Originally Posted by MrFloyd (Post 11160809)

This is me also, except a little younger ;)

The usual thing with an IEC visa is that you have a wide range of jobs to apply to - it's not tied like a LMO. Having said that the maximum you could be employed for is a year without getting another IEC visa or extending it another way. If you were an employer and someone came over with a year visa (likely less than that by the time you actually get a job), you would be wary of committing a worthwile position to them.

Originally Posted by mazmataz (Post 11161342)

Hey BarrattsMini,

I'll be rounding my two years on a WHV in Canada this May, and intend to do the next WHV in Oz in January 2015, so it looks like we are tag teaming this!

PMM has answered all of the yes/no admin questions so there is no point in going over those again, but I thought that I would contribute my experience with some of the more ambiguous questions...

Is CAD$2500 enough?

I arrived in Vancouver after traveling Canada and the US with about $CAD3000, ready to start my WHV. I will say that I wish I had saved more, but with this amount I managed to stay in a hostel for 2 weeks, pay my first rent + deposit, eat and have semi-decent social life. I didn't get full time employment until after three months, but before then I had some part time temp stuff that kept me going.

Best place for office work?

Like PMM said, the big cities i.e. Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton & Toronto (excluding Ottawa and th QC cities assuming you don't speak French!)

Type of work available?

I can only speak for Vancouver, but I can give you some examples of what me and my friends do. I work at BC Hydro in the Properties department. Of my three roommates one is a window cleaner, one is a warehouse operative and the other is bookkeeper. Other friends have jobs in retail, childminding, event planning and a lot of them work in offices.

There is loads of different work available, however it is notoriously difficult to break into an industry in this city...so if you are looking for career related work, you might find it trickier.

Recruitment Agencies?

Pretty much all of my work has been through agencies. Some that I would recommend would be:

AppleOne
Expert Recruiters
AngusOne
Miles

Hourly wage?

In my experience, work in Vancouver pays pretty well. I am on $21 an hour, which is particularly good. However none of my friends get paid less than $15 an hour, with the average being around $18/hr.

Rent?

I've never rented as part of a couple, but just to give you some ballpark figures...

My first place was a bedroom in a three bedroom house sharing with three others (one couple)...$400/month

Right now it's the same living arrangements, the house was originally designed to accommodate to 2 people and the rent for the whole place is $1900.

Basically if you look around and are willing to hold out you can find good deals on rent.

I hope that helps, if you have any more questions, please feel free to ask!

Originally Posted by beckiwoo (Post 11161771)

In regards to hostels:

I've been to oz and I agree they are horrendous (at least in 2009/2010 they were) , I have been presently surprised at how much nicer they are in North America...they are not IMO in the same league.

Originally Posted by BarrattsMini (Post 11161637)

What is PnP?

7 minutes? That's insane!?

Our visa out here expires Dec 14 2014 but we will likely be in Fiji/Bali at the time hoping to be home for Xmas.

So we are hoping that when they open up we will be available to apply this time around but 7 minutes is a little intense.

Can you sign up through BUNAC or other such websites to hopefully increase your chances of getting a visa?

Originally Posted by BarrattsMini (Post 11161637)

Can you sign up through BUNAC or other such websites to hopefully increase your chances of getting a visa?

Originally Posted by christmasoompa (Post 11162352)

No, makes no difference, they're still getting the visas from the same quota.

HTH.

Originally Posted by BarrattsMini (Post 11165574)

Thanks all.

We are going to do some reading in to it over a few forums and websites and chat with a few of the companies such as BUNAC, just to see what work they offer.

Like I stated it seems to focus primarily on the snow sports work and we have little desire to do that.

We have plenty of time before the flood gates re-open and we really want to feel confident in knowing we can secure office work before we go spending any money

Originally Posted by dbd33 (Post 11160949)

The trick there is to arrive as an ordinary tourist then, when you find a job, do a run to the US border and re-enter on the IEC visa. That way you get one year + job hunting time on the first IEC visa.

Originally Posted by tweed_wearer (Post 11166368)

Good idea but from what I understand, it is not permitted to seek employment if you enter on a tourist visa. As such, I think you could be sent back if they discover your cv, certificates and other docs. Might be a very low risk but I think it is worth mentioning

Originally Posted by tweed_wearer (Post 11166368)

Good idea but from what I understand, it is not permitted to seek employment if you enter on a tourist visa. As such, I think you could be sent back if they discover your cv, certificates and other docs. Might be a very low risk but I think it is worth mentioning

Originally Posted by Siouxie (Post 11166641)

All you need to do is explain to the CBA officer, on entry, that you have an IEC LOI and that you want to look for a job before activating it to give you a full year of working.

You have to be honest with the CBA officer or else you may be refused on the grounds of dishonesty.

:)