The majority of them were perfectly educated and experienced enough to remain here if they'd applied themselves to the process. For some, Canada was just a passing experience in life, others didn't care for the country enough to make it their long term home, some chose to move to a different province, and a handful got fired. Trying to determine their ultimate intent during the interview process was impossible. Skills and experience were the only criteria that mattered.

My experience between a potential transient IEC worker with no proven ties to Canada, and a PR/citizen, is that the IEC worker will be most likely to move on soonest.

The above sounds like stuff I can make a point of addressing where plausible. Thanks again for your insight

You are going to find that any commitment you can give is only an intention. If when the time comes you don't get a permanent visa that is the end of that.

As an employer, I am only interested in filling a position that serves my business. If I can do that with someone locally, that is and has to be my first option. Any employee can leave at any time, however a temporary one, regardless of their intentions is still temporary until they actually have permanent residence in their hand.

Lots of folks have made us all sorts of commitments, many they never came though on. If I feel an applicant is trying to deceive me on an application to get an interview, then 'oh by the way' to me that says a lot about their character and how they may turn out as an employee.

All you can do is write a cover letter stating your goals, your immigration status and your intentions to become a permanent resident. If you are up front, you may lose some opportunities, but if you get hired with full disclosure, it is off to a good start.

If you discount employers who don't understand the immigration process, you have just limited your employment options to a very small number of opportunities. As RICH stated, many don't, which means very few do.

End of the day this is just my perspective and may not reflect that of others.

I appreciate that stating my intentions will only get me so far, I'll do as you suggest and make it clear in cover letters without pushing it too much. If I then do get to talk to them, I'll present myself as someone who is unlikely to give up and run home when the culture shock sets it, which is the case, I've moved around quite a bit in my life already, so homesickness is less of a concern.

I certainly won't be discounting them, if anything some of these employers will hopefully be more willing to give me a shot. I'm thinking smaller companies with less complex projects/training might be a good place to focus. If the pay is less they probably be expecting some staff turnover anyway. That make sense?

Thanks again for your experience.

Why? Do you think smaller businesses are less discerning? More willing to take risks?


I don't think any sane business operates on the basis of paying less to save a little money, and accepting higher turnover as a consequence. No, that makes little sense.

The recruitment process is time consuming and costly in terms of productivity, administrative overhead and team dynamics. A conscious choice that invites greater turnover as you've suggested isn't a sensible strategy.

Just present yourself in the best way possible to highlight your skills and experience. All this second guessing and analysis is unlikely to be productive. Either you're seen as potentially valuable to a company or not.

I'm not claiming it makes good business sense, but I have worked for companies like that.

And you want to target them? Was your experience that they were good employers?

Well you know, at this stage it's not about furthering my career, it's about getting job experience with the right NOC code.

There are some benefits too, can be more laid back, and a more "they need me more than I need them" situation, but I suppose that wouldn't be the case in this instance.

You may also want to think about job security. The hiring culture in North America can be hire and fire as needs dictate. Zero hour contracts are not unusual in my experience.

Very true. Been having a lot of trouble with zero day contact in the UK recently. I couldn't risk one in Canada as it's a 30 hour week minimum to use the experience for the FSW visa I believe.

But yeah I'll avoid companies who look like they're one bad week away from being insolvent