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| Subject: IT jobs |
What is the best way for a new immigrant in the field of business & IT to look for a job in Canada?
Are there any specific sites that are helpful?
Also, is BC or ON better for IT professionals?
[09-08-2007,13:15]
[***.167.23.136]
Sammy |
Turn it around for a minute. (in reply to: IT jobs)
Sammy:
Try this for a minute.......It you wanted to find a IT job in your own country, how would you do it ? Newspapers, the Internet, friends, contacts from school ?
Canada is not that different. Many positions are never advertised in the newspapers, because the company uses a placement agency, that finds suitable people. Or the job is offered to a friend of a employee of the hiring company, or the company approaches a recent IT graduate student, as they leave their University.
This is the hidden job market, and it exists in all nations.
What to do?
The CIC insists that newcomers to Canada have enough money to be able to live in Canada, without working, for up to a year.
Why is that done? To allow you to FIND a job while IN Canada. It is very hard, next to impossible, to get a firm job offer, without being IN the country, Not impossible, but really hard to do. Most employers NEED to actually SEE you and TALK to you, in person, before they will offer you a job here in Canada.
So plan on being IN the country, and then finding a job. It maybe not be the "perfect job " but that can come along later. The main thing is to "get working " in Canada, to avoid using up your savings.
AS to the best place for a IT professional in Canada? Any place that has a large company that uses computers can be the place for you. Remember that in Canada, we have many companies that require people to work in "isolated northern locations " and they pay VERY well. Don´t just think about Vancouver or Toronto. Think about smaller places, too.
Jim B. Toronto.
[09-08-2007,15:11]
[**.99.152.2]
Canadian Citizen |
(in reply to: IT jobs)
well said, Jim
asking about IT jobs is like saying ´I want to work in the food industry´. Waiter?, cook?, dishwasher?, supplier? chef? Denny´s, some fancy hotel?
Canada is a big place and there are IT jobs in every corner of the country. IT is a big catch-all term that really does not identify expertise, interest or skills.
[09-08-2007,16:41]
[***.20.127.20]
Anonymous |
(in reply to: IT jobs)
Thanks Jim for your comment. I hope it will help Sammy.
The "IN-Canada" factor seems really critical, everyone says that. Does that mean that if outside Canada, there is no point looking for a job ?
[09-08-2007,16:50]
[***.207.38.125]
CBV333 |
(in reply to: IT jobs)
"In Canada" theory is not only valid for Canada. It is universal out of common sense. First of all, a local guy should be more familiar to the job tasks/standards. Secondly, Why would somebody be interested to hire yoy if you are not even in the country? He may feel interest only if you are someone very exceptional or he can´t find suitable local candidates over a period of time. In job market, competion is everywhere. Specially in Canada, thanks to the ongoing Superfluous immigration it is very acute in general.
Even within Canada, for an example, an employer in Alberta will first try to look for somone within the city or province. In that way he also can save possible relocation cost.
[09-08-2007,17:04]
[***.254.208.242]
Departed_Canadian |
(in reply to: IT jobs)
Departed_Canadian
I suppose that somehow the "in Canada theory" is right for other countries though in my case through academia I found temporary jobs from UK in Japan from Japan in USA and while in USA from state to state ... but yes maybe because they could not find suitable candiates.
Now this year I am trying to find a job in Canada from USA but this time I will stay forever in Canada so it is different than my previous searches.
However I don´t see the problem of being in USA for finding Canada jobs. Obviously it is natural to look for "more local" candidates first but then what´s wrong in looking into the US candidates then?
I had a few months ago a job interview in Edmonton and the guy just called me on my cell here in USA. It was a University job so perhaps it is a different case .. I don´t know.
Everyone says "find a job before landing it is safer" but then everyone says "it is almost impossible to find one without being in Canada" then others says "well that´s the plan since CIC ask you to have funds for one year"
Well overall I think that going to Canada without a job is still risky though I guess many don´t have a choice, when it is time to move, it is time to move.
I guess there is no real solution to this issue.
[09-08-2007,17:46]
[***.207.38.125]
CBV333 |
(in reply to: IT jobs)
The answer I actually I explained before; in Canada, realistic picture is there are just too many seals fishing in the same pond. So, I unless you are very special, employers won´t feel much interested to contact you when you are abroad. Simply, they have too many local candidates readily available. Competition is simply unthinkable. being born in a 3rd world country I have the bad luck of having relatives/friends all over the world, I don´t believe that professional job market is so worse in any other developed countries.
