WORKING IN CANADA

 HOW TO INCREASING YOUR POSSIBILITIES 

 ● PREPARATION BEFORE COMING TO CANADA

The fact of getting a visa as a “skilled worker” in Canada doesn’t imply that you will get a good job in this Country. You go through a required score system, which is just a preventive and selection measure based on the information you turn in. It is almost sure that nobody is waiting for you to give a you a decent  job.

Many newcomers are successful. Many others are – and will be – frustrated when they try to find a job easily and are unable to do so. It is no easy task, as finding a good job is difficult even for well educated native Canadians. There is some assistance, but there is no guarantee of a good level job position.

You must know that skilled workers and professionals, need a level and knowledge assessment in most cases (of the ones brought from their countries of origin) for them to be recognized and homologated in Canada by the professional councils that certify that  the knowledge and experience you have are equivalent to the ones here.

Before you apply, you must assess your transferable skills, essential to find a job position in Canada. You may find out that you need special training, or some technological upgrade in your career, or you may want to change your path in your profession. In some cases a low level of English may be a problem, and you will need an overall improvement to achieve adequate communication skills.

On the other hand, you should learn enough about the immigration process, adaptation and job searches. You should know about the obstacles and limitations to get a job before hand, you must know what it is expected from you as worker, how to get a job, and many other related aspects of you life as a new comer in Canada.

In conclusion, if you want to be successful in your immigration project to Canada and get a better future for your family, YOU MUST know the challenges, difficulties and opportunities you will find on your way, and should mainly HAVE A PLAN, concrete and organised, of activities TO DEVELOP, focusing on your goal. You must study English, as much as possible and take technical upgrade courses in your country, before and during the period of application for your visa, and perform other related activities before coming. If you choose the uncertain path of coming with no planning, preparation or research on these subjects, you future will be uncertain.

To help you to plan your immigration process to Canada, we have prepared a PLAN thoroughly, which has been followed and tried successfully  by other Professionals and Skilled Workers in their moving and job searches in Canada. This PLAN is found in Chapter # 8, THE PLAN.

● NO CANADIAN EXPERIENCE

There are several ways of getting some Canadian experience for Professionals and skilled workers to write in their résumés.

One way is being a volunteer and offer yourself to work for free for a short time in a company in a job position where you could perform successfully. That practice will make you  confident in what you expect from your performance and will provide you with some contacts with other people in your field.

Another way is applying for an internships to get experience in your field. You can get this kind of practice by looking for direct contact with some companies. Your letter asking for an internship must be clear regarding your aims and on what you may offer the company. You must include your résumé, where your educational details and job experience will be highlighted, especially those that may be relevant for that company. Make sure your résumé, and application letter are read through and analysed by experts before sending them.

As hundreds of people from all over the world arrive in Canada everyday , it is necessary to persuade your possible employers that you are efficient to do a job, and an honourable, intelligent, reliable, adaptable and easygoing person.  Saying that is not enough, you will have to prove it with sound examples and references about your experience, and talk of your best achievements. You must get organised, write your memories, and rehearse what you would say in an interview. Even though you may have some limitations in your command of English, if you organise your script and practise it many times, you will improve your performance in interviews and you will see the good results quite soon.

● NETWORKING

As a newcomer, you may face the disadvantage of lacking of a good networking that is to say, a net of friends or acquaintances who may refer you to possible employers. You will have to start building your own networking by meeting more people, enrolling on courses and diverse activities, knowing your community, and joining sport, cultural, or professional groups, etc.

●  LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES

The best way of learning English are the courses LINC o ESL  with instructors, and by the constant practice in everyday life. TV, and radio broadcasts will  help you  improve your listening comprehension abilities, reading magazines and newspapers improve your grammar and reading comprehension. The mastery of a language is an ability that requires time to be acquired. If you have a real interest, by the daily usage, the use of dictionaries and books, and the true desire to improve, you will reach the necessary level to communicate efficiently at work in a short time.

● SEEK HELP!

It is advisable to get the assistance of experienced qualified people to be competitive and skilful in the preparation of resumes, cover letters, interviews and in the different stages in the job search. If you have difficulty in defining your technical abilities or  your job profile, look for the advice of a professional career counsellor who will advise you according to the Canadian Job market. There are many agencies offering training courses and group support for newcomers, in order to get confident and self-assured while you get the advise of those who know the Canadian environment.

- ASSESS YOURSELF AND WRITE YOUR JOB PROFILE

Before you start looking for a job, moreover, even before applying for a visa to live in Canada,  you should honestly and clearly assess your abilities, interests, education and aims. Independently from the fact that the Canadian government may give you a permanent resident visa, you must be sure about your own job skills and abilities, which you will offer to Canadian employers.

Remember that having a technical education and job experience in a certain field is an essential requirement to come to Canada as a Skilled Worker. Moreover, the basis of the immigration system is to bring people who have experience and transferable skills, that will allow them to integrate into the Canadian job market and  facilitate the progress of the country.

