JonboyE

I think there is a reluctance to hire new immigrants who think the sun shines out of their own backsides and who assume the way they are used to doing things is somehow superior (by a quantum factor) to the way things are done in Canada, without taking the time and effort to understand why it is done that way here.

Alan2005

You mean they think they are better by the smallest possible measurable amount?

That doesn't apply to me - I'm loads better than Canadians.

cityhog

Exactly. They are afraid of looking bad in front of these foreign workers who are often better educated and trained. So these foreign overachievers who wouldn't go along with the system often become targets of workplace bullying/mobbing. I have seen and heard about many tragic cases.

vaughant

Well,having worked for a canadian employer in the uk I can give you this one important bit of advice,allow them to believe that they really are better than you,because that WILL be what they are thinking.

Now I'm not generalizing as it was only one employer,but 99% of their employees really did believe they were so far advanced compared to us welsh retards(their words) that how could we have managed to run a factory for so long with such idiots at the helm?

Well,in some ways they were correct,as the management team were really poor,but as for the shop floor we literally ran rings around the canadians,we really were about 10 years ahead in terms of understanding of systems,engineering principles etc than they were,they really were blown away by how much knowledge even the most unqualified people there had.I found with them that they knew a lot about one particular field,yet simply could not think laterally,couldn't see beyond the end of their nose or embrace any type of new technology or thinking.

I got involved from a union point of view eventually and although their passion was unquestioned,their methods were poor,they believed everything had to be done by their company principles and there was no budging,they kept on about examples of why this system worked and how they'd made money from it but it was fatally flawed for the uk Market as they believed that they needed to make the organisation even more top heavy than it already was,totally wrong in a manufacturing environment.they slashed overtime for the shop floor to prove a point,but brought 7 foreman in one weekend to oversee a maintenance task,where there were only three of us actually conducting the work.the coffee machine did well that day!!!

Their very big on family and community from what we saw over here,all having dinner in each others houses,discussing work on a Sunday etc etc so perhaps as said previously you need to get into the spirit of community more and doors will open that way?

It's not for me to tell you what to do but I'd stick it out a bit longer if possible?and as asked previously you haven't mentioned what field/s you and your partner are in work wise?you never know,you may have to diversify a little to get what you want,maybe even one of you work away for a while to bring some cash in.as said previously,there must have been a reason you wanted to go to can in the first place and therefore got out there as a skilled worker or at least one to offer canada something to get your pr over there?

vancouverism

Now I'm not generalizing as it was only one employer,but 99% of their employees really did believe they were so far advanced compared to us welsh retards(their words) that how could we have managed to run a factory for so long with such idiots at the helm?

But you obviously didn't run it well enough to prevent it being taken over by Canadians.

ExKiwilass

*snap*

Aviator

Does not seem like it stopped them trying to tell the Canadians how to do it better though - not unlike some of those that come over here really

marie 22

I arrived here in september of last year after having worked in the uk for the government and i didnt think i would have a problem getting back into the same line of work... how wrong i was. But i have come to realise something....

When i first arrived i needed money, so applied for just about everything i could think of... walmart, safeway, mcdonalds, and heard nothing at all back from them. I then found a job in a travel agency advertised so i actually went in and asked to speak to the manager as apposed to just dropping off an application or resume. Make sure you are dressed for an interview even for just dropping off your resume as first impressions count. I got the job on the spot. Also, having worked in retail now for the best part of a year, i have seen so many people dropping resumes off with regular members of staff and if the staff member doesnt like the way the person looks or doesnt like what they read in the resume they will bin it before it even reaches the manager.

I then looked elsewhere a few months later and it seemed to be that because i had expeience in canada i seemed more appealing to them.

From what i have picked up in the last year... potential employers think that Brits who have just arrived or never worked in Canada before are just after a 'stop gap' job, so make sure you speak to the manager and ensure they know thats not the case.
A problem that i thought of too... is that i have a .co.uk e mail address which may not have been picked up on, as most employers who i have come accross tend to e mail prospective staff to invite them for an interview. Make sure you get yourself a .com or .ca e mail address and put that on your resume.

Dont give up just yet as it will be worth it in the end... it took me 2 months to find work.

vaughant

Or they bought it at the start of a known economic downturn them and they then proceeded to ruin the place to the point where it's now closing in the next month,very shrewd!!!

Why are you getting on the defensive,I'm explaining how the Canadian mentality is when it comes to how they feel about us brits?you must know this to be true as it's been touched on above in several posts,I thought we were trying to help these chaps get employment and not give up back to the uk?

