With your Insurance background have you tried Insurance companies and brokers?
most brokers and companies will talk to english/british people because they think everyone has worked in Lloyds!!! both Van and Calgary have large insurance industries.
What qualifications do you have from the UK. Although they do not carry over employers do recognise them as ACII and CIP are well known.
i work for Aon in calgary, i dont believe we have any vacancies at the moment but try our website www.aon.com.
i can also let you know the names of the brokers and companies in calgary and the companies based in van.

One thing some of the people who immigrate to Canada do wrong is apply only for one type of job. If you need money, you're competing with all the other immigrants who are in the same boat as you are.

Driving home from work in the NE there are at least two factories I see looking for general labour.

You should consider doing anything you can just to get some money coming in.

I have applied for a few via Agencies but no joy with them!

I am from Ireland and have done 3 of the required 6 so far, they are called CIP at home & here but have been told they are non transferable but I have the principals of insurance and 5 years experience in auto / property behind it.

Yes I know AON we have them in Dublin also! That would be great & if you hear of any vacancies going before they are advertised let me know!

Thanks a mil!

Hi,

I just put down that I have a B.A in Business Studies just to see if it made a difference if I had a degree!

Are your parents still looking for a secretary? I would defo be interested but not in Calgary till the 29th March.

I was picky at the start but now i don't mind at all.Factory work would be super.

re: Canadian experience

My second ever job in Canada was as a recruitment consultant.

One day I asked my boss why the hell employers always asked for Canadian experience.

He said to me, "Because it costs more money to check overseas experience and while a company is vetting a foreigner they get them for cheap."

So while it may be unfair, it's also understandable to a certain extent.

On the bright side, I have noticed that Brits, once hired, don't generally tend to stay at the bottom of the pile very long.

The other big difference in companies attitude to recruitment of a Expat is based largly on experience....

I have had an interview in that when they realised I was a PR and not Citizen they said "Oh I am not sure we can hire you....". I was able to ask why then address those issues. They told me I got the job then never came through with it.....I do wonder if this was a factor.

My last interview was with a company who had just hired a Brit PR and they asked me if I had trouble obtaining police certificate from the UK like their other employee.....they were familiar with the issues associated with hiring a brit but knew they could be worked out.

Haven't caught up with them just lately but will ask next time I speak to them & let u know.

In the meantime, anyone can feel free to check them out: www.corefront.ca

Thank You!

Very true! Brits are generally very hard workers and well educated.

Interesting about the Canadian experience thing, makes sense though I guess.

Mazianne, I am horrified by your posting. I knew that the work market had slumped everywhere, but somehow, had not imagined things were so bad. This really gives me the terrors. Is there nothing in BC? The last time I was in Calgary, admittedly nearly two years ago, every shop/office and outlet were looking for workers. I had thought that I may be able to pick up work reasonably easily, bearing in mind that I'm really not fussy about what I do, and will happily turn my hand to anything from secretarial to cleaning via a factory production line.

Are the agencies not at all helpful? Have you tried cold calling many of the HR departments of large companies near you?

I sincerely wish you the best of luck, don't lose heart, it can be most dispiriting.

Hey Millie,

Don't get me wrong there are jobs but my travel colleagues and I are finding it very hard to pick up work after almost 2 months of constant applying to places.I have spoken to quite a few people & they said whatever about getting work in Vancouver you stand more of a chance getting in Calgary at half the time.Like I said this city is so expensive and you end up spending more when your doing nothing. I have literally stayed in my apartment the last month trying not to spend, only thing I do is stuff thats free like walking Stanley park, going to lynn canyon, walk around the city thats about it! It's pretty shit!

In small business I see it more of w "people like us" issue. This is equally as common in the UK as it is in Canada.

An employer needs certain skills but they also want people who will fit into the organization without unnecessary disruption. People who understand the social interactions that make the team work.

In the UK an employer with an upper middle class background will tend to employ people from the same background to work in the office. Not necessarily through any notion of prejudice, just that it is easier. An oik is seen as a bigger risk.

In Canada small business owners tend to prefer to employ people with Canadian experience. Not necessarily through any notion of prejudice, just that it is easier. An FOTB is seen as a bigger risk.

"White people"?? Oik? FOTB??

I'm not sure what an FOTB is? but.... I have had heaps of experience in life, and offices, and have been at the end of the 'people like us' syndrome here in France till I could burst. I am more than, pretty fluent, have worked at my son's school, as a volunteer and have given my time freely for years. Last year when my husband lost his job, I realised that I would never be accepted. I had thought a was part of the community, quite wrongly.

Mazianne, don't get down. It's bloody depressing. I've just gone through a whole heap of that. The problem is you get fed up and then it just gets worse, all of your enthusiasm evaporates. You've moved there and that's taken a huge amount of effort and energy. You will get through this bit, it's just yet another bloody hurdle to be jumped over. Hang on in, and explore the possibility of Calgary. Best of luck.