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Job opportunities+salary for IT Project Manager in Vancouver

Job opportunities+salary for IT Project Manager in Vancouver

Old Jul 6th 2016, 12:44 pm
  #1  
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Question Job opportunities+salary for IT Project Manager in Vancouver

Hi all,

My partner and I are (considering) relocating to Vancouver. He already has job offer but I would start my job search upon arrival and would like to the know the probability that I could secure an appropriate position and the corresponding salary expectations.

I am an (IT) Project Manager with 3 years work experience (at Ericsson and some smaller companies) and a Masters (in Chemistry though). I am 25, British, but speak French and have an international study/work background.

I would be looking for an intermediate project management position, preferably in IT but I would consider other industries.

As far as I can tell from Linkedin, Glassdoor, etc. there is a fair amount of growth and opportunity, though it is more about who you know rather than only applying online.

I would love to hear thoughts from people on the ground!

Thanks in advance!
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Old Jul 6th 2016, 4:06 pm
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Default Re: Job opportunities+salary for IT Project Manager in Vancouver

The economy of the Metro Vancouver/Lower Mainland region is doing quite nicely at the moment. It is as good a time as any to find work. You are right that getting to know people and getting yourself known will not harm your career or future prospects. Read the wiki article on networking Networking-Canada : British Expat Wiki. It is something to work on from day one but it is not the only way to get work. People fresh of the boat do find work from other sources (online, classifieds, agencies etc.). Linked In can be a valuable tool to network from afar.

Different industries have different pay grades. It is hard to be specific but at an intermediate level with limited experience I would guess at something around $80,000* pa, but it is just a guess. One of the objectives of initial networking is to find the range of salaries in your target market. Most employers will ask you your salary expectation rather than tell you what they are prepared to pay. If you know the market range you can pitch for something that will be attractive to the employer without being exploited. You are at a disadvantage to locals as you do not have a network to fall back on so it is always good to be flexible. Getting one job makes the next one much easier to find as you will have valuable "Canadian experience" and a reference to give.

Talking of references, these are a large part of hiring culture. Many employers want an informal, off the record, conversation with a former employer. You can help yourself if you can find a former boss who will be willing to do this. The British manner of, "person X worked here from date to date, earned X in Y role, and that is all we are prepared to disclose" sounds like, "person X is poison and I would not touch them with a barge pole" to someone expecting a friendly chat.

* This is for Vancouver. Salaries are less the further you go from downtown - but rents are usually cheaper.
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Old Jul 7th 2016, 10:44 am
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Default Re: Job opportunities+salary for IT Project Manager in Vancouver

Hi,

Myself and my partner are moving to vancouver in 3 weeks from scotland. Im a project manager, with experience in NHS, IT, Ship Building. I start my new position on august 15th with a salary of $90k, to be honest the position is a very slight step down from my previous position but i figure that is due to my lack of canadian experience. I found my job on linkedin and had an extensive interview process as it was all over the phone/skype ...... interviewed with 6 different people. In terms of references canada seems to be a little different from the UK, in the UK we tend to just ask for this via email. For my role in canada they called my 2 most recent project directors. My partner had a similar experience, he had 2 skype interviews and they called his most recent employers before making him the offer.

In total it took us 5months to apply and get offered our jobs. Hope this helps alittle

Good luck with your move
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Old Jul 9th 2016, 7:23 pm
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Default Re: Job opportunities+salary for IT Project Manager in Vancouver

Hi wow thanks so much for these posts, it is really useful to get some genuine up-to-date info!
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