Calanteli

Hello everyone!

My husband and I moved to Calgary at the start of September as permanent residents. My husband is an IT professional (data analysis, change management, IT transformation, project lead, etc.) with 6+ years experience. Before our move, my husband was applying to jobs from the UK; however, he did not receive any responses - we were informed by Canadians that this was because he did not have a Canadian phone number, our permanent residency was not confirmed, and he did not have a Canadian address on his CV (basically, no-one was willing to take a risk on him until he was in the country).

Since being in the country, he has had some success getting interviews via personal networking, but he is having no luck getting interviews via the traditional application route. We appreciate that the Canadian job market works different than the UK (and a lot of jobs are actually filled via the networking route). However, we are quite surprised by his lack of success, and wonder what he is 'doing wrong' because every Canadian who has reviewed his CV (including C-level executives at large Canadian companies and recruitment consultants) and was willing to give him feedback has told him that he has a very impressive CV, and there are A LOT of IT jobs being advertised that he fits the bill for. However, the problem seems to be that he is not getting past the HR department in the first instance - for example, he applied for a job at a large telecoms company, but never heard back. A few weeks later, he made a connection with a C-level exec within the company, who was really impressed with his CV and experience (and they also seemed to like him on a personal level), so the C-level exec put my husband forward for an interview for the job that HR previously dismissed him for and he did very well at the interview (unfortunately, a week after the interview, the telecoms company pulled the job that they were recruiting for, so we are back to square one...).

Some things that we have thought of as reasons for why my husband has been having little success job hunting are:

• The recruitment process moves VERY slowly, so we just need to wait and be patient?
• There is something in my husband's CV or cover letter (or there is something missing) that means that HR are dismissing him in the first instance (even though the people who he would actually be working with like him and my husband performs well at the interview stage)?
• Is a lack of professional qualifications an issue? My husband knows how to do everything being requested on the job adverts as a result of experience, but he does not have any professional qualifications (e.g. PRINCE or 6-SYGMA). That said, the jobs that he has been applying for have not specifically requested professional qualifications - are maybe professional qualifications a 'hidden' expectation? He is planning to get some kind of professional qualification, but we cannot afford to fund it ourselves until he has secured a job here.
• People do not believe what is in his CV? My husband is in his early 30s, though the level of work that he did back in the UK (as a result of working for a smaller company) is on par with what 40-50 year olds normally do (reporting to the CEO, reporting to the Board of Managers, dealing directly with high level clients, etc.).
• Companies are not willing to hire him because he has no Canadian work experience? This has not been raised as a potential issue with the Canadians my husband has discussed his predicament with, but who knows...?

Can anyone provide any insight about whether any of the above is correct? Also, I wanted to ask if anyone has any 'inside' knowledge or personal experience about trying to find a job in the IT sector in Calgary, whether anyone has any useful information on what my husband can improve upon to have more success? Also, it would be helpful if someone could share their personal experience of how they ended up getting a job in the IT sector?

Thanks a lot!

Siouxie

Has he read our wiki on job hunting? "No Canadian experience" is very common. Many companies use software to pan through applications - if yours doesn't have the key words they are looking for it will go to one side or in the bin. I presume he has Canadianised his resume? Canada is the land of 'pieces of paper' a lot of the time they only seem interested if you have the required piece of paper (certificate/diploma), even if you have years of experience in doing those tasks - they want proof that you can do it, not just your word.

The experience he has from the UK will count for little in Canada unless he is in a niche profession. It's a case of 'network, network, network' too..
https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Categ...Hunting-Canada

Do look into newcomer services - there's sometimes programs that can assist in placements (so you can get that 'Canadian experience' - or options to take courses / help with converting qualifications. https://www.immigrantservicescalgary...oyment-support
https://www.alberta.ca/work-in-alberta.aspx
http://www.directionsforimmigrants.c...strategies.htm


Lots of links to mentoring programs (network, network, network) https://www.google.ca/search?q=mento...cr%3DcountryCA


Some useful tips: https://www.monster.ca/career-advice...-experience-ca

Good luck

Calanteli

Yes, we have read all the relevant Wikis when he first started applying, and we have been told that there is nothing wrong with his CV (and he has been tailoring his CV and cover letter for each application). So, on paper, he is doing everything right, as far as we are aware (and have been told by Canadians).

