Shenkor

I’ll begin by apologising, if similar questions has been asked and answered. It’s been almost 2 years since I have been here.
My name is Sammy, 30 year old UK national with 7 years’ of work experience, in Human Resources and Human Resources information systems working in Manchester. I have a BA in business studies, MSc in International business and MA in Human resources management (CIPD associate).
At the start of the year (2014), I have applied for an IEC opportunity, without any expectation of getting an offer. Fortunately my application has been accepted subject to completing all the necessary paperwork (since I am UK participant, the offer is for 1 year).
I have only been to Canada once in 2013 (week-long visit) to Toronto. I completely enjoyed my time there but I suppose it is different when moving there. In the ideal world I would like to move to Canada and start fresh…. Living in the UK has been great but it has become stale and expensive. I don’t have kids and for the moment I am single so no ties to keep me in blighty.
I am unsure (more nervous) how to go about applying for a job in Canada in order to stay there on a permanent basis. My current job will finish by 2016, and so I don’t want to squander this great opportunity.
I don’t know a soul in Canada not even Casper (the friendly ghost!). Any advice/wisdom from your experiences will be gratefully received.

TheAwesomeMatt

Tbh, I'm not sure what type of advice you are looking for. Are you just looking for opinions whether you should just do it or not? Or avenues for permanent residence or whether you would be able to? I've personally attained PR and I'm certainly less educated & younger than you (I only have a BA in Accounting & Finance, so I'm sure you'd be capable of doing it too.

But, anyway, you only have a year to use your IEC permit, so you'd have to head out to Canada before current job finishes in 2016, and especially if you want a second IEC permit (though you have other options if you're not able to get that second one).

And you'll just get to know new people, Canadians are pretty friendly.

Shenkor

Hi TheAwesomeMatt,

Thank you very much for your reply and sharing your experience.

I am looking for advice on how best to go about looking for work starting now. Job sites like monster, adecco and indeed are they the best ones to check?

How best to go about extending my stay beyond the 12 months the IEC allows? What are the other avenues FSW, PNP... what are the requirements for extension of work permit? I appreciate each case is reviewed on it's own merit and no two cases are the same ....but any wisdom?

I am really keen, and i am going ahead with the application process (just have couple of forms to submit, police check and IMM 1295 application form). What i would like to avoid is to come to Canada for a short period and not make the most of my time out there.

Once i leave UK, ideally i wouldn't want to come back given i will have no job to come back to, no flat possibly no mates...etc

Where would be the best place for my sort of Job. I have only been to Toronto, but i hear around Alberta there's a job boom related to the oil industry. How true is that and what is the prospect of getting a HR job? I don't expect to start the equivalent job i am doing in Manchester but in general how in demand HR and HRIS jobs are in Canada?

I don't have a set place in mind. i'll go anywhere that offers me the best opportunity to stay.

Many thanks

JonboyE

Don't bother looking for a job yet. Though you have education and experience you don't seem to be so uniquely qualified (sorry) that an employer would hire you now and then wait months for you to turn up.

Secondly, wanting a job, any job, is not a great way of getting a good job. You are much better off to spend your time researching. What do you want to do? What companies need what you want to do? What can you bring to the table that makes you a better fit than local candidates (and in 99% of cases this is not "we do it better in the UK"). Who are the people who make employment decisions within these organizations? What education and experience is expected of someone in this position? Has anyone in Canada heard of CIPD? Can you Canadianize your qualifications?

When looking for a "career" job your best approach is that the job is the ideal opportunity for you to utilize your skills to help the employer grow their business. Not gizzajob. Of course, there is no reason why you cannot identify 20 or 30 ideal opportunities in different companies/industries.

Also, spend your time between now and then developing contacts within your target industries. Many people find Linkedin useful for this. For information only at the moment! You can turn to them for employment leads when you are ready to get on a plane.

cbrown89

^^^ What he said.

Shenkor

Thanks JonboyE and cbrown89. for the feedback.

Just to clarify my previous posting.... I am not looking for any job, i am looking for similar job to what i am doing currently in HR (HR process analysis and redesign)or in HRIS (coordinator responsible for the functional design of SAP HR software and interfaces (with websites, payroll providers...etc), system administrator (super user) and trainer for 8 of our offices in northern Europe, South Africa and Asia). I doubt i get a similar position right from the get go. If i can, brilliant. if not, i can settle for something less (such as system admin super user, generalist HR, payroll/compensation and benefit officer type of roles). Sadly I have no other type of work experience (such as waiter, bar tender, shop assistant...etc).

Good idea to "Canadianize" my qualification and CV. CIPD is equivalent to CHRP in Canada - i will get started on converting it so that it may become useful once i get there.

Will get going on the networking aspect- that's a really good point i haven't yet looked into it.

I accept my background, skill and experience is nothing special. In your opinion which province/city will be the better place for job opportunities (for my type of experience)? I have been doing internet research but nothing beats in-country knowledge.

Once again thank you for your responses

christmasoompa

As it seems you're asking about job hunting rather than a visa related question, I'll move your thread to the main forum for you and also change the title so it's a bit more specific.

HTH.

Shenkor

Thanks Christmasoompa.
It was both job hunting advice and general advice on IEC processes... as i want to make the most of it.

cbrown89

First of start calling it your Resume haha, Calgary generally has a lot of jobs, I can ask my HR manager if he knows of anything.

Shenkor

Thank you very much! Will begin to learn the correct terminology to use . Happy to adapt my Resume to fit the local demand.

SchnookoLoly

Make sure you read the job hunting section of the wiki. Job hunting in Canada is vastly different to the UK.