Just to add to it....I am working as a contractor.....but have an option to move to full time any time....that will definitely be a hit on the salary if I go full time....but still not bad at all....

Okay. I misread it! However, that's good to hear.

 

[cram2017]

Spouse Role: Systems analyst
Spouse Salary - same as US salary (after conversion) - obviously taxes are more here
We landed early september, and she started job hunting after a month. Had an offer to start in 4 weeks.

I have not yet changed my job- continuing in the same US role and company

 

[Onpoint]

Spouse Role: Systems analyst
Spouse Salary - same as US salary (after conversion) - obviously taxes are more here
We landed early september, and she started job hunting after a month. Had an offer to start in 4 weeks.

I have not yet changed my job- continuing in the same US role and company

Does your spouse have any recommendations on how to find a job? Which city are you guys in?

 

[cram2017]

Does your spouse have any recommendations on how to find a job? Which city are you guys in?

GTA; we moved in september and the job search was in the year end when there were not too many openings. she got very few calls. But if you are looking now in the beginning of the year then options are good. Good communication, US Experience were very helpful. Post resume on Cognizant/TCS sites. they usually call back if there are openings. Having connections in industry helps to land interviews, as they are directly aware of openings.

 

[DEEPCUR]

GTA; we moved in september and the job search was in the year end when there were not too many openings. she got very few calls. But if you are looking now in the beginning of the year then options are good. Good communication, US Experience were very helpful. Post resume on Cognizant/TCS sites. they usually call back if there are openings. Having connections in industry helps to land interviews, as they are directly aware of openings.

Nice inputs. Thanks.

Do you think it is practical to do a job search in IT from US with a virtual Canadian number?

 

[cram2017]

Nice inputs. Thanks.

Do you think it is practical to do a job search in IT from US with a virtual Canadian number?

Not sure. We did not do this

 

[DEEPCUR]

Not sure. We did not do this

Okay thanks.. also any strategy on salary negotiation w.r.t the move from US to Canada? How to come up with a figure and ask for it? Do we mention what we were drawing in US and take it from there? Or what would be best way to negotiate? My concern is not understating as well as overstating to lose a possible opportunity.

I believe this problem would be somewhat unique to people who move from US to Canada, more than people who from other countries to Canada because of comparable wage nature.

 

[fr72]

Okay thanks.. also any strategy on salary negotiation w.r.t the move from US to Canada? How to come up with a figure and ask for it? Do we mention what we were drawing in US and take it from there? Or what would be best way to negotiate? My concern is not understating as well as overstating to lose a possible opportunity.

I believe this problem would be somewhat unique to people who move from US to Canada, more than people who from other countries to Canada because of comparable wage nature.

Don't talk about salary early in the process to avoid being filtered out. Just say your base salary in US dollars (don't make it appear bigger by converting) and then say something like, "I am aware the labor market in Canada is different, and I am flexible regarding the salary". That worked for me. I became aggressive as I reached the offer stage and converted my US salary to CAD, this helped me negotiate a bigger compensation.