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Canadian employment search
British immigrant Maxine Fyffe-Roberts explains how she and husband Mark went about looking for suitable jobs in Mississauga, Ontario
We had arrived safely in Canada on 28th August, 2005. Our eldest daughter, Hannah had quickly settled into her new school, so by October 2005 employment -seeking became our primary focus. As part of our planning and preparation we had determined a budget to meet our initial needs for a maximum six-month period, with a view, that we would secure employment within that time.
We had an unequivocal sense of optimism and confidence, so much so, in fact, that we did not factor in a contingency plan should our unemployment continue beyond six months.
Prior to leaving the UK, my husband Mark and I had our qualifications validated by the respective Canadian professional regulatory bodies. In my case this was the Canadian Association of Social Workers and for Mark the Ontario Association of Child and Youth Counsellors. This certainly boosted our confidence and provided a sense of relief and security in the knowledge that we could gain employment in our respective fields through the recognition of our existing qualifications and work experience, further supported by the fact that additional training or conversion courses were not required upon our arrival in Canada.
If you are seeking employment in Social Work or Child and Youth Work it is worth paying a visit to Charity Village, Social Work Jobs and Workopolis - all three websites advertise a range of posts in the Social Care field. For teaching or teaching assistant positions visit the District School Board website for the area you are relocating to. In our case this was Peel Schools.
Polished and updated CVs in hand, we began the task of applying for positions within our related fields, buoyant that interviews would soon follow. Three weeks later, however, having submitted a number of applications with CVs and covering letters, we were aghast and bewildered to find that no responses were forthcoming. We were worried that our bubble may finally have burst, and that we would we need to execute a contingency plan, whereby should our finances continue to deplete Mark would have to return to the UK to keep us afloat and our dreams alive.
We had not intended for all our funds to be used on daily living expenses. Indeed, our future goals included investment projects. Slightly shaken, but still quite undeterred, we sought information from local sources – for example the Central Mississauga Library, the community / leisure Centre and the Ontario Early Years Centre. We were able to glean details of a number of organisations that provide information and support to Canadian newcomers. One such organisation is the Employment Resource Service, the Canadian equivalent of the Job Centre back in Britain. It offers a range of services and short courses that include resumé (CV) writing, electronic applications, interview techniques, knowledge of the Canadian labour market and much more.
We attended a one-day covering letter and resumé writing course; this undoubtedly represented a critical turning point in our job search. The course enabled us to quickly realise that the current format of our UK CVs was not the acceptable style in Canada. Employers preferred a more streamlined, succinct format no longer than two pages. We subsequently adapted our CVs to this style and set about the task of job hunting once again. I sat with great trepidation as I clicked the send button on the computer, which would transport my newly formatted resumé – as well as our hopes and dreams – for the first time. Within 30 minutes I received a follow up call which turned into an initial telephone interview and then a set date for a structured second interview two days later. Ultimately I was offered and accepted a Social Worker position on 25th November 2005. The whole process from application to interview to job offer took just five working days. Mark also received positive responses having applied for teaching assistant positions with the Catholic and Public District School Boards. In fact, he was offered positions with both. Ultimately, however, he accepted the latter offer as the location of the school was closer to home.
A great deal of consideration had been given to commuting times and distance from home. Whilst we had applied for positions in downtown Toronto (approximately a one-hour commute during the rush hour), our preference was to remain local to Mississauga. After all, we had left the hustle and bustle of London for a better quality of life. Fortunately, my post and, as previously mentioned, Mark's position enabled us to work in Mississauga. Mark's commute amounted to just 20 minutes from home and mine 25. With our first Christmas approaching we were able to breathe a huge sigh of relief coupled with reducing anxiety levels.
Ensuring our resumés were composed in an acceptable style was crucial to the success of gaining timely employment. However, equally important was the ability to acquire evidence of 'Canadian Experience' and to provide a Canadian reference. The request for 'Canadian Experience' by employers at the application and interview stage can prove to be a major barrier to successful employment. In my opinion, great emphasis, effort and pre-planning must be given to securing a volunteer position within an organisation where you can showcase your skills (particularly communication and interpersonal) in a tangible and demonstrative manner. The method I used to overcome this hurdle was to volunteer at Hannah's school one morning per week. After completing a Police Record Search – for which there is no charge as a volunteer (for a paid position the cost is CDN$45) – I worked in the main office undertaking the safety arrival programme for one hour, followed by assisting in Hannah's classroom for the remainder of the morning session. I began volunteering in September 2005; this enabled me to accumulate three month's volunteering experience prior to requiring a reference, which the school Principal was more than happy to provide upon my request for one in November 2005. By December 2005, our Canadian adventure and journey was truly shaping up, we were now about to embark on the challenge and excitement of purchasing a car and house hunting... but that's a story for another time.
Maxine and Mark can be contacted here by email
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