JUST LANDED IN CANADA

How can I get a Job?

Not interested in candidates Just Off the Boat!

No Canadian Experience………..

We are looking for candidates with good, solid Canadian Experience – Hiring Client

Candidate is overqualified! – Hiring Client

No Canadian designation! – Hiring Client

These are comments that I hear from the Hiring Managers of Companies that are looking to hire. Canada has opened its doors to migrants from all over the world; however, it has yet to make proper provisions so that these individuals coming in, do not face the comments mentioned above.

I am going to share with you some tips that will help you to get into the workforce faster. Let me restrict my experiences to the Accounting sector, since this is where I have spent the last 5 years in.

After you have got yourself a PR Card, SIN Number, Bank Account and Health Card, etc, the next major target/objective is to get employed. I have observed that most Accountants/immigrants coming into Canada have the following:

CA or CPA from their country

University Degree of some sort

Good solid work experience

Drive to succeed

(Obviously, these are not good enough for the employers, although they were good enough to get them through the Immigration Process).

FOCUS on the following immediately:

Communication Skills: This is a very important component in your Job Search, no matter which part of the world, you have arrived from. Each immigrant comes in with an Accent in terms of communication and sometimes it becomes very difficult for the Hiring Managers to comprehend or understand their accented version of English. There are programs available thru the Government of Canada –

 Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) Program - http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/newcomer/welcome/wel-22e.html. Make sure that you are exposed to these, so that Communication does not become an obstacle in your employment search.

Equivalency of Qualifications: Please send out a copy of your University Degree to the Organizations eg. http://www.wes.org/ca/ that will give you a Canadian Equivalency that you can now use on your resume. For Chartered Accountants and Certified Public Accountants, I would certainly recommend enrolling in the CA, CGA or the CMA program, after they have got their evaluation done thru the respective Association. The addition of these Canadian standings on the resume, will add a lot more perceived value in the eyes of the Hiring Companies. E.g.CA from another country is considered at par with CGA level 3/4

Software knowledge: It is critical that you are exposed to the common Accounting Softwares used like ACCPAC, Navision, Great Plains, JDE, Hyperion, FRX, and Crystal Reports. In case you already have exposure to SAP, BAAN or other ERP systems, please highlight these on the resume, as these skills are in high demand and command a premium.

Customized Resume: Please DO NOT send the same resume to multiple opportunities i.e. Send different resumes for an Accountant v/s an Analyst. I strongly recommend that you have a detailed version of your resume on file for you to customize, every time you respond to an Ad on Job Boards like Workopolis, Monster, etc. Alternatively keep various versions of your resume available, highlighting different components of your experience. E.g. Accountant, Analyst, Finance, Audit, etc

Partner with Agencies: Register with agencies in your area of specialization or function. Partnering with the right agencies/staffing organizations can give you that added leverage required to get your foot in the door, even if it is on a Contract basis only. If not for anything else, DO IT to get that so called CANADIAN EXPERIENCE.

Follow UP: Be proactive and follow up with the companies that you have applied to – it shows initiative. Conduct some research and call the Hiring Managers of the Company directly and request a FACE TO FACE meeting after giving them a brief half or one minute introduction, to your skills and experience. Make sure you have prepared this intro in advance.

MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL, BE POSITIVE AND BELIEVE THAT IT WILL HAPPEN.

 Immigrant Coach