We have looked at immigrant services, but did not find them particularly useful, as they seem more tailored to people who lack English language skills, and my husband's qualifications do not need converting (as his is not a regulated profession, and our qualifications have already been assessed as part of the permanent residence application). We are working on the Canadian experience thing - we have recently joined the Board of our local community organisation, so hopefully that will improve his CV in that respect. Will look into mentoring as well.

In the meantime, would be interesting in hearing from other people (preferably in the IT sector) about how they managed to secure their first job in Canada! In addition, if anyone knows of anyone who is looking for an IT project manager, change manager, or business analyst, then let us know, so my husband can put his CV forward (in addition to the roughly 100+ applications he has submitted already).

dbd33

Calgary may be another world from Southern Ontario but I doubt it. Here most IT people have gained their qualifications and experience abroad. It's routine to interview people who are in other countries and engage them on the basis of their arrival on a specific date (I've lost count of the number of people who accepted offers and then didn't turn up because they found a way to go to the US instead).. Everyone has a tale of a new person turning up without a coat because he or she didn't know that it's cold in Canada; they were interviewed, they arrived, it was a whirlwind. I do think it's better to use a .com email address and a Canadian phone number rather than a .co.uk and 011+ one but the important thing is to be able to state "able to legally work in Canada" or similar on your resume, not particularly to be physically here.
.
I would guess that the problem is twofold:

- lack of fashionable skills on the resume; does it say GuideWire, Agile, Cloud, LEAN, Snowflake?
- looking for a permanent job. Contracts are easier, the client is only committing to a week's worth of money and will do that quite casually. There's no HR involvement. Permanent jobs are very often offered first to contractors already on site.

Twitcher1958

Danny B

I have just started doing the hiring for our department (24x7 IT Operations) here in Kamloops and I can tell you for a fact, HR are brutal when it comes to filtering out the weeds.
We had a position listed on our corporate website and linked-in and 37 people applied for it.

Out of those 37:
11 were not legally entitled to work in Canada (mostly people applying from India & Philippines, but there was one Brit from Southampton)
8 were on work visas
7 were asking way too much money and living on the other side of the country
6 were not qualified (I mean really under qualified)

That left us 5 people to do a phone interview with.
3 were a definite no no
The other 2 we called in for a face to face interview
1 was terrible at answering questions and wouldn't have been a good fit.
1 was OK, but not great.

We are going to repost the job and go through it all over again...FML

shelley748

I would try more networking- seems tome its not what you know but who you know- Not to make you too despondent though, my hubby and I came in 2002 and he just "retired" never working for the industry he was originally "points" for. Yes and it was IT.

AMB1971

Not to be a bit of a downer, but outside of PEI, and NB, Alberta currently has the highest unemployment, and Calgary is way higher than Edmonton, so whilst it has its appeal, you are also fighting uphill with a lot of large corporations jumping ship from Cow town, and heading south of the border,

adrianj

I can write pages on this and I'm sure to get flamed,
my background, IT / Telco 20 years, major companies in the UK,
despite a resume revamp, and getting a CCNA here, it was and still is hell,

I've found here it is PURE networking, not what you can do or what your resume is, it WHO you know,
your resume has to have good keywords for there bots to search
and NO you won't get past the HR.

You need
1> Canadian expereince
2> A Entry Level job
3> a shed load of luck

Get on Linked In also Indeed
firing resumes left right and center generally wont work

MOST IT companies are all outsourced and through agencies, sign UP with a tech agency and start from there, go to open house shows and job shws

BUT if you do NOT have any Canadian experience, your pretty much stuffed.
After I got a Factory job as a tester, Agencies started ringing me.
You are an unknown quantity with no references and NO-ONE has the time to reach out to the UK

You have to change your mindset from CV to RESUME and convert everything into Canadianese
you also have to tailor Resumes to each job offer.

Also things work strange here, you can send a Resume and not hear anything for ages, but then if you get a call and don't jump on it
it will be gone in as little as a couple of hours.

IT is the worst possible vocation, you are competing with outsourcing and a MASSIVE influx of Asian's with the same or better skillsets
And the Big companies are outsourcing to India etc.