Above all, for some reasons Canadian employers are obsessed with "Canadian Experience" only. Theoritically, they consider US credentials equivalent, but practically they don´t. This simple fact I had to realize by spending some valuable years out of my life. when I moved from US to Canada I was also told that US degree/expericnes are well accepted in Canada. it is just matter of time. So, my feeling was may be I would be paid lower, but at least I wouldn´t have any problem in finding a job. That was the worse mistake I committed in my life. Matter of time even was not over even after I got my 2nd Masters from their best school, U of T. I was kept saying many more never ending excuses..like now your field is not in demand (in that sense except physicians nothing in demand)..you have to switch your proffession..go to Alberta...So, now I´m in square 1, that is in US. Life is a short spanned single event. I can´t experiment it too much, specially with family who depends on me.
My field was not IT, your case may be a little better depending on your field. But don´t expect a lot better. Prepare for the worse, which alo was suggested by Jim. I always suggest you to try with canadian address so that you at least would get the feeling of job market as if you are in Canada physically. Better to know the battle field before your enter, isn;t it? I wish you good luck in Canada.
[09-08-2007,18:11]
[***.254.208.242]
Departed_Canadian |
(in reply to: IT jobs)
As an employer, you are faced with a skill and manpower shortage. Do you want someone that is familiar with the environment, skills and local market so they can hit the ground running, or do you have the luxury of inviting someone to work for you that may very well need several months or more to make mistakes and find their way around.
That is the perceived risk someone takes in hiring a person without Canadian experience. There is no incentive from the government to take those risks or to offset the cost of reduced productivity... so it is much easier to say ´we are looking for Canadian experience´
Unless you are responding to a national or international search for candidates, being in Canada and being willing to be less picky about that FIRST job until you have found your feet is the best strategy.
[09-08-2007,18:38]
[***.20.127.20]
Anonymous |
(in reply to: IT jobs)
Thanks to all your replies. That was a really good discussion. I guess my dilemma is exactly what CBV333 articulated:
"find a job before landing it is safer" but then everyone says "it is almost impossible to find one without being in Canada"
It´s a chicken & egg situation. Don´t know which one is better to do first.
[10-08-2007,02:45]
[***.99.204.99]
Sammy |
How it used to be . (in reply to: IT jobs)
Sammy :
I´m old enough, at age 60, to be able to look back at how things "used to be in Canada " as far as immigration goes.
After WW2, in the 1950´s, men would come to Canada by ship, with a suitcase and perhaps $100. They had a address of a friend, or a family member, in some part of Canada, and a train ticket to get there from the port where they got off the ship. NO English, no formal education, not even able to read or write their OWN language, in some cases.
ANY job, was gladly taken up, and they worked as much as they could, to save up enough money to get a small flat and buy some furniture, so that maybe two years later, they could pay for their wife and kids to come to Canada. by ship. Working all day plus nights and weekends, at a second or a third job, they lived wisely and cheaply, with no movies nor nights out at the bar. They stood on the main street talking to their new friends, at night and finding out about better jobs that paid more per hour. They learned to speak English and they learned how to do many types of skills to be more employable.
They sacrificed and worked hard, to be able to " make it in a new land ", and they never looked back home, and in many cases, they didn´t go back home, for twenty years or more, until they were able to afford the trip, in grand style.
The moral of this story ? You have it much easier now, even if you don´t think so.
Jim Bunting. Toronto.
[10-08-2007,11:02]
[**.99.152.2]
Canadian Citizen |
(in reply to: IT jobs)
Hi Jim,
I think you provided a great historic description, and I surely agree with you that people who are not qualified would probably pass through the same scenario even today, do you think in the 1950´s any qualified doctors came into Canada ? And if yes do you think they had to go thru´ the same as an uneducated laborer ? You see my point ?
Other professions maybe different, but as far as IT goes, I can tell you for sure that as long as you can communicate with your peers, there is absolutely no difference working in the US, Canada or any other place, so I think its an injustice to demand "Canadian Experience" from a person who has worked in the US for say 10 yrs, because that person has equal (if not better) amount of experience to deal with day to day situations.
[10-08-2007,11:38]
[***.242.242.2]
Raj |
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