scrubbedexpat091

The city offices are near the airport but not right next to the airport, but the postal code you used is indeed listed on the city's site for their mailing address.

The photo shows approx where city hall is in relation to the airport.

Souvy

You did. It's next to the airport.

Let's say I have 300 postcodes to look at.

About one minute a pop. That is about a half day of work, to weed out people that might cost me thousands.

Seems cheap to me.

Siouxie

Easier still to have a list of the first part of postcodes (within the area that you are recruiting in) that are acceptable, surely?

scrubbedexpat091

Sounds good. I know nothing really about hiring and seems to be conflicting info out there about so much, never know what to do...lol

BristolUK

Fair enough.

Souvy

Of course it is.

I am one of the older posters, so I'm always right.

MillieF

It never occurred to me till Siouxie said that she didn't include an address to not include mine! Thank you Siouxie I'm in Fredericton...it's the size of Brighton hits The Walking Dead!

Really appreciated

MarkG

On holiday one year, I tried sending a postcard to just my name and post code in the UK.

It did get there.

Aviator

8550 Young Rd
CHILLIWACK BC V2P 8A4

https://www.canadapost.ca/pca/

On the other hand, I likley would not bother for an application and would only consider it for an interview if short of applicants or the applicant had something that was of particular interest in the way of skills or experience.

scrubbedexpat091

I really think overall I have too many barriers at this point to be employed. 2 years almost of not working, lots of gaps, no skills to speak of, low education.

I don't have a whole lot going for me, and I am not sure employment will ever come my way again.

Stinkypup

No JS- you have pointed out barriers which cannot be ignored but a lot of people get jobs having had extended periods away from work, often away from the workplace as a result of mental health problems. as you can imagine, we come across a lot of patients with both physical and mental health problems-around us certainly is not overflowing with jobs be they skilled or jobs which don't require special skills.

With determination and some guidance, they do find work, they may not want to stay in the initial jobs long-term but ultimately they then progress having used these jobs as a stepping stone and thereby, produce continuity of jobs which looks better on resumes and then go on from there climbing up the ladder to get to jobs that they actually do want to do.

It must be very hard sometimes for you talking on this forum about jobs, looking for jobs and what other people are doing, I can very much appreciate how this might feel. I am sure that you get very frustrated. I sometimes wonder whether your quest for an ideal area is just simply a request for Nirvana-nowhere is ideal,there are some places which really are not good for you- perhaps they are the ones to avoid but to be honest most places have something to offer if you look deep enough-obviously the accommodation at a reasonable price is crucial to you both as well as accommodation for the menagerie including Charlee!

What I am trying to say is that other people have had these perceived barriers put in front of them and they have managed to progress. Difficult certainly, mental health issues often similar to yourself and indeed sometimes worse but I am trying to instill in that no one will write you off unfortunately, if you do develop a bit of a nihilistic attitude, I know it is tempting, you will just stay away from trying to work-you will continue to drift on to enforced alternative destinations and accommodation with little prospect of employment and consequently being a poorly self-esteemed and unhappy chap -not a great combination for your morale and at mental health

No one will write to you off, you just needs to be determined, to continue and get out there and look, obviously rejection when you apply for jobs is very hard, this happens to everybody and I would be amazed if there was one-person on this forum who hasnt had a significant rejection issue in their lives, commonly more than one I think your attitude towards driving needs to change, not large distances just so that you are a little more mobile locally if this coincides with your wife's needs driving wise.this will increase your range slightly you don't have to drive to Vancouver-I feel that this thought and plan was suspect and unsustainable both from the strain of driving as well as financial reward

I know I keep on harping back to the dog walking business but I think that that is one that you really seriously need to consider and not dismiss. Local, you don't need any additional training-there may be some free training at the local Dog training clubs which is frequently free just so that you can handle unfamiliar dogs and also how to expertly and safely handle more than one dog which is not your own. You may also then get to know the dog owners and in the canine environment that you would then be in, you may well get potential clients without any advertising needed! This would certainly be a bonus! I'm wondering whether perhaps someone from community futures might give you some guidance on this-if not them, another organisation to try and help you buildup a basic business plan for this possible small business setup. I really cannot say that there should be any significant large setup expenses, cheap advertising should be very easy if not free putting up advert's particularly in vet surgeries,pet shops etc. Facebook also, people then start looking when other of their friends are using the service and your reputations spreads. This was done by our initial dog walker when me moved into Canada. Then buildup slowly, only taking an work when you feel comfortable. This certainly should not start ramping up stress with you. Start gentle and hopefully that will be less likely to happen as you can more or less choose the hours.

Just some thoughts-I think you need a little bit of an injection of optimistic spirits-clearly the cold weather has been doing your head in and cabin fever seems to be settling! Good luck-Pick our brains if needs be, as you have seen on the pets thread there are so many dog owners on this forum and I am sure that they would readily volunteer advice to you. I would still perhaps look to local advice bureaus if they don't cost anything to try and help you out.
Good luck-winter is a great time to plan-it is to damn cold for anything else!

Dorothy

The only thing I would add to the most excellent post above is that the daily exercise dog walking would provide would be a very good thing for you JS. I know for myself when I was at a very low place recently my partner forcing me to get out and exercise was a real godsend.

As for the address on a resume, I only have my name, email address and mobile phone number. A potential employer doesn't need to know where I live until I'm offered a job. The commute is my problem, not theirs.

DandNHill

My two additions...

I don't put my address on my resume. Also if you apply for example through Indeed their website hides it anyway...

Ive been doing a bit of dog boarding. I use a site called dogvacay.com. You can set up a profile and people contact you about boarding. You can also do dog walking and other dog related services. They take their cut and provide insurance. Very like Airbnb.
Check it out...

Stinkypup

I absolutely agree with this, exercise is very good for both mental and physical health
Looks like a good resource. Interesting. In JS's case, I think he should just concentrate on dog walking - I think his landlord may have issues with a pack of pounds in the apartment! It certainly would though be helpful for other people considering this-I spotted the other post about somebody tried to set up dog boarding in Nova Scotia-if I ever get bored of trying to heal the sick, I wouldn't mind doing that job!

Apologies for the usual typing areas-I have a man cold and it was late!
Any thoughts on our suggestions JS?

Tigger1

Have you ever tried Open Door Group? They offer programs to help people get back into work, they have employers they work with and help support employers who hire people with disabilities (both physical and mental) and other barriers to employment. Could be worth checking out? Open Door Group