Job Search in Canada: A Guide for Foreign Specialists

The truth about finding a job in Canada. We get a huge number of messages on social networks asking for help finding a job. The option of finding a job in Canada is really good and is one of the reliable ways to further permanent residency. But this plan is not always feasible.

Problems

Most of the problem is that people don't know English and hope that somehow they will find an employer, get them interested, come to Canada, work for a while, and learn the language.

The second problem is an occupation that is either not in demand or requires a license. For example, if you are a doctor, you can't immediately work in Canada in your occupation, even if you get a permanent residence permit under an immigration program. It will take you years to prove your qualifications, pass exams, and maybe only after that you will be able to work as a doctor.

Even if you have good English, an in-demand profession in Canada, it is still difficult for a Canadian employer to hire you for a simple reason — it is prohibited by law. The fact is that Canadian companies have no right to hire foreign specialists without a special permit. It is called LMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment).

To obtain this permission the employer has to fill in a lot of documents, pay CAN$ 1,000, and only after that, if they receive permission from the Canadian government, the specialist can come, get the work visa and work in Canada. Another risk: the company may spend time and money on the paperwork and the professional may change their mind and not come to Canada.

Under Canadian law, employers are not allowed to charge an employee for an LMIA. Intermediary companies that offer jobs in Canada and charge money are either fraudulent or illegal.

CV

A lot of job seekers are rejected at the stage of sending in their CVs. The reason is that Canadian CV formats are different from those used in other countries. Many people add their photo to the document, write their marital status, nationality, how many children they have, several pages of work experience, and so on. For Canada, it is perfect to keep your CV to one page.

The next mistake in your CV. For example, if you are looking for a job as a salesperson and list experience as a manager, director, self-employed person, or experience in any other field not related to the job. Then the Canadian employer will think that you are overqualified to be a salesperson.

Let's take another example: programmers. I am a programmer and know many programming languages. I also have experience in website development, design, translation, Immigrant.Today project management, making videos, and creating training courses. If I put all of this on my CV for a job, for example, as a web developer with knowledge of PHP, I definitely would not be a good fit.

Job search

If you want to find a job in Canada, you have to be very persistent. You will have to send your CV not dozens, but hundreds or even thousands of times. And it would be perfect if you would rework each CV to meet the requirements of a particular job.

What I mean is this: You read a job posting from a Canadian employer and see that you could potentially be a good fit. You need to remove everything from your CV that doesn't fit the job, find the key phrases that are written in the ad, and add them to your document. That way the employer who receives your reply will see that the job and CV are a perfect match. Perhaps then the company will agree to sign up for an LMIA.

It is also advisable to visit the company's website, see what it does, and use this knowledge to compose your CV and a cover letter, which you can send along with your CV.

Let's take a look at a trucker job. For example, you saw on the website that the company makes transportation mainly to the U.S., and therefore the employee will have to be away from home for a long time. So you should write that you love the U.S., love American cars, and are willing to be away from home for a long time.

Another job search option

An intermediate job search option is when you haven't yet applied for immigration, but have come to Canada on a visitor visa, for example, to see the sights or to study at a language school for a few weeks, which is not very expensive. You can't work on a tourist visa, but you can look for work.

While in Canada, you can meet potential employers for an interview. They will see that you are a real person who has already made some effort to get to Canada. The likelihood that an employer will agree to issue an LMIA certainly increases.

Many people get a job this way. For example, they go to trucking school on a visitor visa or get a Canadian driver's license, and then find work as a trucker.

Bottom line

Let's summarize. What you need for a successful job search in Canada:

1. Know or learn English.
2. Write a CV in the correct format.
3. Understand that the process will be time-consuming because hiring a foreigner is a risk for employers.
4. You can come on a tourist visa and try to find an employer while in Canada.

Important: You do not have to start immigrating to Canada by looking for a job. There are programs that do not require a work contract and allow you to get permanent residency immediately. As a permanent resident, you can live in Canada and work legally without additional paperwork. Sign up for a consultation with our company and we will review your situation and make a plan that will lead you to permanent residency.

Alex Pavlenko, founder of Immigrant.Today