its been long time that i have been active here but i wanted to help out fellow applicants with the experience i have got after landing here...
Networking
Build your network-- Get to know people who have worked with you in the past and are currently in Canada for reference.
Cause the first job comes through reference, some time they ask for personal reference once u have completed all the interview formalities.
LinkedIn- Use linked to build your connections, people are friends you can send request on LinkedIn to recruiters and talent acquisition profile or people so that you get the job posts directly on your linkedin screen.
Endorsement and Recommendation-- Get current or old recommendation i mean recommendation from current company clients colleagues as well as old one's as well.
Keep a proper title and headline on linkedin, do spend time in writing a summary that best describes your professional experience.
go for certifications like istqb, cabap, PMP, salesforce, ITIL etc
Do add most of the information on your profile about experience companies colleges and pic along with honors or awards achievements in short fill the sections available, whenever u are in final stage of PPR and all get a paid version if possible the decision i leave it to you.
Canadian Phone Number from india
For a virtual number of canada you can download freetone app on android i think it should be available on iOS as well, use the email id to setup and it will ask you country and area code for e.g. if you are in india and want an toronto number then area code is 416 there are other codes as well find the area code of the place you want to be like calgary toronto , vancover etc
So that you can use the number and a friends address or some thing to mention it on your resume this would make the resume active with canadian information to understand the market and if anything clicks you can expedite your travel plans. remember niche skill set would be a different ball game but you reference no matter you have canadian address and phone number.
Note: one thing weird about free tone is it does ring on the tone set when some body call so you might want to have the vibration feature enabled or so.
Places to Stay and Search Job
Toronto has huge crowd cause many people land there you might want to select a place where u have good job opportunities reference and less expense on stay, i would recommend to travel alone the first time and once you get a job get the family cause bachelors can find more places to share and live.
Find a place which is part of IT or non It job pocket of canada and search. Some examples are Vancouver, Victoria,Edmonton, Calgary, Halifax, Ottawa, Missisauga, Kitchener, Hamilton some are places part of GTA (Greater Toronto Area) comparatively affordable but travel time is what is going to kill you... something similar to bangalore if you know what i mean
Job Market
Summer is the hiring season but due to oil and gas issues the market has not bounced back but you would find good IT openings again competition and less job postings would bring more people and less per hour rates for a contractor or less salary for permanent employee.
Even if you get a contract job its coool to get some local experience and some supervisor as reference for next job. resume should highlight companies which exist here in the sense show case or highlight north american experience and also onsite travels to north america to encash and convey you have worked in this environment so getting a recommendation from clients is important.
Dual Profile Resume
To be able to get more opportunities be ready for dual roles like QA can also be a BA get certified if possible and prepare two different resume focusing one on dedicated BA activities and dedicated QA activities.
I think the better idea is to be in touch with people who are on the forum who can help each other on linkedin and stuff.
Consultants or headhunters and Job portals
randstad
sisystems
inteqna
beachhead
finnely taylor
micheal page
solvera
seirra systems
TEKsystems
TekStaff
Indeed
workopolis
find somebody who has worked with you and can refer to a consultant which would grab their attention. PR card is taking 3 months time approximately so if you planning to do landing and go back you need to have a friend who stays her and will collect it for you and send the same back to india.
I would suggest if you do prepare resume update linked develop contacts and apply for jobs if you get response on your freetone number and email then you can resign and come over in short you need to plan properly coming here and going back and then you wont be focussed on the job search here .. and even if u find one opportunity you wont be able to resign and come over immediately as everybody has a notice period and stuff so think over it and take a call all by urself.
I will be back with some more information ping me if you need further more information all the best.....