I won't lie to you, it's a hard slog. I landed 9 years ago, 1st year I was off work on my "mat leave" LOL
Got my first factory job the next year, and now in a Servicedesk for the past 7 years.
Back home I was a Senior Technical Voice & Network Engineer for a global company
I'm banging heads with spotty 18 year olds.

NOW... that said other people will run you there positive expereinces and I'm sure there are, but I'm not the only one in my shoes
Also the older you are the harder it is.

I may be coming off as a bit Salty, but what is it they say "“To paraphrase Oedipus, Hamlet, Lear, and all those guys, "I wish I had known this some time ago.”"

adrianj

re your "CV" have a word with a friend of mine, he's ex HR and runs a Resume company, his advice is top-notch and 100%
His name is Josh at https://www.resumescanada.ca/about-us/
Say I sent you, (I get no kickbacks LOL honest)
He can prime and prep you on the "Canadian" system, he opened my eyes on a lot of things.
He re-vamped my British Resume and helped Canadianise my letters.etc.

Here's a bit from his website on emails... small stuff but hey, ring anybells LOLOL

https://www.resumescanada.ca/is-your...away-your-age/

Siouxie

No suggestion of 'flaming' - you pretty much nailed it for most newcomers these days!

We have long said it's WHO you know not What you know - and Network, Network, Network is the way to get your foot in the door. HR using software to pick out keywords is standard.. this is why we strongly suggest people read the 'job hunting' section of the Wiki before they start looking.. particularly the part about lowering your expectations and Canadianising your resume. Yes, there are a few people who are fortunate and came over years ago when these occcupations were in demand - and they are still in demand in a few Provinces, but not all. Canada loves it's certifications / diplomas (Canadian or Internationally recognised ones, not something specific to the UK). A lot of the time any experience you have in the UK is discarded as not being relevant unless you are in a very niche profession and have been headhunted.
https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Categ...Hunting-Canada

Glad that things looked up for you in the end.


On the subject of resume - please don't pay to have one created for you! There's many places you can get help for FREE - any Works Canada will help you - https://www.alberta.ca/calgary-emplo...services.aspxd there's plenty of online help available too - free - look at the wiki! https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Resume_and_Letter-Canada
https://settlement.org/ontario/emplo...-style-resume/
https://www.randstad.ca/job-seeker/c...s-should-know/
https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/findajob/r...te-good-resume

Links to free resume templates: https://youthjobscanada.ca/how-to-write-a-resume/


I'm not sure how Calgary is for IT.. might be worth looking at some charitable or volunteer jobs (some are paid) to get that all important "Canadian Experience"
https://ca.indeed.com/jobs?q=IT+Char...tion&l=Alberta
https://volunteeralberta.ab.ca/progr...rofit-careers/

Photoplex

With all the layoffs that happened in Calgary over the last few years, IT was always the first department to go.

A few years ago, HR would receive maybe 20 applications for IT roles we needed filling. Now? They receive anywhere from 300 to 500 applications for each job posting. It's totally unmanageable, and they're only selecting the cream of the crop. That means masters degrees, professional certifications such as PMP etc. Everyone else goes straight in the trash can.

When I moved here many years ago, I was forced to accept a job far more junior than my experience and education, and then work my way back up. Once you have some Canadian experience things get easier. But in the current market in Calgary, those junior roles are being swamped with applications

mattheww65

My partner and I landed in August and were in the same boat.

We both done the standard route, applying to reams of jobs online, but also invested around 50% of our time in networking. The best networking events we found were:

• Hackersnest - Really great to meet recruiters and other techies - this one's actually on tomorrow (27/11!). If you're coming send me a PM
• Rainforest - More for entrepreneurs but also good for job seekers
• The library often has recruitment events
• Lots of events at U of C to meet people in our field

My partner got a job after 2 week, and I got one after 4, both through networking! Hers is a permanent position and mine is contract, potentially going to permanent next year. We both ended up with 2 offers to pick from, and had others putting us to second and third round interviews we had to cancel.

Maybe we were lucky, but honestly I don't believe it's as bad as everyone says! Maybe if you're a geo-engineer or something specifically oil and gas, or you're comparing to the 'boom times', but honestly i've seen plenty of IT jobs out there...

Siouxie

Congrats on achieving jobs - and I note that you did what everyone says you should do (and if you don't, then yes, things can be as bad as everyone says).. .... Network network network!