Although a technical university degree and some years of job experience may give you the opportunity to come to Canada, they don’t ensure you a job like the one you had in your country. Owing a degree in your country doesn’t guarantee that you will work as a professional in Canada. For example, some engineers wrongly  believe that they will get a job just because they say that they are engineers. In reality, they may not even be able to identify themselves as such, or sign documents as engineers until they don’t get the certification and homologation of their degree by the Canadian engineer professional council. However, there are many occupations in industries that may be taken by engineers or technicians with no need for a license, where what the employer requires is a certain extent of experience, knowledge, and the necessary hard and soft skills.

As a professional or skilled worker newcomer in Canada you may find out that you are not immediately able to work in the same field or occupation than in your country. The importance of recognising your own transferable skills necessary to perform a certain job, may be useful for a different job or activity.

-  ASSESS YOUR ABILITIES AND TRANSFERABLE SKILLS

You should know and assess  you own abilities and skills, know what you want, what you would like to do, and above all, what you have to offer a Canadian company or employer. It is also time  to revise your own goals and to take technical upgrade or training courses in any area of your interest, if necessary.

Make an inventory of your main transferable abilities and skills. Think of your past experience and analyze how you could transfer them into the Canadian market. These are some of the many examples of transferable skills:

-          ANALYZING,  situations, events, problems or data

-          ASSEMBLING, equipment or information

-          CALCULATING, Math computations or risk assessments

-          CONSTRUCTING, objects or buildings

-          CREATING, artistic creations, inventions, new ideas, products.

-          DESIGNING, products or systems, using computer and CAD software.

-          ESTIMATING, costs, money, physical space.

-          INSPECTING OR EXAMINING, physical objects, products, financial statements

-          INTERPRETING engineering drawings, technical terminology, other language.

-          INVESTIGATING, information,  causes, sequence of events

-          MEETING THE PUBLIC, receptionist, salesperson, product representative, etc.

-          OPERATING equipment, machines or vehicles.

-          PROGRAMMING, equipment or activities.

-          REPAIRING equipment, furniture, vehicles, accessories, appliances.

-          RESEARCHING, obtaining information from libraries, internet, surveys.

-          SELLING products, ideas, houses, cars

-          TEACHING, formal or informal, your own language, etc.

-          TROUBLESHOOTING, equipment, situations, productions.

-          USING INSTRUMENTS, measuring, engineering, medical or scientific.

Once you made the inventory of your “transferable skills” make a list of the most outstanding skills that make you a good candidate for the job you would like to do.

This evaluation will help you assess you education, experience, interests, employability skills, etc, and will be useful to know whether you are ready to start your job search in Canada or if your plan will need some adjustments and more preparation time.

STAGES FOR YOUR OWN SELF-ASSESSMENT

1.      CONSIDER YOUR OWN CHARACTERISTICS. According to the previous point, state which are the main personal characteristics you have, which are essential for being successful in certain occupations. You should know which essential features are most required for the employers in your area. This knowledge will be really useful when you search in what industrial sectors you may be employed.

2.      MAKE A LIST OF YOUR ACADEMIC RECORD, EXPERIENCE AND TRANSFERABLE SKILLS. Assess the list critically to state what training you may be missing. How updated your technical knowledge in your area is, etc. Write what upgrade or training you would need to be competitive in your field, to give your career a new whole direction. Look for information, check the requirements for the certification of your qualifications, its restrictions, and the most desirable job profile for Canadian employers.

3.      MAKE A LIST WITH YOUR COURSE OF ACTION. The best way to make sure you will achieve your goal is to  make a plan in several stages. You should focus on levelling the most relevant weak points. Set realistic aims and devote you effort, money and time to reach them, especially English, and Technical upgrading courses. Your future, and your family’s future in Canada will depend to a great extend on the effort you make in this regard.

Identifying your skills and abilities is an essential part of the whole process. You should be aware of your own skills, and you will have to show you have the necessary knowledge and abilities to do a specific job to you possible employers. You must be aware of and self-assure of these skills, before telling somebody else about them.

Getting a job won’t be easy for most newcomers. Nobody will give it to you for free. You will have to compete with other qualified applicants to get the job position. To do that, you must give the employer enough reasons to hire you.

You should have the ability to market yourself to an employer. You must show him/her that you have the skills, attitude, temper, and interest that will make you successful in that company or organisation. You must practice and achieve a profile showing the following aspects:.

● VALUES, what things are important for you (punctuality, respect, etc.)

● BELIEFS, what set ideas guide your actions and how you live your whole life.

● INTERESTS, what the things you enjoy and gratify you are.

● TEMPER, the way you react and interact with the world around you.

Beyond getting that specific job, knowing those aspects will facilitate you to know how you work, what the best work place for you is, the type of job you enjoy most, and the kind of people with whom you work best. To sum up, they show to a great extent who you are.

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