There'll always be arrogant people who come over to Canada/austrailia etc thinking their better but then you can see why they feel that sometimes. After all,why do the canadians need so many immigrants if their all so brilliant themselves?it's great news for the likes of myself who would love to get out there as I fancy a change and there seems to be plenty of work out there in my field(industrial electrician) but I don't expect to just walk into jobs,in their defence there's an exam to be taken which allows me to work out there so that's my first point of call.like I said in a post above,it would be helpful for the op to state what their field of expertise is as there may even be people on this site that could assist.

Perhaps it's just a territorial thing,maybe we put our defences up to new faces and WANT to prove them wrong.I can only talk from my own experience and while they were good people who only wanted the place to work,I personally and many others felt their methods were poor,a fact proven by their failiure to succeed.they were quite vocal about the fact that they were SO much better than we were,yet proceeded to destroy a very expensive piece of machinery which put us under intense pressure to even keep the factory going.

They were so adamant that they wouldn't pay "these freaking overtime rates" that they ended up paying twice the amount in airfreight.if you think it's good management to have 7 foremen in to supervise 3 people doing a maintenance task then you clearly know something I don't!!!

Please note,this is MY experience with canadian firms,we found it better in the end just to agree with what they said to make them feel important and then inevitably they would come round to our way of thinking.

It's been suggested a few times on here that the Canadian way of life favours community,which I personally think is great so that could be a nice way for the op to get connected.

Linamar promised us a big community barbeque,bring the family etc but I think after a few weeks they realised they'd bought a " knocking engine" and never bothered then,which again didn't really do them any favours.

Lorry1

*snap*
We arrived 3 years ago and I started looking for work about 2 months later to allow time for the kids to settle in school etc.
I sent my resume and also walked round and handed it out to several companies.
I went to a few interviews, got offered a couple of jobs which was great but I ultimately refused because of the hours or location etc.
One day I too walked into a travel agency, accept I was dressed in jeans and t shirt and had my daughter with me
I spoke to the manager and gave her my resume.
I then started childminding to fill a gap and earn some money.
6 months went by and the manager of the travel agency called me to offer an interview. I then got the job.
She said she appreciated me walking in and handing my resume, it showed a great deal of courage after moving to a new Country.
Initially she a was asking for a full time employee but I explained I was looking at part time at the moment and she arranged for this to work.

People here really do appreciate if you show enthusiasum and a willingness to want to work for them. They also appreciate honesty.

My OH is in I.T. He lined up an interview to have during our first week here. He started work with them a week later. Crap company, pay and prospects but it was work!
He started networking like crazy and even started up his own online non-profit company with a couple of work mates.
A year later he started with a great company and really took off.
He was head hunted by a larger firm who have offices worldwide. He now works for them and is earning the same amount he did in the UK.
His non profit online company now has loads of sponsors and is doing really well.
It took 3 years to do it, but we now earning the same as in England and therefore can afford a good lifestyle.

Bear with it, if you make an effort it will work out here

vancouverism

"I'm explaining how the Canadian mentality is when it comes to how they feel about us brits?"

But you aren't. You are taking one specific example and making a massive generalisation.

"After all,why do the canadians need so many immigrants if their all so brilliant themselves?"

If you arrive here with that attitude then life is going to be a struggle.

"I thought we were trying to help these chaps get employment and not give up back to the uk?"

Which is why advice from people who are in Canada and have found work is so valuable.

As a previous poster said Canadian employers can be be wary that people from the UK are not in it for the long haul. After much failure I rang up a potential employer and told them that I would definitely stay for at least a year (and this was a casual/part time job). This has now developed into a great regular full time position, but it's initially difficult to get your head around the different hiring practices.

The one thing you shouldn't do is assume that all Canadians are idiots or that they should be thankful for your expertise. Your own experience is a good example of how people react to "outsiders" thinking that they are better than you.

cityhog

Because there's a brain drain all the way down to the good ol' USA.

Yeah need to lose that attitude and play dumb. The first step to take is to learn to say "Perfect" and "Awesome" when in fact it's just sh*te.

Aviator

Or you could just act competent and confident rather than a know all who is going 'bring the company into the 21st century' and tell them 'how it should be done'.

Even if you think you know better, there is a time to speak and a time to shut up.

cityhog

Yeah listen to Nirvana.

JonboyE

So let's see. We have:

a) coming from overseas
b) think they know better than the locals
c) don't like the way things are being done
d) seek to impose change but
e) don't make the effort to understand what made things work as well as they did in the first place.

Result?

f) failure.

I'm sure that in there is a lesson in there somewhere trying to burst out.