Obtaining a job as a Software Developer from outside Canada

[letbonist]

Hello,

In short, my current situation is that I'm applying (from the USA as a USA Citizen) for PR under the FSW program. I'm currently using a reputable immigration lawyer. I don't have a job offer and so my points are based off of foreign work experience (6 years), education (B.S. Computer Science), IELTS (Reading 7.5, Speaking 9, Listening 8.5, Writing 8.5) for ~440 points (with my wife's WES (B.S.), IELTS (Similar score), etc.), and hopefully a letter from OINP for an additional 600 points.

I have a nice job here in the states and thus don't plan on moving to Canada until I've landed and obtained a job in the Greater Toronto Area. This second part is the part that keeps me up at night. If I don't get PR, tough, life will go on (I will at least know I tried my best). If I get PR but can't land a job, I think that is worse (so close, but so far...).

These things being said, can anyone give me recommendations on what to do to attempt to land a job in Ontario, once I've: gotten PR, landed, and obtained my SIN?

So far, here's what I'm thinking I should do:

- Travel to Toronto and attend job/career fairs
- Network with recruiters on LinkedIn (do I need a paid plan to do this efficiently)?
- Apply for jobs on Monster.ca and similar job sites.
- Reach out to, via e-mail and phone (if provided), to recruiters and individuals/organisations posting jobs.
- What else should I be doing???

My skills are: ASP.NET (MVC, Web Forms, and Web API 2), standard front-end technologies (HTML, JavaScript (ES 5-6), CSS, AJAX, and more, the ability to learn pretty much any programming language or design pattern/paradigm.

Thanks in advance for your replies!

 

[alok4best]

any specific reasons why you are keen to move across the border. Coz opportunity wise, US is way ahead from Canada.

anyway, once you have your SIN, you can start applying through Monster and Indeed. .NET has plenty of opportunity in and around GTA.
With a bit of luck and sincere effort, it won't be so difficult getting an offer.

 

[letbonist]

any specific reasons why you are keen to move across the border. Coz opportunity wise, US is way ahead from Canada.

anyway, once you have your SIN, you can start applying through Monster and Indeed. .NET has plenty of opportunity in and around GTA.
With a bit of luck and sincere effort, it won't be so difficult getting an offer.

Thank you for your reply!

In regards to my reasoning for moving to the True North, I've lived in the United States my entire life and have traveled to many of the most popular cities (LA, NY, LV, ATL, SL, MEM, CHI, ORL etc.). My wife and I have traveled to Toronto several times (during summer and winter) and we absolutely loved it! With the low crime rates and the nice folks, why wouldn't we move?

Btw, I'm not your stereotypical USA citizen who is too proud to recognize when there are potentially better life opportunities available.

Anyway, once we have received our SINs, and I've begun the process of applying with Monster and Indeed, is it best to reach out directly to the contacts whose job post I have applied to? What yields the highest probability for success?

 

[alok4best]

Thank you for your reply!

In regards to my reasoning for moving to the True North, I've lived in the United States my entire life and have traveled to many of the most popular cities (LA, NY, LV, ATL, SL, MEM, CHI, ORL etc.). My wife and I have traveled to Toronto several times (during summer and winter) and we absolutely loved it! With the low crime rates and the nice folks, why wouldn't we move?

Btw, I'm not your stereotypical USA citizen who is too proud to recognize when there are potentially better life opportunities available.

Anyway, once we have received our SINs, and I've begun the process of applying with Monster and Indeed, is it best to reach out directly to the contacts whose job post I have applied to? What yields the highest probability for success?

From my experience, Indeed turned out to be better than Monster. Most of the jobs advertised already give you the email address of the person responsible for hiring. I used to drop emails to them with my resume and cover letter. Having an updated LinkedIn profile might also help.
It is also a good idea to have a Canadian address and phone number as most of the online applications will not allow you to leave them empty.

I think it's not really necessary to phone up the recruiters.

 

[letbonist]

From my experience, Indeed turned out to be better than Monster. Most of the jobs advertised already give you the email address of the person responsible for hiring. I used to drop emails to them with my resume and cover letter. Having an updated LinkedIn profile might also help.
It is also a good idea to have a Canadian address and phone number as most of the online applications will not allow you to leave them empty.

I think it's not really necessary to phone up the recruiters.

The plan for the Canadian address portion, is it okay to purchase a UPS box, after I land, and use that address for applications? Is that in any way frowned on by employers?

What do you recommend for a phone number? Should I purchase a Canadian phone and use it for interviews while still living in the US? If so, what are the logistics of this? Are there good phone plans that work for situations like this?

 

[alok4best]

The plan for the Canadian address portion, is it okay to purchase a UPS box, after I land, and use that address for applications? Is that in any way frowned on by employers?

What do you recommend for a phone number? Should I purchase a Canadian phone and use it for interviews while still living in the US? If so, what are the logistics of this? Are there good phone plans that work for situations like this?

I guess the UPS box should be fine, or even better if you know someone who can allow you to use their address. It's not that the employers are going to send you anything through post, it's just their stupid code which forces you to put in a valid Canadian address when you are completing the job application online.

Regarding phone, I guess all Canadian networks will let your roam, however not sure how costly that roaming would be.
Other option is to buy a virtual Canadian number. And then configure a SIP client on your smartphone to handle incoming calls.
I had bought a virtual number from flynumber.com for 3 Dollars a month, and used Groundwire Android app to handle incoming calls.

 

[letbonist]

I guess the UPS box should be fine, or even better if you know someone who can allow you to use their address. It's not that the employers are going to send you anything through post, it's just their stupid code which forces you to put in a valid Canadian address when you are completing the job application online.

Regarding phone, I guess all Canadian networks will let your roam, however not sure how costly that roaming would be.
Other option is to buy a virtual Canadian number. And then configure a SIP client on your smartphone to handle incoming calls.
I had bought a virtual number from flynumber.com for 3 Dollars a month, and used Groundwire Android app to handle incoming calls.

Ok, cool. I'll definitely look into the SIP client approach that you suggested.