Quick question on applying for jobs in Canada from the UK.

My other half has applied for two jobs with separate companies using their on line application system in line with the requirements stated per their website. I have noticed on all the wiki guidance and forum posts on here that people are advocating telephoning companies to speak to them directly. Whilst we have done that for a number of other companies with no online application system should we also be calling those companies where we have followed their online requirements.

Obviously we will do whatever is needed to help but don't want to annoy by applying properly and badgering them on the phone!

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Rob

I'm of the opinion that it boils down to credibility.

What impression will the employer have of your application? - do you have any immigration status that will permit you to accept a job?, are you available to interview within a reasonable timescale?, would employing you be worth the potential extra hassle regarding paperwork? etc etc.

You're at a huge disadvantage being on the wrong side of the Atlantic, so you need to make the employer feel comfortable with deciding to take a chance on you, or come to the decision that you're really serious about moving continents for a new job.

With all that in mind, formulate a strategy that will be most convincing for the employer to consider you seriously. If you need sponsorship, it may mean being able to clearly communicate what the implication is for the employer with regard to paperwork etc.

This is not intended to contradict what R I C H said, but rather to add to it.

If you complete online job applications, respond to advertisements in newspapers, and so on, you must follow the instructions exactly. If the instructions tell you not to phone, then don't phone. As you correctly surmise, it'll annoy prospective employers if you fail to follow their instructions and if you badger them when they have told you not to do so.

Frankly, I would not complete online applications. The reason I say this is that online applications have a predetermined format that does not provide much wiggle room for explaining your situation, for making an impression with the person at the other end of the transaction, and so on. I think the staff member who is assigned the task of checking the online applications will see that it's from someone in the UK, and will be inclined to reject it out of hand.

I think it would be better to behave as if you didn't even know the company had an online application system. Find a human being at that company, and phone them. Don't ask for a job as such. Just say you'll be moving to Canada soon with an open work permit that authorizes you to accept any job with any employer and that you're researching the employment market in your field.

I know, from having just answered a question in another thread, that your partner, to whom this advice is addressed, will be coming to Canada on a spousal open work permit. That should be of some comfort to prospective employers.

But your partner is still not home free. Prospective employers will want to know when she's available to start work. Depending on how much demand there is for people in her occupation, employers may or may not be willing to enter serious discussions unless she's in a position to start working pretty soon. The notice period for a resignation in Canada typically is two weeks, so employers are not accustomed to waiting longer than that. They'll wait, though, if there is red hot demand for people in a certain field, and they find it extremely difficult to find people in that field.

Another disadvantage your partner will face is that, while she'll have an open work permit, it'll be for a limited duration. Any time and effort an employer invests in her (training her in the company's systems or whatever) will benefit the employer for only a couple of years.

Still, the fact that she'll be on an open work permit and they won't have to do any extra paperwork will offset that disadvantage to some extent.

An employer's willingness to go the extra mile really depends on your partner's occupation and how much demand there is for people in that occupation in the part of Canada to which you're moving.

For all these reasons, your partner's phone conversations with potential Canadian employers should be exploratory in tone. She should say she's researching the employment market in preparation for her move to Canada. Then she should gauge the reaction of the person on the other end of the phone and adjust her side of the conversation accordingly.
x